Poem: Poets and Others

Poets and Others

Word, another word...so on, poets write,

Others, too, know the words fairly alright.

Yet, others could not put them orderly in thought,

Poets could, because, they are poets; others are not.

Though we all do have same organs for sense,

poets discern delicately and deftly dispense.

Not the eyes and ears that make difference,

It's their genius mind loaded with prudence.

Are electro-chemical signals in brain’s neurons,

make someone poet and some others morons ?

Is it a God's gift? or biology-chemistry? 

What makes someone poet - is not it a mystery? 

Our Glorious Tricolour

Our Glorious Tricolour

Abheek Khamrui

National Flag is the most conspicuous symbol of a nation. It epitomizes independence and oneness of the nationhood.  Under unfurled National Flag every citizen stands with sense of pride, dignity and love for the country. The National Flag of India, fondly called as ‘Tiranga’ (Tricolour), was adopted in its present form during the meeting of Constituent Assembly held on 22 July 1947, a few weeks before India's independence on 15 August, 1947. It served as the National Flag of Dominion of India from 15 August 1947 to 26 January 1950 and that of Republic of India thereafter.  Sight of flying Tiranga triggers reverberation of sense of patriotism and emotion in our nerves. However, unfortunately, due to red tape, people of India were forbidden for many decades after independence to hoist Tiranga except in some designated days like Independence Day and Republic Day. Tiranga was considered by the Government authorities as their own sceptre.  Shri Naveen Jindal, industrialist and Member of Parliament (2004-2014) had to fight a long legal battle at Hon’ble Supreme Court to succeed in securing the rights for the people of India to fly Tiranaga throughout the year with respect and dignity. Being denied to hoist Tiranga for all days at his company’s steel plant premise at Raigarh (Chhattisgarh) by the Government authority, Shri Jindal had started his arduous endeavour with patriotic zeal in 1993 to get the rights of flying Tiranga for the general public of the country on all days. As a result of his unfailing efforts, citizens of India have been allowed by Government of India to fly the National Flag on all days from January 26, 2002. In a historic judgment on January 23, 2004, Hon’ble Supreme Court held that the right to fly the National Flag freely, with respect and dignity, is a Fundamental Right of the citizens of India.  The display of National Flag is governed by the provisions of the ‘Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950’, ‘The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act 1971’ and ‘The Flag Code of India, 2002’. 

The National Flag of India is rectangular in shape and the ratio of width to length is two to three. It is composed of equal horizontal bands of three colours - saffron at the top, white in the middle and green at the bottom - and a navy blue wheel having 24 spokes in the centre of the white band. The official name of saffron colour is ‘India-Saffron’ and green colour is ‘India-Green’.    The wheel in the middle  known as ’Ashok Chakra’ is the depiction  of ‘Dharma Chakra’  which appears on the abacus of the Lion Capital of Ashoka, the Mauryan Emperor. Its diameter approximates to the width of the white band. Saffron colour of the National Flag stands for strength, courage and spirit of renunciation. The white band indicates peace, truth and purity. The green shows growth and fertility of the land.  Blue colour of Ashok Chakra in our flag signifies the boundless sky above and fathomless sea below.  The Ashok Chakra suggests continual progress of the country.

Brunch Book Challenge on Twitter

It's a pleasure to be featured as one of the winners of 2016 Brunch Book Challenge organised on Twitter by Brunch magazine of The Hindustan Times. Previously I was one of the winners of #BrunchBookChallenge in 2014. Reading pays in many ways.

Hydropower Sustainability

My article on hydropower sustainability in International Hydropower Association activity report.

https://www.hydropower.org/sites/default/files/publications-docs/IHA%20Activity%20Report%202015.pdf

My speech at J M International School, Dwarka, New Delhi on the occasion of my son Abheek’s citation ceremony

My speech at J M International School, Dwarka, New Delhi on 21^st March 2016 on the occasion of  my son Abheek’s citation ceremony for passing out of Class-VI and stepping in to Class-VII 

Respected Principal ma’am, teachers and distinguished parents and loving students. 

At the outset, I would like to thank the school for giving me the opportunity to speak on this occasion.  I take this opportunity to share some of my personal observations about J M International School where my son Abheek has been studying for last 9 years since 2007 when he was admitted here for his pre-schooling. It is imperative for any school to  play a major role in inculcating social, emotional skills in student apart from providing formal education and JMIS is no exception in this regard for my son. It is more applicable to him than many other students of the school considering the  fact he has not been undergoing any private tuition for his studies, therefore, whatever he has been learning it is either from this school or from us – his parents. In that sense, we are more dependent on the pedagogical quality of the teachers in the school than those parents whose children have been receiving private tuition. My assessment on the performance of the school is that the overall, teachers of this school are performing effectively & efficiently.  I am saying this on the basis of my observations that my son generally learns and understands most of the lessons of any subject from the class itself as taught by the teachers. His learning at school is supplemented by us at home. Therefore, I may conclude that the teachers have been successful in making him understood the lessons in the class itself which, I think as a parent, is quite appreciable. Having said that I would also like to add that school should give more priority in making the students more interested in learning the subjects for sake of buttressing their understanding rather than merely scoring high marks in the examination, especially considering the fact that the foundations of the students are built at this stage only on which their career would stand in future. I would suggest the school authority to carry out a reality check  on the quality of education the students have been receiving in this school. I would request the school authority to get an external assessment conducted by a third party - any reputed independent agency -on students to find out their level of knowledge and understanding of the subject. The school authority should make the result of the assessments available to the parents.

