Thursday, October 1, 2009
SCHOOLING
Monday, September 21, 2009
New House
The problem with this house is that when we open the windows we can see inside the houses of our neighbours and can chat with them easily. There is hardly any privacy that way. You have to keep your voice really low. Another porblem is I can never keep my car any where near my house. But of course for the first time the scooter can be kept at home.
In the terrace outside the parapet wall I have made a drain-like structure where we have started a garden. In this drain there are two water pipes with a lot of holes in them which work as an irrigation system. There were to half pillars on the terrace on which I have made two tables with electrical connections for fan, light and mosquito repellants. There is also another terrace where we have the water tank.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
MY SON'S SCHOOLING
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
A LESSON IN COOKING
A LESSON IN COOKING
-Aniruddha Burmon
(Submitted as an Assignment during PGDTE in the year 1997 at CIEFL, Shillong)
I was in school then. It was a Sunday or something. Mom had left for Guwahati to see my sister, leaving dad and me to fend for ourselves. We had convinced mom that we were able to cook four square meals a day, if not more. Saying is one thing and doing is another. Dad took charge of the kitchen. I was supposed to be the helper but the cook in reality. We winked at each other and in an instant we could read what was there in the other’s mind – pork of course. Off I rushed to the market and got the provisions – spinach, my favourite – goes well with pork.
‘Heat oil first and then fry the meat till it turns brownish’, ordered my dad. I followed the instructions religiously – well what could I do – that was my first lesson in cooking and dad who taught me English in school must know something about cooking too. After all, cooking is not difficult. ‘Add salt and turmeric’ – so did I, paste of onion, garlic and ginger is needed to. Leaving the frying to my senior I struggled with the traditional grinder. Plop – jumped out a piece of garlic here and plop went another. Tears rolling down my cheeks – the culprit was onion of course – water running down the nostrils. Well, I did have the paste made after all – you are allowed to differ in your opinion of a paste – but on my day I could have challenged any soul on the earth to beat me to it. ‘Fry the paste’ – done.
Pressure cookers were not heard of much those days but we did have an old make one, without a gasket of course. Once the gasket needed to be replaced we couldn’t get one because it wasn’t an Indian make and to our knowledge even if any pressure cookers were available, such gaskets were not available. Well, we could use it as a saucepan at least. Brownish meat, fired paste, light fried potato, all dumped in our ‘saucepan’ – can’t forget spinach – the smell used to drive me mad – ‘garam masala’ powdered is a must for meat – enough water for boiling – meat takes a long time to soften – we something more – pork needs more time still.
So we went on with our cooking. Spinach was not to be seen after sometime – potatoes started disappearing to but ht meat stood the ground like a rock. Flavour – none, only if you had taken your nose as close to the spoon carrying the ‘stuff’, as it didn’t actually touch your nose, you might have got some ‘smell’ – only a third person from outside might be affected. But we couldn’t go for much publicity either – you may very well guess the reasons.
Hungry, as we were after some two to three hours of struggle, cooked some rice – a little overcooked may be – but it doesn’t do one much harm – had to sit down for lunch – we did have to gulp down a few spongy pieces of meat – gravy was delicious though. Luckily this experiment did not go beyond three or four days – for mom came back to our rescure. Did I tell you that we had a guest that day who very unwittingly told us that spinach and ‘garam masala’ did not go together. ‘I told you so’, said dad.
TURA
People always ask me the question why I always talk of gong back to Tura. I have also tried to answer this question but have not really been able to answer this to the satisfaction of others. In fact, frankly, what has Tura given me? Let me see, if I can try and answer this once again.
