27
Nov

Rourkela invites me …

   Posted by: aman   in Sepia Leaves

Yesterday, I suddenly got emails and calls from Bombay and New York because Bobby Sharma from Bangalore found my book at Crossword and posted the link on an internet group. The friends who contacted me belong to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Rourkela-Mates. An internet group on Rourkela. Wow. So nice to see us bond, its been active since 2002, almost when I started writing Sepia Leaves!

Here is my response:

Hi all,
thank you for inviting me here.

I did not study in REC and I did not do my Class X or XII in Rourkela. Still, I was born in Indira Gandhi Hospital and I walked the sector roads and got bird droppings on my shoulders in Rourkela One. I saw movies in Konark and Apsara and ate rasogullas in Ambagan and cholle bhature at Renu Menu. I once even sneaked into the plant lying under a seat in an ambulance. Dr Bose, the secretary to the CMO was our neighbour.

For personal reasons which Bains uncle’s son Harrit mentions I had to keep returning to Rourkela but it stays in my heart. I learnt Oriya in its streets, Hindi in its markets, Punjabi at home, and English in its schools.

A few weeks ago a friend of mine who works in PR asked me to find a Rourkela group and announce my book. I was tied up and am very glad you found me out. Today I was a bit surprised at Capt Raj’s mail, then Lalit called (Happy Birthday!), then Anand (I think) called from New York. Thanks Bobby for putting me up here. Yes, I owed it to all of you to tell you about the book earlier, apologies for not doing that. Sepia Leaves has a lot of Rourkela in it, it is a Rourkela story. Hope you like it; please let me know if you do not. I will keep reading news about you here, and participate when I can.

One of the reviews:
http://www.hindu.com/lr/2008/07/06/stories/2008070650300700.htm

PS: For propriety reasons I have changed some names and some minor details. Hope you do not mind the changes. I hope I have been able to capture the spirit of the city. Please respond if you wish to exchange views, and do let me know when you plan a get together in Delhi or Bangalore.
 

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This entry was posted on Thursday, November 27th, 2008 at 8:06 am and is filed under Sepia Leaves. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

6 comments so far

Abhijit Dutta
 1 

Hi Amandeep,

This is Abhijit Dutta who used to stay at A-23, Sector-5, Rkl till Mar’ 89. I am from ’83 batch, St. Paul’s, now settled in Kolkata.

Learnt about Sepia Leaves from one of your neighbours, Amlan Dasgupta’s family (Sec’5 B Block).

Shall definitely go thru’ your debut fiction.

Best regards,
Abhijit.
Dt.11.12.08

December 11th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Timur I.
 2 

Great! Thank you very much!
I always wanted to write in my blog something like that. Can I take part of your post to my blog?
Of course, I will add backlink?

Regards, Your Reader

January 28th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Dr. Sadasiv Swain
 3 

Really great that someone who was born and brought up in this town has written and published “Sepia Leaves”. I went through the Hindu review and it sounds so familiar in our surroundings in Rourkela. Why not make a trip to Rourkela- if not to promote the book- to visit the old surroundings. Personally I will make an endeavour to accord a civic reception to your book, if not anywhere elase- in the premises of Home and Hope- the special school for children with intellectual disability in Sector-17.

November 10th, 2009 at 11:43 am
trew
 4 

ISPAT GENERAL HOSPITAL & not Indira Gandhi Hospital…

March 1st, 2010 at 2:04 pm
Sandeep Das
 5 

Hi All,
Nice to see all your comments, i would be very glad to be a member in the group, i can figure the quality/level of philosophy you are all sharing about our land. I am very much happy the kind of response we are getting and i will request you given a chance or forum to everyone who like Rourkela can contribute their fellings and love for their land. Even i have travelled the length and breadth of country but my rourkela is my motherland and really i feel very touched when i hear about my small place my heaven. as said by few people its very small place and very popular place and really we should all join hands togeather to contribute to maintain peace and culture in place. Mr swain one of the member of IGH where my parents are both serving till now.i heard many a times about you from my parents. i will be very happy if you can help me to contribute something in your art.

Regards
Sandeep Das

June 22nd, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Manish Behl
 6 

I was born in Rkl and broughtup there studied half in S.T.Pauls School & G.T.B.Public school. I use to liv in Sector:8, D/476. My father was working in RKL Steel plant. After that we setteled in Delhi Shalimar Bagh, Here I Have My Labinese Food chain By the Name Of The taste of world SHWARMA & MORE…

Thanks
Manish Behl

September 7th, 2010 at 5:16 pm
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