A.I....

Another week passes by...another saturday comes...and we get to spend another evening at A.I....i.e. Asansol International....

There's nothing extraordinary about it. Its been a kind of a routine for all four/five of us for the last one year or so, except for a few weeks when we get to spend the evening with some of the other maniacs like us.

Every Saturday, we come back to our rooms by 8, call our dinners off at the guest house, listen to some high-voltage funky songs at maximum volume while freshening up, watch a little TV, surf through a few regular websites and last but not the least, wait for at least 30 minutes for Mr. Avik Roy as he pours down water, bottles after bottles and burns down at least a couple of cigarettes hoping for the uneventful to happen. Goes for his usual routine in the loo and more often than not, comes out saying,"Aaj hoyeni."

Anyhow, by 930, we grab hold of the bikes and go off to AI. Fifteen minutes ride through those disgustingly congested roads of Asansol and finally we reach our destination. The watchman shoots a salute and opens the doors for us and the very next moment we find ourselves ordering our usual brand of whiskey with the usual snacks to go with them. Spend a couple of hours there, have our usual dinner in the end, pay the amount, tip the waiter and the watchman and ride back home at full throttle.

All sounds pretty normal and ordinary. Well, thankfully, its not. Not for us.

These couple of hours spent at AI, hold a special place in our week's itinery. Prepares us for the next week's grind.

I guess, every working professional can empathize with me when I say that the hope to have a rollicking weekend is what keeps us going while we work our asses off for the six days of a week. The anxiety leading up to it is something unexplainable.

Anyway, as our bikes stall at the threshold of AI, the familiar watchman's face lightens up as he throws a salute, it carries with it his innate hospitality which really warms us up. So regular we've been in this place that all the waiters and even the ever smiling in-charge go out of their way to accommodate us in our favorite table.

And the session starts with a peg of Blender's Pride for each one of us. Our usual snacks are then served to our table, the delectable "Bangla bhaja prawn" (a specialty of AI), "dry chilli chicken" and "crispy chilli baby corn." Then starts our endless discussions and silly arguments over even sillier subjects as we gulp down our usual quota of alcohol (Me and Avik, we settle for three, Mr. Pal, not willing to lag behind, drags himself to the third and Mr. Hudait ends up gulping down a staggering 5-6 installments!), enough to unshackle our minds yet be in our senses. Sometimes, if we are lucky enough, we are graced by the presence of Mr. Agarwal, who has his own brand of drink (sprite or 7 up or mountain dew, subject to availability) and arguments become even more intense and fierce. Be it something related to our personal lives or some general subject doing rounds of the globe, sports, movies, business, stock market, profit, loss or even the guy sitting on the next table, nothing escapes the ambit of our discussions. It does get quite personal at times, but, and I cherish the fact, among us, we are all comfortable sharing and discussing any level of personal stuffs. Sympathizing, enjoying and even laughing our way out of problems.

The point is, this evening provides us a sense of relaxation after a week's turmoil, especially the next day being an off day (for some of us), we let our minds go free(and wild, at times) and forget about the outside world for a couple of hours. The very thought of the next day being a Sunday, is very liberating.

A week's pessimism turns into optimism in just a matter of 2-3 hours. Energizes us for the next week ahead.

So, we finish our session with our trademark dinner (mixed hakka chowmin and garlic fish, after a lot of experimentations over the weeks, we settled on this combo as being the best of the lot), pay the bills, pay the tips, a different watchman shoots us a goodbye salute and we ride back home through the pleasant breeze on the empty roads of Asansol.

This is the tale of our Saturday night, this is the tale of the celebration of our friendship, this is the tale of a gloomy movie with a happy ending.

No matter what I do, wherever I be in the future, these days spent with these incredible guys at otherwise just a decent place, will always serve as one of the most cherished memories for the whole of my life.

No its not AI, its the company that makes it what it is to us.

CHEERS to you, people..!! CHEERS to our friendship..and ..uhh..well...subsequently..CHEERS to Asansol International...!!!:)