The story of an unknown Bengali

Mr Sen was born in a middle-class Bengali family in Park Circus, Kolkata an area which was centrally located. His father was a geologist who worked in a Government of India office and got a salary which was decent enough to raise a family quite comfortably. But the father had to look after a large family. His elder brother did nothing constructive and wasted his time and energy by indulging in political activities. He had five children and Sen's father had to pay for their expenses. His younger brother was however very enterprising and started his career as a worker in a private company and by virtue of his hard work rose to a position of great prestige and power. Mr Sen studied in a reputed English medium school of Kolkata which was close to his house. It was a missionary school where great emphasis was given on the discipline of students. It was in this school that Mr Sen learnt all the good things in life, respect for the elders and to be polite with everyone no matter to which section of society he or she belonged. School life was the best part of life Mr Sen thought. There were no worldly worries except for the anxieties of completing the home work regularly and the time ahead of the examination which was a cause of great stress for Mr. Sen. Everyday Mr. Sen would attend school with great vigour and enthusiasm. In the lower cases the students did not have much to do except for sitting obediently in the class and following what the teacher said until the bell rang when everybody would rush out of the classes eager to go home as quickly as possible. When Mr Sen went to the higher classes he experienced a lot of fun with his classmates some of whom later became well established in their lives. Some became successful doctors who earned a lot of fame in their profession, others became well known lawyers and some became expert chartered accountants while others pursued the professions of their liking in which almost all flourished except a few who remained average throughout from the school days till the time they chose a job to earn a livelihood. Football was a game which was played with great passion by the students of higher classes during the tiffin break and after the classes were over. Mr Sen was very fond of playing football and would regularly go to the school playground which was quite big and join his friends in playing the game he loved. He was a skillful player and his classmates appreciated his ability to dribble past multiple players with ease. Mr Sen however did not neglect his studies and tried his best to perform well in the examinations. Since his father was a geologist he had to travel a lot for his work. His father's work basically involved the study of the geological patterns of various areas including the nature of the soil and the groundwater of the places where he went. He travelled in a hooded jeep which was quite common in those days and stayed in government guest houses where there were a number of attendants to cater to his requirements. He neither smoked nor drank but was a connoisseur of good tea which was quite expensive. Travelling in a hooded jeep sitting at the back was a source of great pleasure for Mr.Sen. He would gleefully see the beauty of nature all around. The guest houses where Mr.Sen's father stayed displayed great grandeur and the driver accompanying Mr. Sen's father would tell him about the people who stayed in these guest houses which included ministers, celebrities and the likes of them. As a child Mr. Sen was very close to his maternal grandfather and grandmother. They would read out fables and fairy stories to Mr.Sen which was almost an everyday day feature. the grandfather of Mr. Sen was a freedom fighter who fought for the liberation of the country from foreign rule. He wrote a book condemning the atrocities committed by the foreign rulers on the Indian people which was later banned. Mr. Sen enjoyed his childhood very much as it provided him with all the good things that life had to offer. The younger brother of Mr.Sen's father was a very enterprising and fun loving person. Every year during the summer vacation he would take the children to some holiday destination especially to a sea beach which was his favourite. In those with limited means of communication available Mr.Sen along with his cousins would all travel in government buses which were rickety and they had to endure a very cumbersome bumpy ride but the joy of travelling to the sea resort made them forget all the troubles they faced. Once on the sea beach it was fun all around. In those days the resorts that were available did not possess the facilities which modern day resorts boast of but it did not act as an impediment to the enjoyment of Mr Sen and his cousins. They would build sand castles on the beach and wade in the sea waters with great delight. Waking up early and watching the sunrise was very exciting followed by long walks along the sea beach. In the afternoon it was time to go into the sea for a bath and Mr.Sen and his cousins would spend hours in the sea until the uncle accompanying them got angry which most of the time scared them and they would get out of the sea water obediently.Mr. Sen was an expert swimmer and had learnt to swim at an early age and by the time he was in his teens he was winning medals in club competitions. After finishing his studies in school Mr.Sen got himself admitted to a well known government college in Kolkata. He took honours in a subject that he preferred and later on did his Masters in the subject from a University from the same city. After obtaining the Master's degree he joined a course in journalism and did quite well getting good enough marks in the subject. He got his first job as an editorial assistant in a magazine that was published monthly. After a year's stint in the organisation Mr. Sen got a good opportunity to work as an editor and sub-editor in a daily newspaper in North East India which belonged to the Chief Minister of the particular state in the region. He worked diligently and soon his writings became popular not only in this North Eastern state of India but was well appreciated in other parts of the North East. Gradually he established himself as a writer of great repute. The Chief Minister of the state who was the owner of the newspaper was greatly impressed by his capabilities as a journalist and entrusted him with greater responsibilities. Little did Mr.Sen know that trouble was brewing for him and would ultimately cost him a lot. But during his stay in the state he came to know a great deal about the people and their culture. The population of the state chiefly consisted of eight tribes each having a distinct tradition and culture of their own. It was Arunachal Pradesh also known as the land of the rising sun, where Mr. Sen began his first major journalistic venture. The three major tribes were the Adis, Apatanis and the Nishis. The adis were considered the direct descendant of the supreme power, the Apatanis were known for their business skills while the Nishis belonged to the class of hunters and were feared by the others. It was in Arunachal Pradesh where he came to know about a drink called rice beer.