Calcutta has always been a city overwhelmed by heat. It was perhaps even more unbearable for young people who lived in dingy paying guest accommodations while slogging for entrance exams for government jobs in the 1960s. There were no other cheap and better places to stay for people from outside Calcutta. The metropolis was the place you had to be if you wanted to study for any of the government job entrance exams, which gave you a ticket to a better life in those days. It was perhaps also a reason why people from other parts of West Bengal harboured a deep resentment about the city, its people and the patronizing hegemony it enjoyed for decades.
Somdev Das had decided that a life in the coal business was not cut out for him. After clearing his intermediate exam, he told is father to give him a ‘grace period’ of two years, during which he could try his luck in the West Bengal Civil Services examination. It was a tough sell. After all, he was the only male heir in a family that was deeply involved in the coal mining business in Asansol. However, Somdev promised that he was going to give it two years and if it didn’t work out, then he would dutifully return to the family business. His father reluctantly agreed.
Anyone who wanted to have a shot at qualifying in that tough exam had to relocate to Calcutta. Somdev's mother and sister were worried about the influence of the big city on their 18 year old Son, but eventually a solution was found. Somdev’s batch mate and friend Tapan had also decided to appear for the same exam. So, it was decided that the two boys would take up paying guest accommodations together at a house that Somdev’s father had found for them in Bhawanipore through a business contact. Everything seemed to be falling into place for Somdev, and the final clouds of worries were also dissipating from the minds of his family members. Somdev and Tapan stepped into their room on a warm and humid June morning in 1962 and there began two years of extreme slogging for the coveted WBCS job.
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India was a country of few jobs and countless candidates in those days. Moreover, a ‘government’ job remained the most coveted job, since there was not much of a private sector to speak of. Somdev started taking math and English lessons from a private tutor and spent the rest of the day reading The Statesman and The Anandabazar Patrika. Tapan did not have the means to employ a private tutor, but Somdev was kind enough to share his notes and study materials with him. The two became quite close during that period in 1962 and after a few months could certainly call each other friends. After all, living with someone for a long time can lead to either deep friendship or deep loathing. Tapan often prepared the Sunday lunch at their paying guest accommodation and asked the landlord not to worry about cooking. He was a great cook and somehow provided Somdev with some of the home comforts that he had been missing. As the final exam approached, both friends gave it their all and studied up until the small hours of the morning in their quest to crack the notoriously tough exam.
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Eventually, the written examination was over, and both friends started preparing for the interviews after a brief visit to Asansol. Even though they weren't sure they would get the call letter, they thought it was better to be prepared for the interview and started to learn about many different things that they thought could be part of the interview. In those days, people had no idea when the call letter was going to be dispatched and hence, they had to keep an eye on the postman’s arrival. Somdev and Tapan had decided that at least one of them was going to be on vigil during the daytime. Many weeks had passed on and people had started questioning when they were going to get the letter or if they had been rejected. None of them had received the call letter. Somdev was resigned to the fact that his father was not going to allow him to appear for the exam again if he failed to get in at the first go. On the other hand, Tapan had never actually been sure that he was going to get through it. Eventually, they decided that they were going to visit the offices of the West Bengal Public Service Commission and get the information directly.
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On the morning of their visit to the commission, Somdev saw the postman coming in, but he didn't feel like talking to him. However, the postman actually saw him and went, ‘So did your interview go well?’ Somdev was naturally confused. ‘I didn’t even get the call letter. What interview?’ However, the postman wasn’t going to give up, ‘Two weeks ago, I handed your call letter to your friend.’ He must have it. The interview was supposed to have happened last week.’