I would like to bring one issue to the attention of the school authority regarding the availability of back up teachers in case any teacher is leaving the service during the mid-season for any reason. In the 2015-16 season, we have noticed that there has been no science teacher in Class VI for about a month which is highly undesirable. I hope that the school authority has made some contingency plan this year to counter such challenges.

I would also request the school authority to make more use of technology - audio-visuals, 3Ds etc in teaching the students. It would definitely make the learning more interesting for them. More educational tours & excursions should be undertaken. Each and every student should be encouraged according to their potential and interest to actively participate in extra-curricular activities.

In recent times, some very unfortunate and horrifying incidents have occurred occur in few schools in Delhi NCR resulting in loss of lives of students due to the alleged negligence by the school authorities on the safety and security aspects in the school premise. I hope, here in JMIS all proper safety precautions & measures are in place in school premise , school transports as well as during tours. And the school campus is physically safe and secured  in all aspects for our children and teachers and all others. I would request the school authorities to be extra vigilant and cautious to make the school campus free of any potential Health, Safety & Environment hazards. There should be no compromise in ensuring the safety and security of the students. The school staffs should be regularly sensitized to make our school a safe and secured  place for our daughters and sons.

Now, I would like to share some observations on education system in India in general. Recently, I was reading a book ‘’The Country of First Boys’ by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen wherein with his usual brilliance and ingenuity he has analyzed, inter alia, Indian education system. The name of the book itself reflects his thought about existing education system in India. He has observed that at every level, Indian education is obsessed with the first boys - in the class room, in society and in the making of public policy. In each class, the teachers revel in the success of the first boys. but when the first boy syndrome takes over an educational system there are reasons to be seriously alarmed. The priorities can get oddly distorted when the focus is so narrow and the concentration of public policy is so strongly on looking after those blessed with opportunity and success. Meanwhile, the last boys and particularly the last girls of the deprived section of the society driven by economic and social inequality related to class, gender, location and social privilege, cannot even read, not having the opportunity of going to a decent school – or any school at all. Taking a cue from the insightful commentary of Amartya Sen on Indian education system, I would, in this context, request the teachers here to not just focus on the first boys but also the entire stratum of the students in the class so that not only the first boys but the every student in the school becomes a good citizen of this world with success and accomplishment in his or her life.    

Lastly, I could not resist myself from not quoting one interesting experience of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore which he had during his school days at Normal School in Calcutta. He mentioned the incident in his memoir ‘Jeevan Smriti’. He wrote in his memoir that he could remember the line of an English song which he used to sing regularly along with other students in the school which was ( to him) ‘kaloki puloki singil melaling melaling melaling’. Tagore was able to decode these words much later during his adult days as ‘Full of glee, singing merrily, merrily, merrily’, even though he could not decipher what ‘kaloki’ had stood for. What he would like to convey that though the song sung by the students had been meant for entertaining the students; but it had become a meaningless boring ritual for the students because neither they had understood the meaning of the words nor the purpose of such program; though the school authority had been well  convinced that the students had been getting immense pleasure out of this ritual and never made any attempt to notice the impact of it on students. Rather the school authority thought that it was the obligation of the students to get pleasure out of it and if the students could not get any pleasure, it was students fault. I hope there is no such ‘kaloki puloki singil melainng melaing melaing’ ritual here in this school. 

Thank you. 

Citizen Engagement Project: Feedback and Suggestions for Odd-Even Vehicle Plan in Delhi

World Bank Group

Digital Artifact

Engaging Citizens: A Game Changer for Development?

 Citizen Engagement Project: Feedback and Suggestions for Odd-Even Vehicle Plan in Delhi  

March 2, 2016

Delhi in India is one of the most polluted and traffic-congested cities in the world. There have been 8.8 million vehicles registered in Delhi as on March 31, 2015. Every day about 1500 new vehicles are added to the roads of Delhi. 

Govt of NCT of Delhi in order to curb air pollution level and reduce traffic congestion in Delhi has implemented odd-even vehicle plan for the first time for 15 days from January 1, 2016. 

