life's a kick

“Bhaag chalein?” Her eyes lit up like twin flames as she clutched his hands behind the counter. It was lean hour of the day. The boys had left the shop in a discreet understanding, after exchanging some pleasantries with him. Outside, they chuckled at the delight of this real life drama. This was so interesting, playing live characters in an ongoing love story; not merely an audience by the ringside. Honestly, they too liked him. Even though they spoke about him and madam in a manner of sweet jest, a throbbing true vein within them knew that the two were meant to be a couple. It was too early for the customers to arrive and this visitor was well aware of this fact. His patronage of this shop had been a decade long. From the time he first brought his new wife to this shop and she had taken an instant liking to it, there had been no need for other tailor shops. He, particularly, didn’t bother much. Those were his early days of marriage, the time when all he wanted was to be lost...

There's a reason why I can't put you down on paper.  Take for instance today. I've been going through the day like a cottonseed goes through wind. With a heavy centre, yet light enough to be swayed at ease. Missing you turns into a floating feeling of loss. But then, we promised to each other that we can't let our love do us down...so I keep up the spirit. Strange, I still can't recall a single thing I did today to feel alive. This is not the first day I'm spending without you. Nor will it be the last. In such moments of desperate attempts, of reconciling with the fact that you aren't and won't be mine, the only other thing that can hold me back from the fall, apart from your love, is writing. Why then, even when my heart bleeds white, don't I write.  It's not that I don't have the required ingredients.  You are the kind of man even novels can't create. In many ways, beyond imagination. They could never get the entire sketch c...

“I learned all about life with a ball at my feet.” -           Ronaldinho, Brazilian footballer Chances are that a 13 year old boy raised on the streets of Kolkata would know more about Ronaldinho than the rest of us would. Traditionally, football is a sport played with religious fervor in the eastern belt of our country. It’s not uncommon for youth of Bengal to dream of becoming renowned national players. In the year 2000, one such teenager from the heart of Kolkata, Lal Kamal Bhaumick (then 13), with dreams in his eyes and football in his dreams, found himself in the SAIL Football Academy in Bokaro Steel City. Today, Lal Kamal plays for the United Sports Club, for an annual package of Rs 85 lakhs. For someone who has been through difficult days of sustenance, the story of rise of Lal Kamal Bhaumick is a study in courage and talent promoted by corporate intervention. Inspiration Incarnate: Lal Kamal Bhowmick For f...