City of Joy

People say a picture says a thousand words. So is the case wih a photo. Happened to see an old pic from my days in The City of Joy. Saying that it brought back a flood memories would be an understatement. More than a decade later , some of the things that gives me a funny feeling inside when someone says Kolkatta..

1) The incredulous look on my classmates' faces when I admitted that I didnt have a bf ( I was 16!!) . Well. They start early ( dont ask!).

2) Macher jhol, the noodles in the roadside stalls near rashbehari, the achars sold in front of our school, hasmi (its a tangy concotion of some kinda herbs, good for the tummy, a hit with my taste buds), the gleaming vegetables in winter( I am not kidding, the veggies actually looked healthy , they have this glow around them like they had either indulged in something naughty or had just found the secret to long lasting happiness) and do not get me started on the fish .I can still see the bengali babus, on sunday mornings- a triumphant smile on their faces and a fish hanging in their hand ..yes...no plastic cover... no banana leaf to cover it...Reminds you of Shikari Shambu.. isint it ?? (Check Champak... the old comics for the indian kiddies)

3) Books - They can be found in abundance, on the streets, peoples homes, even my bed.

(this is one trait I am proud of!!!!) . Bengalis love books, education and everything associated with it...atleast I know for sure where my love affair with books started from..

4) My english teachers - All of took it onto themselves to be the first one to get me to participate in debates.. Had dabbled in a few essay , poetry , short story writing skirmishes. But debate and elocution have always given me the beejeebies (still do! But then I have added acting to my talents basket, so doesn't matter anymore, or so I tell myself).

5) Rabindrasangeet - The half yearly get togethers used to be only time , when some of my neighbours would emerge from their abodes. Cant generalise, but the bengalis I knew were not very social, or should I say , were not as social as the people I had lived with before

After Pune, Calcutta was a shock ..But before I go to Pune... I would get back to Rabindrasangeet...These get togethers used to trigger numerous rounds of singing.. and this was where I had my initiation into Rabindra Sangeet.. More than the music I can still hear the passion that Bengalis had for Gurudev's creation... ( my only regret... I should have learnt how to sing as well!!! Would have been useful now... would have used it against anyone who dares to come to the terrace before 8 in the morning on weekends .... insensitive people who do not care for the fact that the walls are thin .. I am a super light sleeper)

6) Durga Puja... I have seen the Ganesh Pandals and the Durga pandals...and 2 different reactions... By seeing, I mean , I have seen them again and again .. year after year...

not the see click and stock away in memory type of seeing.. Having lived in both the places where

these festivals are celebrated.. I have more than a tourist's view on both these festivals...

and being a non -Maharashtrian and a non- bengali... I am not biased either... Ganesha was more fun .. :) ... but the new dresses and the late night strolls to the pandals round the city .. the crowded roads with hundred of food stalls... wouldn't mind experiencing that again..

But after all this .. do I miss the place ?.. Nope... I am happy where I am .. relatively speaking ofcourse..