Govt of National Capital Territory of Delhi has desired to repeat the plan on later date. However, before enforcing odd-even vehicle plan for the subsequent time(s), Govt of NCT of Delhi could spearhead citizen engagement initiative to get their feedback and suggestions to improve the plan and its implementation. It should ask the citizens through on-line questionnaire, email , phone and also through public consultation meetings regarding whether they want odd-even vehicle plan back, when do they want it and for how many days, which vehicles to be exempted, whether they would buy another vehicle if the scheme returns and any other suggestions they would like to give. The facilities of providing feedback and suggestions through on-line, email, mobile as well as public consultation meetings would help to reach out more people and get them on board - covering every strata of the society. They can choose their communication channel as convenient - affordable & accessible - to them to submit their feedbacks and suggestions. 

The risks of this kind of citizen engagement initiative in a democratic country is that the feedback through on-line, email & phone can be manipulated by opposition political party (ies) having parochial and vested interest. The opposition political party(ies) in their ill-intended attempts to discredit the good-works done by the government run by their rival political party may submit malafide feedback through bogus participants. On the other hand, ruling party too could manipulate it with fake participants for its own vested interest. Mentioning the name of the participant, full address, contact number, email ID as well as verifiable identification card number  may help in curbing manipulations of the citizens engagement initiatives by malicious syndicates. Moreover, since this citizen engagement initiative is based on voluntary participation, the participation level may not be satisfactory if the people is not interested in the initiative.   

This kind of citizen engagement initiative may be leveraged with the use of social media e.g. facebook, twitter as well as door to door campaign by engaging an agency by Govt of NCT of Delhi to get the feedback and suggestions from the citizens. 

                                              

Success of such citizen engagement initiative can be measured by the numbers of citizens (quantity) participated in the engagement program as well as by the quality of feedback and implementable suggestions received by the government through this initiative. The merits and demerits i.e. benefits enjoyed and inconvenience faced by the common people during the odd-even vehicle plan implemented from January 1 to 15, 2016 in Delhi and suggestions, thereof, given by the people would be of immense help to structure the odd-even vehicle plan in subsequent time. The outcome and analysis of the citizen engagement initiative should definitely make the plan work better next time resulting in decreased pollution and less traffic congestion.     

Financing for Development of Clean Water and Sanitation Schemes in India

Development Finance Impact Project – Digital Artifact

World Bank Group
Financing for Development 
                                                                      9th December 2015

Financing for Development of Clean Water and Sanitation Schemes in India

Clean Water and Sanitation for all is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals which the international community has committed itself to achieve by 2030.  Supplying clean water and building the necessary sanitation infrastructure in many of the villages, towns and cities in India poses huge challenges. It is the responsibility of the civic body i.e. panchayat, municipality, municipal corporation, development board etc. to supply clean water and provide sanitation services to the residents. Most of the civic bodies in India are not in position to meet the goal of clean water supply and sanitation to the swelling populations due to lack of financing for development of the infrastructures. The annual budgets of government and civic body allocate funds for water supply and sanitation; but, the provision in the budgets for this sector is too modest to provide standard services to the public. A vast population in India does have access to clean water supply in required quantity and also lacks hygienic sanitation facilities and its consequence is horrendous  – suffering and death of many people, particularly children, due to water-borne diseases. We need new approach and innovative financing to build clean water supply and sanitation infrastructure in India. The sector has got immense opportunity for private sector investment especially under Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model. Next to air, water is the most primary requirement for living creature to survive. Water shortage is already affecting many parts in India. Therefore, it is high time to initiate building clean water supply & sanitation facilities across the villages, towns and cities in India. The most prudent approach for supplying clean water and sanitation would be PPP model where the public partner would be the local civic body. In order to finance the water supply & sanitation project, the civic body should be allowed to issue project specific tax free bond to raise money clearly mentioning the project for which the bond is being issued so that local residents, commercial establishments and industries who are the beneficiaries of the project become more interested to buy the bond. The money thus raised by the civil body can be given as loan to the private partner of the PPP project. The rate of interest of such loan should be more than the bond interest but less than the prevailing market rate of loan, so that it creates a win-win situation for the civic body and its private partner. The civic body being a government entity as well as a local body certainly is more trustworthy as investment destination than a private organization to the common people. If there is any allocation of budget of the civic body for the project, the same can be given as loan to the private partner in marginally lower interest rate than market rate. These mechanisms can help the private partner to access cheaper debt than the market rate while resulting in financial profit for the civic body too in addition to achieving the principal goal of providing clean water and sanitation facilities to the households, commercial establishments & industries. The users should be charged for the water consumption as well as sewage disposal. The civic body should not provide any subsidy to the users. If there is any requirement of affirmative action for the economically weaker sections of the area, the civic body may pay more interest to them if they buy bond issued by the civic body for the particular project. This arrangement may inculcate saving habits for the people of the area while helping to build an infrastructure which would benefit them directly. This initiative may be appealing to the local residents, commercial establishments & industries as they can reap the benefits of saving money and at the same time enjoying the benefits of the infrastructure their invested money has brought out immediately in their locality.

