Jab We Met

The Making

‘Oops…..that’s very high for an IPRS (Indian Performing Right Society) license , can’t we do away with it? It is a close event’….we tried to reason out.

‘No Sir…it’s the mandate for any live programme regardless of the nature of the entertainment or the kind of premises at which the performance takes place and irrespective of whether a charge for admission is made’…..the resort manager appeared a fast talker for the first time since we started communicating, quiet evident he replies the same query to multiple sad souls throughout the year! Realising that it sounded harsh to himself or possibly feeling pity at our plight he hinted in a hush hush voice, that such licences can be waived for a low cost in case of a social function, say like ring ceremony! He tried to enliven the dampen spirits! Who likes to lose a booking in these trying times!

Ring ceremony??!! Eureka! Our approaching fifty buddy, currently down with sciatica, bachelor since birth can help the group save a fortune. All he needs is to concur. Rest we will manage! Bulao Anand Chowdhury ko! Why should he have all the fun! Now is our chance to turn the tables on him! The least he can do being the only bachelor in the group is to marry and a ring ceremony is the preface for the same. But Anand in no mood to give in, sways his head both sides vigorously. He is ready to double up his contribution but not ready to exchange vows. Our finest ploy of cost cutting falls flat and with it the last valiant attempt to see Anand tie the knots seems to have been lost for ever! So be it. Some are born lucky!!

A back of the envelope estimation suggested a sum which looked staggering for a 19 soul reunion budget. We wanted to live each minute of the 48 hours event plan that we envisage. Wicked covid has robbed us of a similar event last year. It’s a revenge of sorts and we will not give this up easily.

At times, an worried Ayon would text from Pune, ‘Buddy….our kitty is getting worn out…..what next’? But when, exuberance of youth has taken centerstage, whose gonna stop! We can always fall back on some, who has promised to remain ‘comfortable to make good any gap’! And strange it may sound, each remained a phone call away when it came to chip in. Same was kept voluntary though. No questions raised.

So Mir & Bandage is sealed. Mir undoubtedly is one of the greatest entertainers we ever had. With his ready wit, instant humour he undoubtedly remains the best bet to beat the covid and lockdown blues which kept us indoors for a large part of 2020. And with more than a month for reunion as I almost dozed off in Volvo travelling to hometown, a mobile vibration woke me up. Its Mir on the other side.

“……we were thinking of doing the event differently. Can each of you send two of your favorite numbers? We will plan the rest!”……the smart entertainer that he is, it seemed he is on the job already!

So, after getting the confirmation from Team Mir (isn’t he a team by himself…..as he puts it, ‘a rehearsed package of spontaneity’), the other colors to our event rested with the eminent sports journalist, the indomitable Gautam Bhattacharya ,an absolute inseparable character of our growing up years and beyond. But ‘always on wheels’ he appears evasive in spite of my repeated attempts to pin him! Completely exasperated, after several attempts, I text:

‘Will I be lucky, today Gautam da’?

In straight six minutes the whatsapp winked, “come at 5”

Joy was short-lived though! In another three minutes he called, “ Sono, aaj hobe na…..Partho Rudra mara gyalo….next week dekchi” (Listen, will not be able to meet today. Partho Rudra passed away….will check next week). He appeared crestfallen with the passing away of this former journo turned friend of his.

So, back to square one. While elaborate arrangements and plenty of discussions already happened with the event management team spear headed by Kaushik Mukherjee, with regard to the proposed quiz show and a session of untold sports stories, replicating our school memories, something which we thought, one and only Gautam Bhattacharya can pull off with elan, is still not frozen. What if, he cannot make it?!

Though there are 26 English alphabets, but we cannot find ‘B’ as plan! GB to be more specific.

Nonetheless, luck did smile a couple of days later when a relaxed GB (that’s how the fraternity addresses him, though Gautam Da appears more adoring) after a patient hearing of our plan, confirmed his showing. I returned a happy soul, after munching a Khasta and Amrito of KC Das fame as a fringe benefit of an evening tete e tete with a legend of Bengali sports journalism, who remains one the most travelled sports journalist of the sub continent. No less a fanboy moment for most of us.

Just when everything seems to be falling in place, the threat came from unsuspected quarters. From faraway South Africa. Omicron. Given its prowess in mutating at jet speed, it cast a shadow on our event in general and travel of some of our friends in particular. Last couple of days to the event was spent in tracking the number of Omicron cases being reported.

“…..a lady tested covid positive in Bangalore airport is Omicron” said self proclaimed reputed virologist Dr.Dey from Howrah who in his spare time slogs as a master sales professional . And he was so confident of his find just as his month end numbers!

“……….no no…..do not panic…it’s a mild delta variant…..I am dealing with this since the outbreak of covid”, rubbishes another virologist Dr.Bhattacharya from Pune who too doubles up as a hospitality expert! The whatsapp group remained abuzz with several statistics relating to Omicron for a large part of the day! Inside we remained shit scared and a sense of trepidation ruled large. What if……

Our event management partner remained pumped up though. After several whatsapp forwards and plenty of temporary ad hoc groups, we could finalise the creatives for the event. A frustrated Kaushik was in tears when we, still in doubts, gave the seal of approval of the backdrops!! One of the active member to the build up to the event remained tied up in London, but was relentless in creative ideas of how the event should look. Imprints 2021, remained the brainchild of Sourav Niyogi. Truly Thames and Ganges looked brother-in-arms!

