Coal-ka-ta

This capital city of West Bengal, is beyond doubt the most populous city of the world! A nightmare to travel within. If one Cadell Road in Mumbai was not enough to be one way at odd hours of the day, Kolkata has several hundreds of em'. Enough to confuse me and I can proudly confess that I lost my way.

This reminds me of what some wise man once said, "Did you ever walk into a room and forget why you walked in? I think that's how dogs spend their lives. " I guess, in the city of Kolkata, I can say the same for the poor tourists who are taken for a ride by the cabbies. A distance of merely 100m which can be covered on foot within 5 min, takes a good hour long in a cab if the road is one-way in the wrong direction.

"The city of joy", as they call it, seemed to be full of friendly people all around. However, while most were willing to help, but very few able. I won't say the place is full of nicest of people on the planet, but the people whom I really enjoyed interacting there were the non-bengalis (sorry guys). I dunno if it was destined to be that way, but nonetheless, they were.

The tram took me a good century back down the memory lane (I didn't experience that in Mumbai, but have been hearing and reading a lot about it from the privileged lot of people who did get to be a part of the history way back in the 60's) and the Metro took me a good decade ahead. Worth every penny... ahem..... or rather shall I say paisa, that I spent there. The maintenance and upkeep is just remarkable.

Somethings which have an indelible impact on me are

1. Shoe polish by the roadside - a Bihari in his traditional Bangladeshi lungi, who ensured that my shoes sparkled, put in his heart and soul, blood and sweat for a mere 10 bucks. That's bread and butter for him tho'. Now I guess I shall feel cheated for all my money in Mumbai by those shoe-shine lads at the railway station. The sheen lasted for the entire week. The poor guy didn't realise he is killing his own business. I guess he needs to learn a lesson or two or better still watch out for some Chinese who might soon take over his business, by doing a shoddy job at one fifth the price. Also, I wonder why one never finds the locals shining the shoes. Hard to find a Maharashtrian do that in Mumbai.
   
2. Bar-b-q and Peter Cat. Restaurants. Old. Rustic. Good food. Poor ambience. Good crowd. Cheap. I like it. Prefer it over the thakela coffee outlets.
   
3. Park Street - for all the happening food and drink outlets, so also for the touts and peddlers of all sorts. Aisa kya hai jo park street mein nahi milta? You ask for it and you shall have it in minutes. Well for the moment, I am talking about books and memorabilia, don't get any ideas. (I didn't find any medicines here, wine shops open pretty early tho')
4. K. C. Das, the Rasgulla factory. Naah, its a signature restaurant. Serves only mithai and chenna sweets, along with the Kachori (they were jeera puris according to me) and samosas with sweeeeeeeeet chutney. For a moment I thought I was lost in Gujarat.
5. Victoria - magnificent structure, wonder what's there within - museum huh?. Need to see that on my next trip.
   

After all these days, I have somethings to complain. Where are all the Sushmita's and the Rani's gone yaar. There is a drought there. Or all those beautiful ladies are in Mumbai. Didn't spot any in the whole of the city. What a shame. Sheer waste.

The stay at the Park was one of the finest ever, supposedly the best five star hotel in the city but left a lot to be desired in terms of peace and tranquility, due to the on going renovation. So also the rooms lacked basics, which I considered of utmost importance, like sound proofing and vanity counter in the bath. Come on guys, five star deluxe is it?

Lindsay Street is a scary little street which reminds me of the Mirchi Gallie or Zaveri Bazaar, Bhuleshwar and the likes in Mumbai. Dingy place with tiny shops selling every lifestyle and clothing accessories that you can think about. Bought my pairs of essentials from there. Memorable hunting ground. Especially so past the 8pm mark.

The city is always bustling with people at the Malls and the Multiplexes. Dunno where so many people come from or where do they stay. This ain't the floating population, nor are the locals. No car parking space even with a capacity of 1400 cars for a mall. Thats' huge traffic and I must say big business. The City Center sure was rocking. But better still was the Forum, for the crowd of course... did you think I went shopping in a mall in Kolkata? Please... last place to look out for .. and go shopping is a Mall. 22 Camac street brought back the feeling of the High Street at Lower Parel, the only difference being the building at Camac Street is much much more impressive with the grand metal entrance.

Marwaris? I guess they are the only truly national race in India. You keep a finger on the map of India and you find this community trading something in that part of the country. Woah. Thus worth a special mention here. They are spread all over the city. Can't miss them in this city can you. Two distinct ways of dressing, both of which can be easily noticed and both of them unique in their own way.