An open untreated sewerage channel in New Delhi, India

Development and Management of Water Bodies in the state of West Bengal, India through PPPs for Productive Use

World Bank Group

Public-Private Partnerships (PPP): How can PPPs help deliver better services?

22 June 2015

Final Project - Digital Artifact (Resource)

Development and Management of Water Bodies in the state of West Bengal, India through PPPs for Productive Use 

Agriculture is the main source of livelihoods for most of the households in rural areas in the State of West Bengal in India. However, irrigation system is not developed in most of the places and the farmers mainly depend on rains and exploit ground waters to irrigate their crops. The rural population in West Bengal is about 62 million.

Thousands of water-bodies like rivers, streams, channels, lakes, ponds, swamps of various shapes and sizes are to be found across the state of West Bengal. Most of these water bodies are located on the land owned by Government of West Bengal and primarily engendered by rainfall during rainy season.

Despite receiving moderate to heavy rainfall during rainy season of about 3 months in a year, which often causes devastating floods at many places, there are no concerted efforts for development and management of the water bodies for productive use. The water bodies can be converted to water reservoirs and be operated for the purpose of irrigation, water supply, flood control, fisheries, recreation (like boating) and electricity generation by setting up hydropower plant under Public Private Partnerships. A large numbers of the water bodies have already been repaired, renovated and restored under Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the flagship programme of Government of India to provide minimum 100 days works in a year to every rural household to do unskilled manual work. De-silting of the water bodies, excavation, peripheral embankment, construction of small scale engineering structures like check dam, anicut, escape, weir, trenches, intermediate and linked drains, diversion channels etc have been carried out in many water bodies under MGNREGS. However, utilization of these water-bodies in a professional way under PPPs to help deliver better services to the people by means of irrigation, water supply, flood control, fisheries and hydropower plants is hardly given a thought.

PPPs can be very effective and efficient approach for development, operation and maintenance of water bodies to serve the above-mentioned public purposes. Government of West Bengal owns most of the water bodies; but it lacks money and manpower resources to develop, operate and maintain such water-bodies scattered across the length and breadth of the State.  Small and Medium Private Enterprises will be suitable for these kind of PPPs. Preferably, local unemployed persons can form private enterprise to develop and manage these projects. The requirement of capital investments to develop and manage the water bodies to serve the intended purposes are not very high and can be sourced by private enterprise as loan from the Banks / Financial Institutions.

The responsibility of Government of West Bengal would be to identify the water bodies and to prepare Detailed Project Reports to assess the technical feasibility and economic viability of the scheme. Since the water-bodies belong to Government of West Bengal, there is no requirement for land acquisition for the Government. 

The scheme may be auctioned for allotment to the private party based on the selection criteria of the highest percentage free sharing of the produce / output of the project by the private party with the Government. Private partner will also need to pay upfront premium to the Government of West Bengal at the time of allotment of the project which may be decided by the Government based on the economic viability of the scheme. There will be a fixed concession period after which the project will be re-auctioned. The private partner will earn revenues from the users of waters for irrigation and water supply, recreational users, fish production, electricity generation etc as the particular scheme is intended for. 

The entire development and operational risks as well as demand risks will rest on the private partner.  

The tariff for the water use will be determined by the market i.e. mutually-agreed tariff by the project proponent and the prospective users; so as the price of fish produced and tariff of the electricity generated by the project. 

Irrigating crops from such schemes would be cost effective to the farmers during non-rainy season because, due to over-use, the underground water levels have already been dropped substantially and it requires high installation, operation & maintenance cost to extract ground water using pump sets. During summer time the pumps often fail to extract water.

Government of West Bengal, initially, may take up some water bodies for development and management through PPPs on pilot projects basis.

Sample Photograph: A Lake in West Bengal, India                       

Proud Owner of a copy of 'Inferno' signed by the author Dan Brown

Proud owner of a copy of 'Inferno' signed by the author Dan Brown (also the author of the international best-selling thrillers like The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol and Angels & Demons). The publisher Random House (India) has awarded me the book for being the winner of a quiz contest on twitter conducted by them on November 1, 2013. Random House (India) has informed that this is the only author signed copy of 'Inferno' shipped by them to India from USA. 

The Faber Moderns Contest

Publishing house Faber & Faber organized a contest on The Hindustan Times on March 30, 2013.

I participated in the contest and came first.

“Think before you speak. Read before you think.”

“Think before you speak. Read before you think.”- Fran Lebowitz.

I can't agree more.

