Travel Bytes- Kolkata

‘mile sur mera thumhara….’

The visuals of the metro train, then of a beautiful Bengali woman clad in sari singing ‘amor shur tomar shur….’ developed within me an instant liking for Calcutta. [First thing I learnt from Gargee, my fellow Bengali traveler in train was this particular song].  At times when my belief in the paranormal was on the high, I have even come to think of my previous birth as that of a Bengali! So the Kolkata trip had been in the concept stage for over 15 years or so! I was waiting for the Durga pooja for that’s when Kolkata perks up! But coz shyam chettan , a dear friend was on his way to the north east in August and coz my boss would grant me leave only during the Onam holidays rather than in October, I decided to prepone the expedition!

Of images and perceptions:

It is images and perceptions that connect you to a particular city. I had my own; Kolkata for me was a city that was congested and crammed. The streets narrow and dark, the vibrant colors of the sari clad women imparting a charm to the dark palette. Well, I was in for some surprise!

Getting started:

Let me put it first itself. Like any other metro, the traffic jams are way too annoying.  The metro rail service is restricted to certain places, so it would be a wise idea to find the station near to where you are headed to, and then take a cab from there. You not only save time, you also save a lot energy which would otherwise have been spent on cursing the jams! And in case you are visiting Kollkata during the monsoons, the humidity and temperature would soar to such limits that you would end up dehydrated, so load yourself with a water rich diet [I didn’t and I suffered…you better be prepared!]

The city:

Cities which came up under the British rule follow more or less a grid iron pattern and are best explored on foot. Kolkata is no different. Colonial architecture flanks the streets. So the buildings open onto the lanes, are tightly packed and boast of a façade with louvered windows, small projecting balconies and classical columns. Some of them have courtyards in response to the hot and humid climate of Kolkata. Most of the buildings have withered to the years long neglect and the inflating population- what with 1 room inhibited by a whole family- I chanced upon a 10 ft room with the kitchen, dining, sleeping activities all rolled into one, the beds literally stacked above one another [worst than the berths of the train!] While stuck in one of those traffic jams, I wondered how splendid the city would have been during the Victorian times; perhaps one haveli would have been home to just one family!

I roamed around the city, missed a few of the not to be missed, and of which all I managed to visit, I have it here!

Victoria memorial: The classical columns, domes and the colonnade structure are the highlight! I was taken over by the marble statues, even the folds of the cloth where cut with so much of finesse. I stared at the statue of Queen Victoria for quite a long time and imagined her posing for this statue in all her glory and pomp! [Later, musing over the fact that this was a memorial to Queen Victoria, I realized this was built after her death, so it must have been a photograph that gave life to the statue!]

Birla planetarium: Happened to be just in time for a show in English. Got in to revisit my memories of going to a planetarium in Mumbai. The voice had a heavy Bengali accent, but sitting there staring into the dark ceiling filled with stars, I was carried away into the mysteries of the universe, the planets, the solar system, the black holes, the shooting stars…

St.Paul’s Cathedral: The stained glass paintings, the wooden pews and chairs, the trussed ceiling, the fans hanging on long sticks all had an appeal of its own. But something that intrigued me was, there were no openings that let in air, so how was ventilation taken care of???

Indian Museum: Indian Museum is a must visit if you are going as a family and you really want to impart some knowledge to your kids. It has everything ranging from geology to zoology to botany to what not. I chanced upon an Egyptian mummy too! You would require at least 4 hours covering all the galleries, so plan accordingly. The one which kept me occupied was the anthropology section. It had a collection of busts of people from different parts of India and it was quite interesting to see how the facial structure varied from one region to the other. The tribal jewellery collection had me astounded for its rich designs! The detailing in silver was way too amazing, and I have got to say this, they were incomparable to what we get from the designer boutiques [it would probably be an insult if I compare them with the modern derivations]. Ambitious as I am, as far as art is concerned, I decided then and there to do something in future to bring tribal art to the forefront!

Belur Math:

This spiritual retreat is set on the west bank of River Hooghly. It was started by Swami Vivekananda, the main shrine dedicated to his guru Shri Ramakrishna. It so happens that photography is prohibited and silence is preached, so the main temple serves as the perfect abode to be involved in prayers and deep meditation. If you are lucky enough to have arrived there around noon [as I did], you could as well enjoy the lunch served as prasad!  