A drive on the Howrah Bridge and the Vidya Sagar Setu. Great fun. Cherish every moment I spent driving past by. A feeling best experienced. Can not be shared.

The premier show of Bow Barracks Forever, with the movie crew, actors, director, producers et al, was made all the more memorable with live performace by the lady Utthup. Hats off to that lady. What a voice! Wow. Got to see the new budding sen-sation close and upfront, wasn't Sen tho' - a Pal. Some unnecessary raunchy scenes made that movie a bit difficult to digest. Otherwise it was worth the time spent.

Good acquaintances, great people, caring-sharing attitude, that's what makes the city so special, and probably makes people refer to as the city of joy. I don't know whether I would return to this city, but sure would love to be there on a leisure trip for a couple of days (no more, no less).

A fairy tale

Friendship isn't always easily described. The Eskimos, they say, have a hundred different words for snow. Unfortunately, the English language isn't quite as innovative, though it has vast opportunities to differentiate meaning. Certainly, Love is one of those opportunities. And so, too, is Friendship. Well my fairy tale does not begin with the cliche "Once upon a time", while I don't quite recollect the date, nor do I recollect how it all started, but what started as a mere acquaintance out of sheer coincidence, has helped me find a friend. I guess its supposed to be that way… almost always! Ain't it? Let alone sharing my cell no., email ID, IM IDs, or accepting friends on my friends list on Orkut, as with the Ruffles Lays kid, I believe, "Mom says, 'I shudn't talk to strangers!!'". And I seldom do. So far so good. I have met many people on the internet, laughed, smiled, and even cried. One particular person, has touched me deeply... I just wanted her to know. I never came around looking for a single soul. But now that I found you I want you to know I had forgotten how to smile, how to laugh, how to be me I had forgotten the sweet pleasure of a heart filled with glee. I was intoxicated with life... work and family Never stopping for fun... it just wasn't there you see. Since I have found you... it's been a complete turn around I smile and laugh again... not much gets me down. I get excited when I see you on Yahoo! Wondering what it is today we will do... Chatting, laughing and the games we play You make my every day! Two people, destined to meet (I wouldn't wait that long for my enemy as much I waited for you), but the inquisitiveness of knowing the person, yet not knowing and never met was always lingering in my mind. The only driving force that kept me waiting and whiling away time under the scorching sun was certain questions which were unanswered. Yes while I do agree that things weren't as bad as I have projected them here, but they weren't any better. Yea yea, of course, who loves endlessly waiting after all? Mind you I am not complaining.  Human nature, eh! Hmmmm… here I admit that whatever it was, it was well worth the wait. While the appearance has got very little to do with it (I don't completely strike it off), I was more so intrigued by a rather basic and a simple question, "so does this person really exist?" or is it just my imagination about a non-existant living being. A case of a person whom I met in the virtual world and just lost my way from the real one. Then there was this obvious "what does this person look like?" popping-up. Staring at each "Taxi" as it went by the domestic barista aka CCD, I had already gulped down a couple of drinks waiting in anticipation expecting the place to be full by lunch time. The college students frequent the place for activities beyond just the appreciation of the brew (homework, gossip, bitching, conspiracy and what not…. all the stuff which I guess I have grown above, prove me wrong!). I guess this is where the gap lies. Something which I would put the blame on to for finding kiddies hang outs boring and uninteresting. By no means am I a kid now, or am I? Oh really? Yes I think so. And I can't help, but think about it, 'what am I doing here?' Falling in love over coffee? Young at heart? Informal? Like juke boxes? Traditionally Cafe Coffee Day has always been a meeting place. Why not meet up at the park instead (thats' not my idea either), sit on a bench, and have the industrial sludge (the coffee from a vending machine)? Don't know! Coffee is a culture and best appreciated when freshly ground. So there I was with a Devil sipping one of her own concoction, topped with yummy whipped cream. Well it was Devils Own after all! Had to be that wee bit special. Conversations and more of em', something other than the mundane studies. While we spoke about colleges for most of the time, I guess we can do better the next time we meet over a gateaux, pastry or something else from a bake-shop. Learnings from meeting – friends are special people. We can't pick our family, and we're sorely limited in the number of them at any rate. Society and mores (and often our own conscience) dictate we select a single mate. But our friends can be as diverse and infinite as the adjectives we choose. Our friends, in a very real sense, reflect the choices we make in life. As the Internet grows and becomes a part of our lives, it brings with it a unique opportunity to meet people we likely would never have met in any other way. And very often, those people we meet on line will become friends. Sometimes, very close friends.