Hello, I am Manish Mukherjee, a lifelong learner, traveler, and dreamer who believes every day is a rebirth, every step is a lesson, and every connection is a treasure. Born into a humble Bengali family in India, I grew up amidst the beauty of rural West Bengal, nurtured by my father's wisdom, a teacher of Bengali literature and an author, and the warmth of my mother, a homemaker. Despite facing the trials of life, my father instilled in me a love for creativity and resilience—a legacy I cherish and carry forward.

It's a poem by Gio Evan, poet and songwriter which ignites my passion for Travelling.
Translated from Italian.

Try to travel, otherwise
you may become racist,
and you may end up believing
that your skin is the only one
to be right,
that your language
is the most romantic
and that you were the first
to be the first.
Travel,
because if you don't travel then
your thoughts won’t be strengthened,
won’t get filled with ideas.
Your dreams will be born with fragile legs and then you end up believing in tv-shows, and in those who invent enemies
that fit perfectly with your nightmares
to make you live in terror.
Travel,
because travel teaches
to say good morning to everyone
regardless of which sun we come from.
Travel,
because travel teaches
to say goodnight to everyone
regardless of the darkness
that we carry inside
Travel,
because traveling teaches to resist,
not to depend,
to accept others, not just for who they are
but also for what they can never be.
To know what we are capable of,
to feel part of a family
beyond borders,
beyond traditions and culture.
Traveling teaches us to be beyond.
Travel,
otherwise you end up believing
that you are made only for a panorama
and instead inside you
there are wonderful landscapes
still to visit.
I am a married man with a lovely family.
Besides Gio Evan I should mention Rabindranath Tagore, a Nobel laureate wrote his Bengali poem in this context in Bengali -

বহু দিন ধ'রে বহু ক্রোশ দূরে
বহু ব্যয় করি বহু দেশ ঘুরে

দেখিতে গিয়েছি পর্বতমালা,
দেখিতে গিয়েছি সিন্ধু।​

দেখা হয় নাই চক্ষু মেলিয়া
ঘর হতে শুধু দুই পা ফেলিয়া

একটি ধানের শিষের উপরে
একটি শিশিরবিন্দু।​"

Meaning in English:-
" A dewdrop on the leaf of a rice plant, two feet away from my house is not seen." Nature can be found in the lines of the above poem by Rabindranath Tagore. Many people like to travel abroad without seeing what spots and lovely things are available in their native places. But you might not know there are many beautiful places to visit in the country where you domicile.

I am traveling within my country (Indian subcontinent) now but not necessarily doing couch surfing. I am gathering touring experience from India and preparing for places other than India.

I need your love, cooperation, and inspiration which may ignite my zeal and materialize my dream.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

The World is a Family

One is a Relative, The Other Stranger,
Say The Small Minded.
The Entire World is a Family,
Live The Magnanimous.

Be Detached,
Be Magnanimous,
Lift Up Your Mind, Enjoy
The Fruit Of Brahmanic Freedom.

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is a Sanskrit phrase found in Hindu texts such as the Maha Upanishad, which means "The World Is One Family".

Today's society and the world that I claim as my own is moving away from me little by little every day due to excessive greed and indescribable natural evils. It seems that the planet Earth is unknown to me. Every day people are getting poorer and poorer and on the other hand, the resources of a few are trying to cross the Himalayas. In the modern world, all the arrangements are almost ready to slowly uproot the minimum protection shield that was created for the survival of people through the so-called progressive movement and struggle for so long time back.
Today Capitalism has taken such a proactive and destructive form that even the idea of ​​friendship between teammates or fellow citizens does not hesitate to get it stigmatised as an obsolete concept of utopians. There socialism is an unreal perception which is crying from standing far away!
I think CS is actually the ultimate example of a Cyber Socialism where everyone of CS group members are creating a horizon in such an extremely depressing social situation. Salute to all CS member and it's team management for such a progressive platform where we exchange hospitality without any commercial exchange.

I believe in altruism and I like couchsurfing for that reason only. I am adding a Bengali lyrics in Bengali script only for everyone those who will see my profile.

আমি এক যাযাবর।
আমি এক যাযাবর।
পৃথিবী আমাকে আপন করেছে, ভুলেছি নিজের ঘর।
আমি এক যাযাবর।
আমি এক যাযাবর।
আমি গঙ্গার থেকে মিসিসিপি হয়ে ভল্গার রূপ দেখেছি।
অটোয়ার থেকে অষ্ট্রিয়া হয়ে প্যারিসের ধুলো মেখেছি।
আমি ইলোরার থেকে রঙ নিয়ে দূরে শিকাগো শহরে দিয়েছি।
গালিবের শয়ের তাসখন্দের মিনারে বসে শুনেছি।
মার্ক টোয়েনের সমাধিতে বসে গোর্কির কথা বলেছি।
বারে বারে আমি পথের টানেই পথকে করেছি ঘর।

তাই আমি যাযাবর।
তাই আমি যাযাবর।

বহু যাযাবর লক্ষ্যবিহীন, আমার রয়েছে পণ-
রঙের খনি যেখানে দেখেছি, রাঙিয়ে নিয়েছি মন।
আমি দেখেছি অনেক গগনচুম্বী অট্টালিকার সারি।
তার ছায়াতেই দেখেছি অনেক গৃহহীন নরনারী।
আমি দেখেছি অনেক গোলাপ-বকুল ফুটে আছে থরে-থরে।
আবার দেখেছি না ফোটা ফুলের কলিরা ঝরে গেছে অনাদরে।
প্রেমহীন ভালবাসা দেশে দেশে ভেঙেছে সুখের ঘর।
পথের মানুষ আপন হয়েছে, আপন হয়েছে পর।
তাই আমি যাযাবর।
আমি এক যাযাবর।
আমি এক যাযাবর।

IN ENGLISH

I am a nomad.
I am a nomad.
The world has embraced me, I have forgotten my home
I am a nomad.
I am a nomad.
I saw the shape of the Volga from the Ganges through the Mississippi.
Dusted off Paris from Ottawa to Austria.
I took the color from Elora and gave it away to the city of Chicago.
I heard Ghalib's shayaris(poem) sitting in the minaret of Tashkent.
I spoke of Gorky while sitting at Mark Twain's grave.
Again and again I made the path the house.