As if that was not enough, celebrated creative director of Ogilvy, Sujoy Roy designed some mind boggling creatives which we shared in the group, first thing in the morning! The build up to the event was complete. His witty one liners did brighten the day and was left asking for more. ‘What happens at Ibiza, stays at Ibiza” caught the spirit perfectly and set the tone for things to come. Yes. Ibiza at downtown Joka was the venue that we finally zeroed in.

Stage was set! And How!

Cometh the Day

A day before the event as few of us sat in the Eau Chew, the century old Chinese joint, now run by its fourth generation and best known for its Chimney soup and Josephine noodles, we could feel the butterflies in our stomach. The excitement was palpable as each flashed their boarding passes with a customary selfie as they boarded the flight to Kolkata…. from Pune, Mumbai, Noida, Delhi, London, Mandirtala in Howrah….whoops!! The last one came by UberGo with thrice the surge!

The Day 1 had the customary DJ who belted out the Bollywood numbers and most of the unfit, sloth buddies could shed a few kilos on the dance floor, something which the fretful wives back at home has been constantly nudging with little or no success! And then those karaoke. When left alone, and mike in hand senior corporate lawyer, senior banker, celebrated human resource professional all could mix so much passion in their voices which stood well oiled with free flowing scotch, the evening looked magical and was worth every penny of it. This in spiral could whip up the inner singer in few more, to come out from the bathroom, and dish out some evergreen numbers while Kishore Kumar occasionally turned in his grave! How fulfilling to find some sort of cavalcade to get hold of the mike, remembering school days when similar queue meant it was Monday assembly and shoes needs to sparkle.

Day 2 began with a buzz. A day which we waited with all eagerness. True to the spirit we began with an all white uniforms. Cricket after all, and the one to take us through was the man who ensured the game settles at the rice pots at Bengali households and not just hover around the kitchen. We stood ready to get bowled over by Gautam Bhattacharya.

So, when did we ever knew a certain Geeta ruined the chances of a one to one Imran Khan interview on way to Dubai airport, or how Sunil Gavaskar said ‘no means no’ to a rookie journo, unable to decide on singles, in a media match at South Africa much before the film PINK was conceived, or how Tiger Pataudi meant royal laziness off the field and how a sizzling love story of Raveena Tandon with a legendary middle order batsman was cut short! And how Saurav meant steely attitude even before he made it big in first class cricket and how each success story has so much of sweat, blood and toil. Gautam Bhattacharya is a stunner when comes to story telling and it left us wondering why he has remained reluctant to more corporate presentations and motivational therapies. He is certainly, one of the best we have with seamless presentation and a heart winning oratory. A session which was meant to last for ninety minutes went up to more than 180 minutes and a zapped audience was not letting him go. It was such an instant hit that we almost unanimously decided to forgo the planned quiz show as the hotel threatened not to extend further the lunch timings which was already behind schedule. But, no one was complaining as a fun quiz can wait, but such stories of real characters whom we always marvel at from a distance was made to visit us, as we shared the same dug out!

Mir, off course is always full of life and his spirit is infectious. There is hardly any who has such ready wit and humour as this Man. In association with bandage, his band, he kept us on our toes for close to three hours, non stop with plenty of Mirism and several hit numbers, in line with the request made by the group. An evening stood completely customised. And how brilliant he was at it. And then his theatrics. He ensured each comes up with his story of why and what made him select the song! So, the pandora’s box opened and the evening witnessed the other side of the ‘lazy lads Saiyya(s)’ back at home! Without an effervescent Mir, we could hardly make out what goes within the smart looks of the longest serving principal of SVTS or how a serious looking doctor can shake legs over ‘Ek Hasina Se’ or a French cut- ten to five- office goer in Bijan Maji who also is as an active Human Rights member can thrive two evenings only on Soda and coke!

I often wonder when is the last time we make a friend? I think the best we make is at school (or colleges/University for some). Selfless without the veils of who we are. Certain friendship which trespasses egos and triumph of wealth and sound of hierarchy. We indeed do make friends beyond it also, but not those ‘same age’ ‘same feel’ friends for sure.But the truest of the friends remains the bunch we left at the corridors or play grounds of our school campuses, the joyful and ungrudging relations where we can begin from where we last ended as ways parted couple of decades back as life kept meandering from one checkpost to the other. No introduction, no formal smiles required to have a go. So, when, devout muslim in Asif Abuzar meets the Tamil Bramhin, Subramanium Swaminathan after 32 years of passing school, they immediately get going without slightest of the inhibitions. Or,when educationist Shankar Bhagat spends two sleepless nights trying to find means to combat a snoring room partner in Rajasree Dey as he kept talking in sleep hurling choicest abuses to God knows whom, and still has no complains, one realizes how much this 48 hours of togetherness meant for all. Our PR Man from Rastrapati Bhawan, Samaresh Kumar appeared tense as he teamed up with Economist Partha Chatterjee for the quiz that never happened, or the astute hotelier in Ayon tried to recreate some of his offspin magic which he left at the school play grounds 32 years back and a senior banking professional in Mahadani and legal eagle Rajiv Choubey tries to read the off spin (or whatever it may mean!) and as expected, huffs and puffs, while a talented batter, now a seasoned pharma specialist Shubhankar looks on and plays and replays the shots in mind several times over! Or the late night party at room 210 continues till wee hours of the morning and the room with the single occupant Saurav Niyogi sleeps with his boots on and then completely forgets his vociferous presence as he wakes up the following morning, you realise the event has meant what it stood for: complete bliss!

Long after the DJ beats faded away, the camaderie and roars of laughter emanciapated from the school corridors chased us all way back to our homes.

Till the next Imprints.

2022. Here we come.