Its been 2 years...

After 2 years in a cold, wet country (for the better part of the year), I was sceptical of myself in dealing with the Calcutta heat and humidity as the plane cruised above the Deccan plateau. A few more hours and it would be an end to an excruciatingly long journey not so much in terms of the flight hours but it was the wait for a connecting flight that made me age and tire at a rate I thought could never exist. But that’s different. I was humming “Country Roads” almost all the way from London to Calcutta. Yes, I was excited. But I was also worried about the heat. I was never a fan of heat and humidity, which I why I loved my years in Pune and Sikkim. The weather accompanied with great company compensated for anything that I might have missed out on for not living in a Calcutta or Mumbai. The weather in London was simply perfect for my taste.

                                      

At Calcutta airport, after having gone through customs I stepped out and for a moment felt I had stepped into a sauna. Out came the hand towel, and for a moment I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the crowd. I remembered noisy, but my ears had forgotten how noisy. The drive back from the airport was nice and quick. At which point I realized not much had noticeably changed in birthtown. Calcutta greeted me with mild weather and rains for the next couple of days. And then it showed its true colours and the temperature went straight to the 30s and I was left gasping for breath. But there were things to be done, friends & relatives to meet. I soldiered on through it all with a trusted hand towel. Reminded me of the “Hitchhiker’s Guide to Galaxy”. Hehe…

A couple of days and then the ‘lazy’ city transformed into a throbbing and pulsating living thing which would dance, sing and pray for Goddess Durga. Unbelievable but true. The average man in the city turns into a bundle of energy as they traverse the length and breadth of the city to have a look at as many as possible of the 3000+ idols in place across the city. There of course are a few major ones, which will always find a place on the ardent pandal-hopper’s list. And then there were folks like me, who knew the city when it was Calcutta and not ‘Kolkata’, of the times when pandals were crowded but not so much that it would sap the energy out of you, of times when even weather seemed to cool down to allow the revelers respite from the heat and even treat them with a cool breeze. Such folks, laze about at home, visit a few handful of the nearby pandals and generally go about their pandal hopping on the telly. And of course a personal deterrent was the weather.

Despite that, I went about a fair bit and did dig into what I saw. A little bit of the street food (which is honestly to die for), a little bit of the lighting, the glamour, the glitz, the unshakeable enthusiasm of people from all backgrounds. Before I knew it I was in the groove, I could go on and on. Till I returned home! It was on one such trip that I took a walk through a section on North Calcutta, while giving a visiting friend a short tour of the ancient bylanes of Baghbazar, Shyambazar, Shovabazar (including the palace) and Kumartuli. I had always wanted to do that, yet it took me all these years to finally manage it. Kumartuli in particular where the artisans give shape to the deities and are then transported across the world. Situated almost on the banks of river Ganges, the sculpture area is a narrow street. A walk through allows one to peek into the various stages of idol construction. 

Idols at Kumartuli

 Meanwhile, certain things did hit me straight in the eye, primary being the cost of living. It seems it has sky rocketed. Maybe it was always increasing at the same pace, but being part of the system I adapted as things progressed. A gap of 2 years certainly does have a jarring effect on the senses and sort of made me withdraw into a shell. I end up questioning the validity of the pricing strategies used. My mind questions, why certain products which used to be cheaper in India are no longer so, and the ones which are apparently cheaper are not worth the money. I’ve been told its all about the inflation. I do not understand that well enough. All that I know is I’m left wondering why should I be paying more for something which has not improved in the 2 years I have been away. Funny bit is I see more people spending in Calcutta. Is it the plastic money or is it for real? I don’t know, but I wonder. I was also left wondering as to why the authorities are keen on laying new tube line without taking care of the other infrastructures which need urgent repair. They said Bengal was improving. I agree. I see developments which are wonderful, but I also see things which required attention but didn’t get what it deserved. Some have been tended to but it resembles hogwash, some have been well taken care of. In a single stroke, Calcutta has progressed yet managed to stay where it was. It is so contradictory.

Bong Connection Blues...

Well, this was originaly written in Bengali during my recent vacation in Kolkata and was intended to be posted from the Bong Land but then procstination took over along with other tasks which gained priority and blogging per se took a back seat.. I mean complete back seat.

It was while sipping a cup of caffiene on a cloudy afternoon at Flurys on Park Street, I noticed the stark difference in the world I was sucked in and the one that was raced by to its tasks for the day. As the aroma of the coffee seeped in to cloud the mind I bit into the sandwich in front of me and glanced over at the obviously well-to-do group of people around me. The antecedents of everyone seemed to be very different. There was a group which was definitely on a business breakfast, a group of friends (I believe from St. Xaviers), a south-east Asian group happily tucking into a breakfast of toast and eggs. And then, stared out from the glass - the traffic was breezing by, people were walking in a hurry, a hawker stood there at the MusicWorld corner and was trying to make a living of selling his wares. I say, an excellent setting for the start of a good plot. Anywyz, before I digress I shall move ahead. What really struck me was nothing I saw surprised me, it was as if this is exactly how I expect Kolkata to be. Having spent a better part of my life outside Bengal and terming myself a nomad, despite the heat and humidity, the icky politics of the land and god knows what not, I keep returning to this city. I used to say, that's because my entire family is in Kolkata, now I beg to differ. As I prepare myself to embark on a journey to a far-off land, I slowly realised why I've been coming back to this city for better part of the last decade. I guess it was Dominique Lappierre (pardon me, if I'm mistaken) who said one may hate Kolkata or love Kolkata, but no matter what Kolkata grows on you... and soon has you a slave to her irresistible charms.