So I'm a nomad.
So I'm a nomad.

Many wanderers aimless, but I have my promise
Where I saw the mine of color, I painted my mind.
I saw many rows of skyscrapers.
I saw many homeless women in its shadow.
I saw many rose and Bakul( a typical Bengali flower) buds in bloom.
I have seen again many unbloomed buds fallen in disrespect.
Relationship without love has broken the house of happiness in the countries.
The people of the road have become my own and own people of my house have become unknown.
So I'm a nomad.
I am a nomad.
I am a nomad.

Link of the song in YouTube : https://youtu.be/xGanUSHrFoQ

Interests

If every struggling fifty-plus man in the world were asked about his interests or desires, he would hesitate at first or then start thinking about his boyhood and youth. There is no difference as far my interests are concerned. Because in the episode of struggle for survival, most of the financially backward people like us sacrifice their dreams and interests very much in their early ages for the sake of their bread only.

And I remember when I was 12-13 years old, how many cultural activities I was involved in Drama ,recitation, Gansangit Rabindra Sangeet, Debate, painting and what not ?
I have been awarded many times in many fields. My son and daughter are still encouraged by those reminders. I still sing, draw and recite. I realize that the seed of creativity that my father sowed within us is still alive.

A.SONGS
1. Rabindrasangeet 2. Baul(genera) songs predominantly Sufi songs 3. Indian modern songs by Salil Chowdhury 4. Ganasangeet by IPTA 5. Indian classical 6.Protest Song. Western Classical

B.Modern and Ancient Art in the following field 🎨
Painting , Sculptures , Literature Architecture, Cinema and Theater.

C. INDIAN and WESTERN PHILOSOPHY
Marxism, Charvak Philosophy, Gandhism and Philosophy of Sri Chaitanya mahaprabhu of Bengal. Indian History.

D. **Travelling:**
Travel takes me out of my comfort zones and inspires me to see, taste and try new things. It constantly challenges me, not only to adapt to and explore new surroundings, but also to engage with different people, to embrace adventures as they come and to share new and meaningful experiences with friends and loved ones.It helps me to rediscover myself again and again.

E. Cultural exchange
I want to gain a deeper understanding and knowledge about unknown countries. its culture, its customs and its day-to-day practices through person-to-person contact.
F. To know Class Conciousness

I really want to know how many people in all parts of the world have an idea about class consciousness. How well does a sense of class consciousness work with other ideas? Does this class consciousness have a relationship with the current condition of all the common people of their country and how much do they understand it? I want to know that.

• singing
• traveling
• reading books
• musics
• writing poetry
• ngo work
• writing articles
• interviewing

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: 1. Bengali: "Rabindra Sangeet" written by Rabindranath Tagore has a Unique approach to music that combines Indian and Western influences with poetic lyrics and profound themes. He composed approximately 2,232 songs which are cultural treasures in Bengali literature. These songs are popular in India and Bangladesh and are characterized by distinctive Bengali music.
2. Baul Song: The Baul are a group of mystic minstrels of mixed elements of Sufism and Vaishnavism from different parts of Bangladesh and the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley and Meghalaya. Bauls constitute both a syncretic religious sect of troubadours and a musical tradition. Bauls are a very heterogeneous group, with many sects, but their membership mainly consists of Vaishnava Hindus and Sufi Muslims. They can often be identified by their distinctive clothes and musical instruments. Lalon Shah is regarded as the most celebrated Baul saint in history.
3. Folk Song: Some popular folk songs of West Bengal include Bhatiali, Bhawaiya, Jhumur, Gambhira, Shyama Sangeet, and Tusu.
4. Salil Choudhury: Salil Chowdhury, fondly referred to as “Salil-da” was a music director, musician, writer, and poet, who worked in Hindi, Bengali, and the south Indian film industries. He was most active from the 1950s through the 1960s. His strength was in the fact that he mastered numerous different genres. He was accomplished on the flute, esraj, violin, and piano; he was also a master lyricist and writer.

Movies: 1. Indian Movies from Tollywood Bollywood: a) Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road) is a 1955 Indian Bengali-language drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray in his directorial debut and produced by the Government of West Bengal. It is an adaptation of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's 1929 Bengali novel of the same name. The first film in The Apu Trilogy, Pather Panchali depicts the childhood travails of the protagonist Apu and his elder sister Durga amid the harsh village life of their poor family.
2. Do Bigha Zamin (1953): A Hindi-language drama film directed by Bimal Roy, starring Balraj Sahni and Nirupa Roy. The movie is based on Rabindranath Tagore's Bengali poem "Dui Bigha Jomi" and Salil Chowdhury's short story Rickshawalla. Some say it's a must-watch for fans of neorealism films.
3. Satyajits More: Parash Pathar, Jalsaghar, Devi, Charulata, Nayak, Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, Sonar Kella, Joi Baba Felunath, Sadgati (Hindi), Ghare Baire and Agantuk Etc.
4.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach : Indian Philosophy, Human evolution ; History, Indian Art and Culture, Indian Tourism and Indian regional food and Bengali language
Learn : Everything from everyone
Share: My experience on our society and thousands of stories where I am concerned.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Staying, Food and Company

Countries I’ve Lived In

India