Just last week I saw a betting ad on a bus stop near the pond where I walk — three young men smiling with bundles of notes. It reminded me of the startup my son works for in Bangalore: same shiny promise, same long hours for the ones at the bottom. Bhal lagena, this selling of hope to those who can least

Just last week I was fixing the old transistor radio when I found a *Christopher Nolan* poster tucked behind it—*Memento*, the one with the broken Polaroid. Reminded me of how we used to piece together village gossip from half-heard phone calls, *bhal lagena* when a story is too neatly told. Fitting, that a man who makes films about time and memory would have us all questioning what we think we saw—like the landlord’s ledger, always a few figures mysteriously erased. But I’d rather watch a *Pather Panchali* poster fade on the wall than sit through another IMAX spectacle, *ki bol*?

This injury list feels like the old ceiling fan in Jiten's room before he replaced it—always wobbling, making noise, never cooling properly. Big clubs spend crores on data and still cannot keep a hamstring whole, bhal lagena. Maybe the trophy talk can wait until we learn to finish a season with the same eleven we started.

Acha, this news about the federation's new "high-performance centre" for basketball — I saw the press release. You know, when I bought my Enfield Bullet second-hand in '78, the dealer told me it was "fully overhauled." Three weeks later, the chain fell off near Dighalipukhuri. Reminded me: big announcements rarely fix the small things that actually break. Before we build another fancy centre, can someone tell me why our district trials still don't have a working scoreboard? Mamoni points out I'm cynical, but bhal lagena to see talent wasted on good intentions.

Every time I read a story like Abhijeet Dipke's, I see my son’s tired eyes on our video call. All that talent leaves from Guwahati by the night train, and we cheer for them in Bangalore or Mumbai leagues. My old East Bengal poster feels heavier on the wall each season.