My first consciousness about Tura was when we were in Cherrapunji – actually I was a student of St Edmund’s College, Shillong then, when my dad received a call from MBOSE. My sister packed all his warm clothes! – three suit pieces, as I remember now, in a black coloured trunk. The month must have been April or May of 1974. While returning dad lost all his luggage – in fact, his luggage was exchanged with someone else who got down at Resu or Mendi. Next year, when he received a telegram from MBOSE, dad was not sure who this gentleman could be. We put our heads together to resolve that he must have met someone, called Mr M. Bose, at Tura, who had the kindness to send him a telegram. This time we were wiser not to have given him any warm clothes and in any case not much could have been made within a year from a teacher’s salary (Dad was a teacher of
Almost a decade passed – I completed my Master’s – worked in places like Zunheboto (Nagaland), Shillong and Tukrajhar (Assam) – faced an interview conducted by the Meghalaya Public Service Commission and was pleasantly surprised to find my name in the list of recommended candidates, that too, topping the list. Came 11th of October 1983, when escorted by my parents I reached Tura in the evening and met the Principal at his residence. He was quite amused to see parents escorting an adult would-be-‘professor’. So my journey began from the next day. ‘Got some reprieve as it during the Puja holidays. After the holidays as I returned, my first class as I remember was in 1st yr B.A. I was asked to teach the novel ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’. After rushing through the Roll Call, I simply hurried through the discussion on ‘Tragedy & Tragic Hero’. Only then I could make myself to face the class (though I had some experience in teaching – I also had a B.Ed degree – I had faced only a small population in the UG classes). The next class was even worse as I had to face some three hundred students in the II P.U. class. I couldn’t get myself to face the crowd, till I took hold of the text-book and stood in front of the table. I was also asked to join the Evening Shift as well. This was even more interesting. I had to submit a Joining Report in the Standard Proforma. As it was the evening shift, I wrote in my Joining Report that I joined in the afternoon. When the Pay Slip (Pay Slips used to be issued for the Evening shift those days) came I was wild to find that I was paid w.e.f. from 24th October whereas I had joined on the 23rd!
After my first day’s class I was planning to return to ‘Raj Kamal Hotel’, where I was lodging. I was walking with a senior colleague. I told him that I was looking for some houses on rent. Out of the blue he suggested I could stay with him as long as his family didn’t return from Shillong. It was really a surprise as this was our first meeting and to invite some stranger to stay in one’s house was something unheard of. Well I saved my hotel rent. I straight away went to ‘Munka Hotel’ and made an advance payment towards monthly food charges and was feeling quite happy with myself. As I reached my colleague’s place only a rebuke awaited me for having made the advance payment but still I was happy. But that was not all; I had to share his breakfast, evening tea and lunch in addition to two other meals at Munka hotel. He simply bowled me over. I simply became a part of his lovely family later on.
My initial reaction was that I would stay for maximum of one year at Tura – of course find quite a few of my friends from Shillong at the SBI was very encouraging though.
It was exam time. I was off duty. It was English, so I thought I should be around. As I leisurely entered the campus, the Principal caught hold my arm and whisked me away and thrust me into the office and made me sit in front of a typewriter. Before I could react I was asked to type a Question Paper – to cut the stencil actually. As I cut one stencil and went for the next one, the first one was cyclostyled and distributed among the examinees. By the time I was in the middle of the second stencil the shortage of Question Papers was met as it was discovered that another of Question Papers had by mistake been left behind at the treasury.
FIRST ORIENTATION: Tura has an unique programme, called ‘Teachers’ Social’, where in connection ‘Teachers’ Day’, school, college and university teachers attend in a pre-decided institution and enjoy the day with frolicking, fun making and other mostly light-hearted cultural programmes. In the year 1984, it was the turn of
The first year, the involvements were not too many. Then I had to make a decision. If I have to stay in Tura I have to be a part of it. It was near the
NCC took up a big chunk of my emotions and time. My cadets who were prepared to sweat it out for the whole work even without a cup of tea. No wonder they were easily considered the best cadets in the whole state as only the cadets of our college were given the chance of Quarter Guard in an Annual Training Camp. The Deputy Director General (NCC) was being given the Guard of Honour. The DDG was pleasantly overwhelmed to find cadet after cadet from
As I now have physically left Tura and keep looking back I receive a lot of inspiration and am rejuvenated. There were a lot of people whom I looked up to for guidance and advice. And those of them who are still living are still ready to do so. I raised a question at the beginning. I don’t know whether I have been able to answer it. I am really confused. “If you did love Tura so much, then why did you leave it?” Frankly – no answers once again.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
TUKRAJHAR HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL
ZUNHEBOTO COLLEGE
It was in the year 1979. There was a riot in Shillong. I was doing my third semester MA. I had gone to