Mother Teresa:

Had come to admire Mother Teresa at a very early age for her missionary activities. So when I headed to Kolkata, had this wish to visit her abode, the motherhouse. Since her birth centenary was approaching, there was a mass in progress. The place was filled with nuns, the devout followers, and the tourists of course. You can volunteer to work at the Nirmal Hriday [for the aged] and the Children’s home of the Immaculate Heart [for the orphaned]. Just bear in mind that it requires a great deal of courage to watch as well as help the needy!

Vidyasagar Setu [earlier called the Howrah bridge]:

 Most important of all, I visited the Howrah bridge [the icon of Kolkata] at the last minute. My camera, my best friend bowed to the darkness that had fallen over and I was way too disappointed to not have caught it in a good frame!

Kumartuli:

The Durga Pooja is the biggest festival in West Bengal. And I was adamant that I would visit the place where the idols were made. It was after much searching and enquiring that I found Kumartuli. A maze of streets lined with clay workshops. There were straw idols all ready to be smeared with black clay, there were half finished idols ready to be colored, there were colored idols ready to be bathed in shining jewellery and colorful clothes.  Well it was great watching the artisans at work.

People!

Bengalis are really sweet at heart, their motto- khao, piyo, maze udao!  Of the men and women I came across, I found the womenfolk to be a lot talkative [in their rather high pitch voices], while men are the intelligent kind, their silence and a smile doing the job most of the time. The women irrespective of whether rich or poor carry themselves really well. Draped in rich cotton saris, with the shakha and paula, adorning their hands, a long sindoor parting the head into two, I must say, it’s a treat to watch married Bengali women.

The social structure is something that is worth mentioning. Despite the urban values creeping into everyone’s lives, most of them still follow the joint family system! No wonder they are so full of love [for if you can’t love your own, how can you love the others?]. While on a walk in the evenings, I would chance upon men involved in leisurely chats gathered as in a round table conference! Exchanging intelligent talks and laughing their ways to glory!

You expect them to know Hindi [since it is a part of North India after all] but you are going to be disappointed, for most of them speak just Bengali. So let me give some Bengali lessons here -  The Bengali language  has the ‘a’ pronounced like ‘o’, ‘s’ as ‘sh’, ‘ra’ as ‘da’;  so ‘rabindra sadan’ becomes ‘robindra shodhan’, namskar is‘nomoshkaar’ ; howrah  is ’hawdaah’and so on. What a beautiful language, I have already started learning bits and pieces – tumi Kaman acho? Khub bhalo…. :)

The rides:

Kolkata is one place where you can experience a variety of rides!

Metro: People watching is of great interest for me, so it is no surprise that the metro ride turned out to be a rejuvenating affair! Women, men all from different backgrounds, in different emotions all in their own world.

Tram: It would be a disgrace if I don’t mention the tram ride. The tram lines run along most of the roads. I got into one without a clue on my destination, just to experience the ride. Well it was like a bus and it was not a bus, it was like a train and it was not a train, the ride was nevertheless very good.

Rickshaws: I have had the  rickshaw rides before, but most of the time, I develop so much sympathy for the rickshaw puller, that I get down way before my destination and end up paying double the fare! Found the rickshawwallahs here to be really tough; they never flinched in the course of the drive! In a way it is them who actually impart an old charm to Kolkata!

Shopaholic in me!

The 3 days that I was there, I made it a point to simply roam around the market. The Durga Pooja and the Ramzan were just days ahead, so I could barely walk among the throngs of people! It was as if the whole population of Kolkata had converged to this point! And I have to tell you this, having travelled to other parts of India, Kolkata is paradise for the shopaholics. Whether its clothing or fashion accessories or household items, this is the place. I was hooked onto the sarees and the accessories until I realized I barely had any money left to make it back home!

While returning:

There is this usage in Kerala, while you are leaving from a visit, you say ‘varatte’ [I am coming] rather than ‘potte’ [I am going]. I felt the same when I boarded the train back. This was just an initiation. I had touched some dormant chord that connected me to this place. So I am going to be back…to explore that which was left unexplored…to experience that was missed….

Memories linger on:

I had put up at a friend’s house, at Tollygunge. There was a river flowing across from where I lived, with a temple on its banks. Every evening, I would try to be home by 7 or so, just to hear the beautiful baul song they played at the temple. I would sit on one of those benches on the bank, watching the reflections in the river, watching the womenfolk gather together for some chit chat, watching the moon sink into the river! Those were wonderful evenings!