My reads since January 2013:

Year 2013

1. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Jan 2013

2. Water - Asia's New Battleground by Brahma Chellenay - Jan / Feb 2013

3. Billionaire Boy - Mark Zuckerberg in His Own Words - edited by George Beahm - Feb 2013

4. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Feb / Mar 2013

5. Indian Pandits in the Land of Snow by Sarat Chandra Das - Mar 2013

6. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens - Mar / Apr 2013

7. 2 States - The Story of My Marriage by Chetan Bhagat - Apr 2013

8. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin S Sharma - Apr 2013

9. The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass - Apr / May 2013

10. Manuscript found in Accra by Paulo Coelho - May 2013

11. The Way of The Knife - the untold story of USA's secret war by Mark Mazzetti - May / June 2013

12. What Young India Wants by Chetan Bhagat - June 2013

13. The Conquest of Happiness by Bertrand Russell - July 2013

14. An Uncertain Glory - India and Its Contradictions by Jean Dreze & Amartya Sen - July / Aug 2013

15. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie - Aug 2013

16. The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri - Sep 2013
17. The Call of the Wild by Jack London - Oct 2013
18. The Arumentative Indian by Amartya Sen - Oct 2013
19. Madam O Mahashay (Madam & Sir)- Bengali novel by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay (Sharadiya Desh 2013)- Oct 2013
20. Keu Keu Theke Jaan (Few persons remain) - Bengali story by Samaresh Majumdar (Sharadiya Desh 2013) - Oct 2013
21. Debnathbabur Ishwar (God of Mr. Debnath)- Bengali story by Harsha Dutta (Sharadiya Desh 2013) - Oct 2013
22. Atithi (The Guest) - Bengali story by Sukanta Gangopadhyay (Sharadiya Desh 2013) - Oct 2013
23. Upatyaka Paar Hoye (Beyond the Valley) - Bengali story by Mallika Dhar (Sharadiya Desh 2013) - Oct 2013
24. Aamader Chhoto Nodi (Our small river) - Bengali story by Ullas Mullick (Sharadiya Desh 2013) - Oct 2013
25. Faster Than Lightning - My Autobiography by Usain Bolt - Oct / Nov 2013
26. Kintu Kano Jaabo (But why should I go) - Bengali novel by Amrit Saha (Sharadiyaa Patrika 2013) - Nov 2013
27. Phooler Torah (The Flower Bouquet)- Bengali story by Prachet Gupta (Sharadiya Desh 2013) - Nov 2013
28. Mayabi Saras(The Conjurer Heron) - Bengali story by Maniratna Mukhopadhay (Sharadiya Desh 2013) - Nov 2013
29. Moneybag - Bengali story by Prachet Gupta (Sharadiya Desh 2011) - Nov 2013
30. Barhi Phire (Returning Home) - Bengali story by Prachet Gupta (Sharadiyaa Anandabazar Patrika 2011) - Nov 2013
31. Phuray Shudhu Chokhe (Ends only in sight) - Bengali novel by Smaranjit Chakraborty (Sharadiya Desh 2013) - Nov 2013
32. Kobir Bari (The Poet's House) - Bengali story by Anita Agnihotri (Sharadiyaa Anandabazar Patrika 2011) - Nov 2013
33. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank - Nov 2013
34. Hold My Hand by Durjoy Datta - Nov 2013
35. Tobuo (Yet) - Bengali story by Suchitra Bhattacharya (Sharadiya Desh 2011) - Nov 2013
36. Sparsho (Touch) - Bengali story by Harsha Dutta (Sharadiya Desh 2011) - Nov 2013
37. Plastic'er Manush (Man made of plastic) - Bengali story by Basudeb Malakar (Sharadiya Desh 2011) - Nov 2013
38. Bidhaba Bhata (Widow Allowance) - Bengali story by Ullas Mullick (Sharadiya Desh 2011) - Nov 2013
39. Sansar (The World) - Bengali story by Sangeeta Bandopadhyay (Sharadiya Desh 2011) - Nov 2013
40. Himsheetal (Ice-cold) - Bengali story by Samaresh Majumdar (Sharadiyaa Anandabazar Patrika 2011) - Nov 2013
41. Netajir Opekkhay (Awaiting Netaji) - Bengali story by Shekhar Basu (Sharadiyaa Anandabazar Patrika 2011) - Nov 2013
42. Ei Nau Parijaat (Take this amaranthus) - Bengali story by Ramapada Roy (Sharadiyaa Anandabazar Patrika 2011)
43. Swapnopath (Dream-way) - Bengali story by Harsha Dutta (Sharadiyaa Anandabazar Patrika 2011)
44. Emma by Jane Austen - Nov / Dec 2013
45. Ekta Pistol O Dumur Gachh (A pistol and fig tree) - Bengali short story by Syed Mustafa Siraj (Anandasangi - Robibarer Galpo) - Dec 2013
46.  Special Officer - Bengali short story by Sanjib Chattopadhyay (Anandasangi - Robibarer Galpo) - Dec 2013
47. Sanko (The Narrow Wooden Bridge) - Bengali short story by Sunil Gangopadhyay (Anandasangi - Robibarer Galpo) - Dec 2013
48. Chaabi (The Key) - Bengali short story by Ashapurna Debi (Anandasangi - Robibarer Galpo) - Dec 2013
49. Almari (The Cupboard) - Bengali short story by Narendranath Mitra (Anandasangi - Robibarer Galpo) - Dec 2013
50. Jhalmudi (Hot Corn) - Bengali short story by Dibyendu Palit (Anandasangi - Robibarer Galpo) - Dec 2013

