I was in Kolkata last week. Trip to Kolkata was always been cherishable since my childhood. In School days I used to go to Kolkata in long summer break. Used to have great time in Mamar bari. Oh! Yea used to have great time in Babar mamar bari, Mashi der bari. Hope all is well now after doing this justice to most of the relatives. In Summer West Bengal produces one of the best if not the best Mangoes called Himsagar. I find Alphanso of Maharshtra over rated Mangoes. One should taste Himsagar then you will become Diwana of its sweetness. Other attraction is Sweets. Kolkata has got the record numbers of sweet mart & they must be beating any other cities of the world convincingly on this matter. Also quality of sweets in West Bengal is the best you can get anywhere in India with a very reasonable price. Sweet marts are there in every lane of Kolkata. Some of the sweet marts do humungous business through out the day with people queuing up to buy their favourite sweet. In childhood main attraction used to be visiting Kolkata Museum, Birla Planetarium, Victoria Memorial, Nico Park etc. Then when little grown up attraction went towards visiting happening places like Park Street, Nandan, Garihat. Once getting into Job I visit Kol for lesser days, so get less time to visit all the iconic places but make sure to have good time with old pals & relatives. Now to meet friends the destination has become malls. I wonder after staying in a place of malls in Vashi is it worth to spend your crucial few days of holidays in malls again. But these days Kol is proud of South City so invariably that’s the place to meet friends & have mindful of adda.
This time I was trying to understand Kolkata more closely. I went to Kolkata on the day when Cyclone named Laila is supposed to come. Kolkata experienced cyclone earlier too that was Aila. That created havoc. So I was little worried whether my flight will land to Kol or not. But by God's grace the Laila didn’t turn up in Kolkata. It was night, not late night by Mumbai standards it was only around 11 PM. At 11 Pm my taxi was moving at 80 km/hr speed, yes in Kol roads one can get into that speed too. The point is that unlike Mumbai here it was utter silence at 11 Pm. To take it in a positive way its peace in Kol at night. I guess you get peace in night only in Kolkata unless you are in bank of Ganges at early morning.
Whats next? Any guesses? Friends, Its election time in Kolkata. Its carnival time for intellectual freaks. By the way it seems always election time in Kolkata whichever month of the year you go to Kolkata. Reach any square you will find somebody giving public speech: Manush keno erom bhabe bodle jachche ( Why people is changing so frequently), Keno desher kono onno jaygaye Mach bhaat Rs 10 e pawa jayena (Why anywhere in India one cannot get Fish Rice in 10 Rs other than West Bengal). Yes its true in Kol you can get Fish Rice in 10 Rs with some add ons like Dal & potato fry. In all the lanes you will find the flags of all leading party flying. Irony is that all the flags of different parties are mingled in such a way that it seems they are old friends & having good time in each others company. Alas! It would have happened in reality then today Kolkata could have progressed a lot.
By the way one unique thing seen this time. I was in a bus & reached Golpark square. Suddenly bus stopped. After a while I could see a long stretch of a mob marching from one end to another. It is hawkers union. They were in protest rally. It kept going for 5 minutes with all vehicles in square remained stranded to see this marching. They even got a band party which we generally hire for Baraat. The protest rally included a live band party as a special item number. I guess that is to make hawkers in a rally focused on protesting rather to go & earn their livelihoods. In West Bengal this word called "Protest” has been bane for people there. I guess Narendra Modi is saying its boon for us & bane for West Bengal after inaugurating Tata Nano plant yesterday at Sanand in Gujarat. I conclude my piece with a food for thought for all if this “Protest” word could have been erased from the psyche of people in west Bengal, our Sonar Bangla would have progressed a lot economically & may have become leading cities of the world.
It has been almost a year
10 years ago
2 comments:
I also had the pic of Kolkata just like u, when I was also a once in a year visitor. But my perception changed after spending last 3 yrs in Kol. There are a lot of things to say, but I will restrict myself to some imp things based on ur blog :-
1. There are quite a lot of happening places in Kol, dat are crowded well past midnight. Ask the urban people & they will suggest u 100's of places to roam in Kol in late hours. True the numbers are not quite high as compared to Mum. So ur thinking is wrong dat Kol gets deserted by 11 o'clock. Come next time, I will try to change ur thinking.
2. Even after so much of political turmoil Kol witnessed everyday, still Kol is safe to live as compared to many Indian cities. People especially gals can roam around in buses n trains well past midnight all alone, unlike other cities like Delhi or Bangalore.
3. Kol was n always be a politican den. But dat hasn't stop Kol to develop. True in past many mills has been closed, but in da last 5 yrs IT entered into Kol wid a bang. Tata Nano is just a one-off case, considering Ratan Tata has a special fondness for Kol n many industries of Tata r successfully running in Kol.
Can write many more points but ... For the people of Kol, 'Born 2 Die n Live 2 Njoy' is da mantra of living ;-).
I really never liked Kolkata, though liked your blog a lot. I prefer MAFCO rasgullas to the Kolkata one. I hate the overdose of mosquito and powercuts in my suburban native house. I get very upset by seeing the political prospects of the city who pitches for a "Rakkhoshi", only to be saved from the "pishaachs".
I don't think if my relatives were not in Kolkata I would have ever wanted to go there very much. The people there are outright either "nyaka" or "paaka". There are very few exceptions.
The only thin that you get in Kolkata and nowhere else id te moglai porota and egg roll.
Post a Comment