16th October. Blogmeet. Is meeting bloggers a good idea in the first place?
Can the persona of the blogger and the person in real life be reconciled? We like Gaurav Sabnis’s blog but do we really like the “Real Gaurav Sabnis” ? You may read Greatbong’s weighty musings but would you care for his actual weight?
With such thoughts reverberating within my demented mind, I walked into the apocalyptically titled “T3” —-the waiters having a definitive cyborgian air about them. I had seen JAP before—-though it was evident that JAP had left a bigger impression on me than the other way around; he forgot the fact that we had crossed paths before on another continent.
Anyhow, JAP –having seen a few more summers than most of us was seated in the middle holding the entire assemblage together. And me—having occupied a fewmore cubic feet than most of the others, counterbalanced him at the other end.
On my left was seated a rising star of theatre. And some bloggers—still in high school. Acutely conscious of my own age (I was reminded of a question thrown at me by a number of “juniors” at Stonybrook: ” You actually saw Sunil Gavaskar bat?”) I looked to my right and there were first and second year “tanayas” (ladies) from JU and Presi. I wistfully thought of the days I had spent in AC Canteen jharofying their didis many moons ago. Needless to say, I do this any longer—- with age and maturity, I have become more respectable.
The conversation flowed freely—cha and coffee were ordered. After which a bizarre incident took place. The cyborgian waiter suddenly said: “No more coffee” in a definitely Gandhian non-cooperative way. Fortunately, JAP had booked a table at Flury’s across the street and we trooped out.
As we did, I glanced back at the waiter in order to confirm a suspicion I had been harboring for some time based on what I had read in “the Historian”. Imagine my sense of vindication when his white cap moved a little and I saw what I had been expecting to see—-a hidden ponytail. No wonder, he was being rude. He had been possessed by the evil Chicken spirit and thus had as much regard for bloggers as Dracula has for garlic.
T3’s loss was Flury’s gain. Kind of. Conversations carried on along the normal lines of murderous school principals, Moonmoon Sen’s non-mainstream celluloid achievements, mass copying, short tops and “golabondho” jeans, Bhappi Da’s moojik, getting under the table and call girls (which suddenly elicited an enthusiastic response from someone—that individual not being named for fear of causing slander and of consequently getting a notarized email). Samit Basu, the great Duck, blessed the gathering remotely. IIPM was *not* discussed—except a passing word or two.
JAP took pictures of all of us –on the condition that individuals are not identified. Hah…”fat” chance of anyone being able to map me in those pictures !
In all, an extremely pleasant afternoon spent with like-minded people. And yes it does make sense to get to know the people behind the silly monikers—-if only to see how sillier they are in real life.
Here’s looking forward to the next one.
The Greatbong Blog & Podcast 
Paragraph 5 – last line. Freudian slip?
Needless to say, I do this any longer…
uh-hmm.
Aah of course a Freudian slip….has been left unedited.
Ektu rewind-replay hobe? I seem to have missed the juicier parts of the conversation.
Remember I have a bargaining point – the pics! (evil leer, camera cuts to the usual shiny leedil CD…)
J.A.P.
it does make sense to attend blogger meets.. u get to see all kinds of weirdos also :p 🙂
lol at comment #1
GB u are really lucky being at all these bloggers meets. i have never been to one yet 😦
wish u guys had had it in dec – cz i will be in Cal then 😦 😦
when do we get to see the snaps?
that was really funny abt feeling old … its become the theme song of our lives nowadays … btw how old are u?
GB, I trust this happened at Kolkata?
Somebody satisfy my curiosity; what on earth are “golabondho” jeans?
@JAP….Read Trina’s more detailed blog for more…and the stuff is so scandalous that it cannot be written for fear of libel.
@Twilight Fairy: Absolutely !
@Prerona: I think there def will be a meet by the time December arrives. How old am I ? 29 years.
@Vulturo: Yes Kolkata it was…I am in Kol for 15 days for the pujas.
@Jasmine: “Gola” is Bengali for “neck” and “Bondho” is for “Bandh” or “closed”.
So “Golabondho” means closed neck…generally used in the context of kurtas—which we Bengalis call “Punjabis” (Yes this is confusing).
Some people pull up their trousers soo much that it seems that they is riding up their neck—hence “Golabondho trousers”.
Somehow the effect is severely lost during translation/explanation.
hey, home come not all kolkata bloggers are invited???
hiya. really nice meeting you the other day. will definitely read your blog religiously from now on…
do visit my blog. see you soon.
elegant description, Great One. Wish I could have been there, would have been nice to have met you.
@Abhishek: There were no “invitations” per se. There was a notice on JAP’s blog for the general “public” and whoever follows his blog turned up.
http://groups.google.com/group/The-Cal-Blogger-League
has been “founded”…you can sign up there to be posted about future blog meets.
@Krishanu: Nice meeting you too.
@Samit: Feeling’s mutual…I was really looking forward to meet you. Next time surely.
[GreatBong] How about a blogmeet in the DC region once you come back ? Hopefully you can come back with a Bappi-da moosik CD for moosik-starved souls in DC 🙂
Yes, yes am all for the DC area meet. Which is where I am, FYI.
Dude Wass up? Long time..I know ur all popular..and now the famous GB.But how come no Bijoya greetings to Old freinds??!
saw the snaps. nice 🙂
the pink looks familiar.
Where was it?
Btw, about jharofying tonoyas, you’d better accept that it wasn’t their didis in the JU canteen in your time.
And in MY time, definitely their maa / mashi.
What happened to the ‘rewind / replay’? The pics are up, with the guest of honour centre stage.
J.A.P.
@Vulturo – you were in Cal? Wish we’d known…
@abhishek – its impossible to notify everybody, because we don’t know them. Also, accomodating a huge number is a tough job!
Aeee…too many slips..first the Freudian, then the grammatical.It’s “…looking forward to meeting you”. Sorry to be the obsessed didimoni. Anyway, shubho bijoya’r antorik preeti o shubhechha. Eagerly awaiting yr Kolkata kaleidoscope!
I’m blogwhoring here:
Note to Matthew Hayden: Be Quiet
Anyway, Matthew Hayden has decided to get into the act. Sounding like a big tough dinosaur, Hayden essentially calls Fletcher a coward since he decided to wait until Ponting was on the other side of the world to make his announcement.
So poor scared and hypocritical Fletcher has incurred the wrath of the Big Queenslander for not settling the argument the traditional way and meet Ponting behind the change sheds.
Read the rest of the article
hey! when is this happening again? I am in calcutta from the 1st to 14th of nov.
looking fwd
@GHE and Ph: A great idea indeed. We should work something out. Definitely. But I myself am woefully short of Bhappi-da CDs.
@Bubbled: Apologies oye bubbly.Just got back from Kolkata. and belated Subho Bijoya.
@Prerona: Pink? That was red. Oh god now I look pretty in pink.
@Angshuman: It was in Kolkata. Pics taken at Flurys.
@JAP: Reply to this comment on your blog.
@Priya: Subho bijoya to fastidious didi.
@OSO: Blog whore…aah well.
@Jasmeen: Contact kanti for details…I am quite out of it for the present.
heloo dear bloggers there is going to be an international bloggers get-together where we will be discussing our rights and democratic uses of blogging. please mail ur request for invites to bloglord@yahoo.com or call 9836374336.
KOTHAI GELEY HEY GREATBONG ????
Mahabharater katha Amrita saman,
Judate Gouder trisha,,,
Na ki bolbe… “They also serve those, who stand and wait†?