BVL Story 4 "The story of vanishing soap and what next in BVL "

I am a product of 90’s and I am also a product of Sainik School Goalpara.  So I justify, using the lifebuoy soap for both body wash and shampoo. Collectively me and my batch mates  also justify sharing that same lifebuoy soap irrespective of our  skin quality and  number of scratching & itching each one of us were used to, before going on a  sound sleep at night.  

At times, while taking bath when a senior arrives near the hand pump, we obviously have to make way for him. Waiting for our turn and rubbing the lifebuoy soap, I always used to go to my own dream world. That’s when the foam takes all the liberty to dry down and settle on our body.  But then again we were born fighters so we keep the foam floating with our hands,  till our turn comes to go below the RO water (Read Red Oxide). Thanks to the Gamusa filter tied across the outlet of the hand pump, the golden colour iron coated water turns slightly light brown.  As the filtered water falls on our body and wash the dry soap we get the greatest pleasure of our life during those warm and humid summer evenings. 

Despite not having those important elements of life, like personal soap, shampoo and clean water we grew up and even many of us succeeded in getting married hiding these facts. What an eureka! 

30 years fast forward from school hostel to a city, with a wonderful wife and a long list of soap, shampoo and conditioner, life gave many surprises.  Now, with no seniors to make way for priority bathing, no friends to share the soap and a door to lock, my habit of day dreaming while bathing increased tenfold. Over the years I found the bathroom to be my place of meditation without any disturbance. It is in this place where I discovered all my ideas and plan my day.  Even the idea of Brahmaputra Volleyball League (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/why-this-volleyball-league-is-an-agent-of-social-change-in-assam/articleshow/79853934.cms )  first came to my mind, under the luxury of running water and wet soap. Every day it was in this peaceful compartment I get solution to all the roadblocks which came along the way.  All was perfect till BVL2020 ended. 

Couple of days later as I was starting to dream of the next BVL at my favorite place, I could not locate the white soap I was using since long. Coming out, I told my wife Priyanka Sharma , to get me a new soap. She looked at me and asked “Why do you at all need a soap when I have brought shower gel for you”.   Immediately she could sense the reason for her vanishing face soap. It was her expensive face soap which I was using to bath and all these days she was wondering “Why Abhi’s shower gel was always full and her face soap never lasted long”. (Till that  day I was not aware that there were  different kinds of soaps for face and body.! ) As she discovered, I thought, I have to be at the receiving end, but instead she pulled out the Nivea shower gel  and taught me how to use it using a scrubber. 

As trained by my beloved wife, I tried for few days but  never felt my bath was complete. Without the solid soap in my hand, I was at lost of new ideas. With no satisfying  ideas coming up and unable to find way ahead for next BVL, I dared  to use the antique face soap of Pinka once again. As the solid soap moved around my body I suddenly experienced an eureka moment.  I finally found a new, better and bigger idea for next edition of Brahmaputra Volleyball League

All thanks to my seniors, the hostel Lifebuoy soaps and my wife face soap, BVL was born and here to stay. 

(Disclaimer:  Due apology to all my friends for exposing their bathing habits in front of their ex-girlfriends, prospective GF  and wife)

 

Abhijit Bhattacharya


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