Clickhappy! Aug '14
Md. Gulrez: I still remember my first story for Pravartak or was that Naya Pravartak . . . and since then much water has flowed under the bridge when I got published again in Varta. And not just a year back but many-many years back, a few started this journey which has shaped up so beautifully . . . the ups and the downs, not just with the venture, but in the lives of the people who joined, stayed, left, left to come back . . . all this shaped it to be what it is . . . a true, from the heart, passionate, humanist initiative. I feel fortunate to be part of it and wish the journey continues even when I am gone :)
Paramita Banerjee: “Birthdays return every year
For me, the first birthday of Varta is a similarly delightful moment that calls for celebration.
Pawan Dhall: The joy of people, ideas and experiences coming
together – reliving yesterday, working in the now, aspiring for tomorrow – the
joy of creation is you Varta! Here’s to Birthday No.1.
Sayan Bhattacharya: Being part of Varta is like
being part of a slice of history! Given how the idea of Varta had germinated
way back in the early ‘90s to today, the many forms and shapes (from Pravartak
to Naya Pravartak to Varta) it has taken to live with the times, I feel I am
part of an exciting documentation project. A document of the changes that we
have dreamt of collectively, individually, ceaselessly . . . the changes that
we have witnessed, the changes that we hope to witness and the changes that we
keep chasing . . .
Tirthankar Guha Thakurta
Birthday messages from Varta team members .
. .
Madhuja Nandi: To me the name Varta carries a big
meaning. Varta is not only a form of media, but is also a ray of hope. It means
a thin white line of light, which can lighten the dark room in my heart. Birthday
wishes and loads of love and affection to Varta.
Md. Gulrez: I still remember my first story for Pravartak or was that Naya Pravartak . . . and since then much water has flowed under the bridge when I got published again in Varta. And not just a year back but many-many years back, a few started this journey which has shaped up so beautifully . . . the ups and the downs, not just with the venture, but in the lives of the people who joined, stayed, left, left to come back . . . all this shaped it to be what it is . . . a true, from the heart, passionate, humanist initiative. I feel fortunate to be part of it and wish the journey continues even when I am gone :)
Owais Khan: Varta: Talk, Talks, Discourse,
Discussion, Negotiation, Reconciliation, Dialogue, Concord, Covenant, Accord,
Entente, Concert, Rapport, Concurrence, Congruence, Correspondence, Bargain,
Information, Treatise, Treaty, Settlement, Alliance, Arrangement, Advice.
And, so forth. For me, Varta has stood for a 'consensual' approach to all
matters relating to intimacy – Sex, Sexuality, Orientation, Gender, Love,
Romance. What is the option that we have, to talking? War, of
course. And we have seen, many, many times, that confrontation and aggression
are always losing propositions for all parties concerned. So, in my mind,
it is always better for those asking for rights, and for those in a position to
grant, or deny those rights, to sit across a table and talk. Varta has
been that in my mind – an initiative which will broaden minds, bringing opposing
ones to a confluence. I love Varta in all its connotations and wish to see
it celebrate many jubilees, making life better for all those that it touches.
To help us remember
That life’s renewal is everlasting
Just like the happy dawn every morning.”
Rabindranath Tagore in rough translation.
These are the lines that came to my mind as
I thought of Varta completing one year of existence. Hence the photo, clicked
from a moving train.
A night owl like me seldom sees the dawn
unless forced to. I like the night, which to me represents peace and quiet; the
softness of moonbeams as opposed to the harshness of the sun. The time to be
with oneself, undisturbed by personal and professional chores that inevitably
litter the day of at least all those individuals who have to toil in order to
earn a living. The time to think one’s thoughts through; to read poetry; to dream.
The paradox, however, is that every time I’ve seen the day break – there’s
undeniably something palpably thriving and joyous in that moment. It does feel
like a renewal of life, a moment of celebration as the deepening crimson of the
lightening sky softly lets the sun out of its nocturnal hibernation.
For me, the first birthday of Varta is a similarly delightful moment that calls for celebration.
Rudra Kishore Mandal
Tirthankar Guha Thakurta
* * *
Khub sundor, amar khub bhalo legeche.
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