Year 2014
1. A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar - Jan 2014

2. From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet by Vikram Seth - Jan 2014

3. Taatka Barafer Maachh (Ice Fresh Fish) - Bengali short story by Samaresh Majumdar (Anandasangi - Robibarer Galpo) - Jan 2014

4. City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi by William Dalrymple - Jan 2014 

5. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell - Jan / Feb 2014

6. Ghare Baire (The Home and The World) - Bengali novel by Rabindranath Tagore - Feb 2014

7. Marata (The Deadbody) - Bengali short story by Banaphool (Anandasangi - Robibarer Galpo) - Feb 2014

8. Haaoa-Badal (Wind Change) - Bengali short story by Achintya Kumar Sengupta (Anandasangi - Robibarer Galpo) - Feb 2014

9. Karnaphoolir Daak (Call of Karnaphooli) - Bengali short story by Subodh Ghosh (Anandasangi - Robibarer Galpo) - Feb 2014

10. Sandesh (The News) - Bengali short story by Jyotirindra Nandi (Anandasangi - Robibarer Galpo) - Feb 2014 

11. Snayu (The Nerve) - Bengali short story by Santosh Kumar Ghosh (Anandasangi - Robibarer Galpo) - Feb 2014 

12. Khil (The Peg) - Bengali short story by Bimal Kar (Anandasangi - Robibaer Galpo) - Feb 2014

13. Aami Aaamar Mato Noi (I am not like myself) - Bengali short story by Abul Bashar (Anandasangi - Robibarer Galpo) - Feb 2014  

14. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - Feb 2014

15. Bosbar Ghar (The Sitting Room) - Bengali short story by Ramapada Chowdhury (Anandasangi - Robibarer Galpo) - Feb 2014

16. Aamar Ekhon Samay Nei (I don't have time right now) - Bengali short story by Suchitra Bhattacharya (Anandasangi - Robibarer Galpo) - Feb 2014

17. Thatta (The Jest) - Bengali short story by Samaresh Basu (Anandasangi - Robibarer Galpo) - Feb 2014 

18. Obosthan (The Location) - Bengali short story by Bani Basu (Anandasangi - Robibarer Galpo) - Feb 2014 

19. Pashanbhar  (A weight as heavy as stone) - Bengali short story by Moti Nandi (Anandasangi - Robibarer Galpo) - Feb 2014

20. Suitcase - Bengali short story by Nabaneeta Dev Sen (Anandasangi - Robibarer Galpo) - Feb 2014

21. Annapurna (A Hindu Goddess who feeds the world) - Bengali short story by Shyamal Gangopadhyay (Anandasangi - Robibarer Galpo) - Feb 2014

22. America - Bengali short story by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay (Anandasangi - Robibarer Galpo) - Feb 2014

23. Shonite Sumadhur Sojja (Sweet Bed on Blood) - Bengali short story by Atin Bandyopadhyay - Robibarer Galpo) - Feb 2014
24. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini - Feb / Mar 2014

25. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - Mar 2014
26. Toba Tek Singh - story by Saadat Hasan Manto (Toba Tek Singh Aur Anya Kahaniya) - Mar 2014     