When I look back at the times I've spent here - bunking school, the metro rides, the long adda sessions at the Presidency college canteen, the Kobiraji at Dilkhusha (A non-veg preparation where a piece of fish, chicken or mutton if deep fried with a thick coating of egg adn bread crumbs, while Dilkhusha is popular amongst the college kids - just off College Street on MG Road, it is very close to the famous Coffee House.), roaming about at Esplanade and doing some impulsive shopping, gorging Kulfi at Ralli's, the fuchkas at just about every sundry spot that we could manage and then rating them, the road side stalls which would sell some of the most mouth watering snacks at ridiculously low prizes - I realise I shall never get these anywhere else. One might find bits and pieces of Kolkata in other cities as Bengalis in other parts of the world try and set up their own corner, but never Kolkata.

The stream of thoughts that started at Flurys probably won't end here and I doubt if I would ever be able to capture them perfectly with words, but somehow now I understand the underlying theme of Jhumpa Lahiri's stories, I understand what movies like Anuranan and Bong Connection talk in a subtle or overt manner.

I guess it's the Bong Connection Blues!!

Calcutta Chromosome

"Yet repeatedly this uniqueness has been endangered by neglect, and will be swept aside entirely because someone in power will write ‘fire hazard’ on the file and sweep it away for a gigantic retail park to take its place, complete with food court and glittering multiplex. Other cities try to preserve their character and history because these things are simply theirs, but we have always been acutely embarrassed about doing so. Perhaps it’s because Burrabazar is the place of ‘non-Bengalis’, that dreaded uber-species. Perhaps it’s because nearly everything that makes Calcutta Calcutta came originally from somewhere else, to be shaken up in a bizarre mix and given that strange coat of flamboyance and pettiness that has always marked this city. Instead of embracing this bizarreness, our masters have always wanted to pare it down to some essence of ‘Bangalitto’, discarding all the ‘anti-culture’ that keeps blowing in on the four winds. That’s kind of like peeling off all the layers of the onion. The thing that’s left is the least useful part."

- Rimi B. Chatterjee in her post Burrabazar, Burning Once Again.

Does the piece make you think about something? Hmmmm... I wonder!! Let me guide you, this is about a city called Kolkata, though I really to refer it as Calcutta, it's original name. A few weeks back a massive fire ravaged the Burrabazar area of Kolkata. A major business centre, the loss runs more than just a few crores. The fire had destroyed more than 2000 shops. But more importantly it again drove home a truth about this hallowed commercial hub.

Burrabazar or Bazar Kolkata has been in existence since establishment of the colonial rule or sometime thereafter. The place apart from being the business hub that it always has been, was also the residential locality for some of the more affluent business personalities of Kolkata, a category popularly known as "Babus" who were famous for their pomp, glamour and affluence. A reminder of such an era is the palatial buildings that still line the streets and the by-lanes.

Towards the end of the 19th century, one saw the influx of Marwari businessmen, who proceeded to make this area a stronghold of theirs, setting up businesses which are still being run by the later generations. They too added their architectural touch in the this area.

Should you be searching for something and yet to find it, try Burrabazar, you might get lucky. From being sold in small quantities to huge volumes, the transactions carried out at Burrabazar flummoxes many a financial experts. Synonymous with lanes, by-lanes, open garbage area, pungent air, road blocked by trucks, this place has over time turned out to be part of Kolkata/Calcutta's identity.

Yet, it these very structures which are proving to be bane for this area. Constructed in a manner which perhaps was suitable to the era gone by, it certainly is no more viable. Faulty electrical wiring all over the place, with inflammable products being stocked at about every nook and cranny, this place is always sitting on a virtual fireplace ready to get ignited. And this is what happened!!

And what has been happening since then is best highlighted by Rimi.

When will the authorities wake to protect the heritage of the land, when as an added bonus this place is also a major business hub??

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Oh.. tomorrow is Republic Day for India. So here's to you all!!!

Kolkata Burning!!!

I'm not sure whether you have read about this or not, but I think it was high timne people started to look into it... at least know about it. Read this snippet from IBN-LIVE.

Nandigram Fire Spreads to Kolkata

Do let me know what you think after reading it. More will follow...........

Blogging in my sleep!!

Not really!! I'm st8ill awake but ready to plop down the moment I get a chance. Anywyz, it's 3:00 am now, and if you are wondering how come I'm online and blogging... let me enlighten you... I'm at work!! YUP!!! At work.... life of an IT professional!! Grrrr......

Anywyz, here I am, I really dunno what to write about if you ask me, just typing what ever is fleeting across my mind.... I dunno if it's making any sense. Now Thanks to this wonderful work timing of mine (5:30 pm - 3:30 am), Saturday night was a complete washout.... Sunday would be spent sleeping away.. and whoosh.... Monday is here!! Now how great is that??

And to top it all there is a Bloggers Lunch tomorrow... oops today afternoon at Mumbai, which I wanted to attend... but have to give it a miss... cause either I attend it and stay without sleep.... or sleep and conveniently forget about it.. coz it's not possibel for me to take it on while I'm still in Pune. Life can get so boring a times....

Anywyz, just to cheer myself up.. I'll post few pics of Kolkata, I caught the last ime I went to Kolkata... And one of my workplace at Pune early in a winter morning.... take a look!!

Kolkata Tram

Kolkata City Centre

My workplace, early morning!!