Monday, September 5, 2011

Towards A New Beginning: Kolkata DX Meet

“Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born” - Dr. Dale Turner

We all have dreams, yet not every one of these can be realized within a single lifetime. But it is said that even the most challenging and the toughest tasks known to man can be accomplished if we have a definite purpose, a clear objective, collective approach, enthusiasm and the will to achieve despite odds! With such an aim to bring Dxers of Kolkata together today (Sep 4th, 2011) a much anticipated DX meet was organized at Dr. Supratik Sanatani’s residence. Special thanks to Babul Gupta for this idea and Jyoti P. Chakravartty for his suggestion, this special event saw the attendance of 13 Dxers from Kolkata including veterans and new comers (picture below)



It was a historic event for all the participants, as some senior Dxers and HAMs met each other after decades and also the newcomers for the very first time! Among them some like Dipankar Dutta and Pratap Shankar Mazumdar are silent keys now, while Dr. Supratik Sanatani and Babul Gupta have started Dxing afresh after remaining in hibernation for several years. It was a pleasure meeting the youngest member Soumya Bhattacharya who QSL’d for the first time in 2006 as well as the senior-most member and the nucleus of the group Babul Gupta who QSL’d for the first time in 1967! Dxers who inspired a whole generation of the newcomers like Sudipta Ghose, Tripti Ranjan Basu, Swopan Chakraborty were present, which made this event a remarkable one!

When two people with common likes get together…time flies! And imagine, today it was full house! There were discussions on Dxing (now and then), snippets and anecdotes of Dxpeditions (past and present), looking at QSLs, radio souvenirs of the past and operating digital and analog radio gears of yesterday and today (brought by the participants), suggestions on building home brewed antennas, sharing personal experiences of visiting radio stations (in home and abroad) coupled with tasty snacks arranged by host Dr Supratik Sanatani, charged up the whole atmosphere!

One of the prime suggestions put forward by the senior Dxers of Kolkata was to revive IDXCI bulletin, a regular in the late 70’s and early 80’s besides issuing new membership cards and pennants for members. The other was to select a feasible spot for Dxpedition in the near future. With fresh blood coming into the group and with apt guidance and participation from seniors, it is highly probable that a DX revival is at the doorstep.

Dreams are renewable” The Kolkata DX meet proved it right for sure!

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