27. Khol Do (Open It) - story by Saadat Hasan Manto (Toba Tek Singh Aur Anya Kahaniya) - Mar 2014

28. Nangi Awazein (Naked Sounds) - story by Saadat Hasan Manto (Toba Tek Singh Aur Anya Kahaniya) - Mar 2014

29. Mozzale - story by Saadat Hasan Manto (Toba Tek Singh Aur Anya Kahaniya) - Mar 2014

30. Thanda Gosht (The Cold Meat) - story by Saadat Hasan Manto (Toba Tek Singh Aur Anya Kahaniya) - Mar 2014

31. Hatak (Insult) - story by Saadat Hasan Manto (Toba Tek Singh Aur Anya Kahaniya) - Mar 2014

32. Kali Salwar (The Black Garment) - story by Saadat Hasan Manto (Toba Tek Singh Aur Anya Kahaniya) - Mar 2014 

33. Khushiyan (Delights) - story by Saadat Hasan Manto (Toba Tek Singh Aur Anya Kahaniya) - Mar 2014

34. Naya Kanoon (The New Act) - story by Saadat Hasan Manto (Toba Tek Singh Aur Anya Kahaniya) - Mar 2014

35. Mamad Bhai (Brother Mamad) - story by Saadat Hasan Manto (Toba Tek Singh Aur Anya Kahaniya) - Mar 2014

36. Mommy - story by Saadat Hasan Manto (Toba Tek Singh Aur Anya Kahaniya) - Mar 2014     

37. The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels - Mar 2014

38. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami - Mar 2014
39. The Stranger by Albert Camus - Mar 2014
40. Anandamath (The Abbey of Bliss) - Bengali novel by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay - Mar 2014
41. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy - Mar / Apr 2014
42. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse - Apr 2014
43. Crusador or Conspirator? Coalgate and Other Truths by PC Parakh - Apr 2014
44. My Life and Work by Henry Ford - Apr 2014
45. The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh by Sanjaya Baru - Apr / May 2014
46. One Night @ the Call Center by Chetan Bhagat - May 2014
47. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - Jun 2014
48. Darwinbad : Bigyan O Darshan (Darwinism : Science and Philosophy) by Tapan Mishra - Jun 2014
49. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Apr 2014 to Jul 2014
50. Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Jul 2014
51. Water, Peace, and War: Confronting the Global Water Crisis by Brahma Chellaney - May to Aug 2014
52. Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka - Aug 2014
53. In an Antique Land by Amitav Ghosh - Aug 2014
54. Godaan (The Gift of a Cow) - Hindi novel by Munshi Premchand - Aug / Sep 2014
55. Sons of Brahma by Dhruba Hazarika - Sep 2014
56. Ajaya: Roll of the Dice by Anand Neelakantan - Sep 2014`
57. Half Girlfriend by Chetan Bhagat - Oct 2014
58. The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa - Sep / Oct 2014
59. Nirbachito Kuri (Selected Twenty) - a collection of Bengali short stories by Samaresh Majumdar - Nov 2014
60. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran - Nov 2014
61. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway - Dec 2014
62. Mother by Maxim Gorky - Oct to Dec 2014
63. Love Match by Reggie Thomas - Dec 2014

Year 2015
1. Banglar Prabad (Proverbs of Bengal) by Sudeshna Basak - Dec 2014 / Jan 2015

2. The Storyteller's Tale by Omair Ahmad - Jan 2015
3. A Passage to India by E. M. Forster - Jan 2015
4. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - Jan / Feb 2015
5. Beyond the Idea  by Vijay Govindarajan & Chris Trimble - Feb 2015
6. And We Remained by Asad Ali Junaid - Feb 2015
7. Being Mortal by Atul Gawande - Feb 2015
8. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie - Feb / Mar 2015
9. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking - Mar 2015
10. Mahaloko Bikte Dekha Hain (collection of Hindi poems) by Piyush Kaviraj - Mar 2015
11. The Great Indian Novel by Shashi Tharoor - Mar / Apr 2015
12. Jeevansmriti (Memories of Life) by Rabindranath Tagore - Apr 2015
13. Return of a King - The Battle for Afghanistan 1839 - 1842 by William Darlymple - Apr 2015
14. The WISDOM and TEACHINGS of Stephen R. Covey - Apr / May 2015
15. A Village in Bengal - Photographs and an Essay by Chirodeep Chaudhury - May 2015
16. The 3 Mistakes of My Life by Chetan Bhagat - June 2015
17. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - May / June 2015
18. Prothom Protishruti (The First Promise) - Bengali novel by Ashapurna Devi - June / July 2015
19. Gulabi by Pankaj Suneja- July 2015
20. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami - July 2015
21. Malgudi Days by R. K. Narayan - July / August 2015
22. Dakghar (Post Office) by Rabindranath Tagore - August 2015
23. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe - September 2015
24. Sita - Bengali story by Sayantani Putatunda (Sharadiya Anandabazar Patrika 2015) - Sep 2015
25. India: An Alphabet Ride by Shallu Jindal - Oct 2015
26. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Sep / Nov 2015
27. Hajar Churashir Maa ( The Mother of Sl No. 1,084) - Bengali novel by Mahasweta Devi - Nov 2015
28. Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson - Nov 2015
29. Narmada - Hindi novel by Laxman Rao - Nov 2015
30. What I Did Not Learn at IIT by Rajeev Agarwal - Dec 2015
31. The Poetry of A Common Indian Female by Virendra Narayan Desai
32. The Art of War by Sun Tzu  - Dec 2015

Year 2016- 
1. Selected Stories by Alice Munro - Nov 2015 / Jan 2016

2. Padmanadir Majhi (The Boatman of Padma River) - Bengali Novel by Manik Bandopadhyay - Jan 2016
3. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome - Jan / Feb 2016
4. A Situation in New Delhi by Nayantara Sahgal - Feb 2016
5. The Blue Umbrelia by Ruskin Bond - Feb 2016
6. The Country of First Boys by Amartya Sen - Feb / Mar 2016
7. Nirmala - Hindi novel by Munshi Premchand - Mar 2016
8. The Treasure of Kafoor by Aroon Raman - Apr 2016
9. The Trial by Franz Kafka - Apr 2016
10. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - Apr / May 2016
11. Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat - May 2016
12. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins - Jun 2016
13. Shesh Katha (The Last Word) - Bengali short story by Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay - Jul 2016
14. Pashchatbhumi (The Background) - Bengali short story by Debesh Roy - Jul 2016
15. Voter Savitribala - Bengali short story by Banaphool - Jul 2016
16. Aamake Dekhun (Please, Look at Me) - Bengali short story by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay - Jul 2016
17. Saareng (The Captain of the Boat) - Bengali short story by Achintya Kumar Sengupta - Jul 2016
18. Baachar Jonyo ( For Living) - Bengali short story by Prafulla Roy - Jul 2016
19. Ranipachhand ( The Queen's Pick) - Bengali short story by Annadashakar Roy - Jul 2016
20. Khara (The Drought) - Bengali short story by Sunil Gangopadhyay - Jul 2016
21. Niruddesh (Missing) - Bengali short story by Premendra Mitra - Jul 2016
22. Shesh Bikeler Duti Mukh (Two Faces of the Falling Afternoon) - Bengali short story by Moti Nandi - Jul 2016
23. Dhas (The Slide) - Bengali short story by Satinath Bhaduri - Jul 2016
24. Taaser Gharer Moto (Like the House of Cards) - Bengali short story by Syed Mustafa Siraj - Jul 2016
25. Seemarekhar Seema (The Limit of the Boundary Line) - Bengali short story by Ashapurna Devi
26. Bharatbarsho (The India) - Bengali short story by Ramapada Chowdhury - Jul 2016
27. Thogini (The Female Thug) - Bengali short story by Subodh Ghosh - Jul 2016
28. Bondur Jonyo Bhumika (Foreword for the Friend) - Bengali short story by Bimal Kaar - Jul 2016
29. Ekti Premer Galpo ( A Love Story) - Bengali short story by Narendranath Mitra - Jul 2016
30. Pran-Pipasa (The Thirst for the Life) - Bengali short story by Samaresh Basu - Jul 2016
31. Manonio Porikshok Mahashay Somipeshu (To the Respected Examiner) - Bengali short story by Narayan Gangopadhyay - Jul 2016
32. Gachh (The Tree) - Bengali short story by Jyotirindra Nandi - Jul 2016
33. Chhoto Katha (The Insignificant Word) - Bengali short story by Santosh Kumar Ghosh - Jul 2016
34. Ideas and Opinions by Albert Einstein - Aug 2015 to Jul 2016
35. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari - Jul / Aug 2016
36. Chhoto Galpo Sankalan (Collection of Short Stories in Bengali) by Ashapurna Devi - Aug 2016
37. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie - Aug 2016
38. Jatinbabur Mrityu (Death of Mr. Jatin) - Bengali short story by Prachet Gupta - Sep 2016
39. When God is a Traveller by Arundhathi Subramaniam - Sep 2016
40. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin - Aug / Oct 2016
41. One Indian Girl by Chetan Bhagat - Oct 2016
42. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie - Oct 2016
43. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - Oct / Nov 2016
44. A Matter of Rats: A Short Biography of Patna by Amitava Kumar - Nov 2016
45. The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad by Twinkle Khanna - Nov / Dec 2016
46. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - Dec 2016
47. Kohinoor: The Story of World's Most Infamous Diamond by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand - Dec 2016

10 All-time Greatest Sportspersons of India

My pick for 10 all-time greatest sportspersons of India:
1. Major Dhyan Chand
2. Viswanathan Anand
3. Leander Paes
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Mahesh Bhupathi
6. Abhinav Singh Bindra
7. Milkha Singh
8. P. T. Usha
9. Saina Nehwal
10. MC Mary Kom

My All-time Best Indian Football XI

Indians are crazy about Cricket. World's most popular sports Soccer is not much preferred in most parts of the country except West Bengal, Kerala, Goa, Punjab, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya & other few states. Quite expectedly, when FIFA.com wants its followers to name their countries all-time best football XI, not a single entry is found from our country. If we are asked to slecet nation's all time Cricket XI, it is eventual that not less than hundreds of thousands of entries from India would jam the website. Our country has defenitely produced quality footballers of highest international standard. We have won Gold in football in Asian Games in 1951 (New Delhi) & 1962 (Jakarta) and stood fourth in 1956 (Melbourne) Olympics.
Being a club member in FIFA.com, I have picked my all-time Indian Football XI and my team: Goalkeeper:Peter Thangaraj,
Defenders: Jarnail Singh, S. A. Latif, Sailen Manna (Captain), Mahesh Gawli,
Mid-fielders: I. M. Vijayan, Mohammed Abdul Salim,
Forwards: Chuni Goswami, P. K. Banerjee, Baichung Bhutia, Neville Stephen D'Souza,
Coach: Syed Abdul Rahim.