Watch out, you dumb ****, when you hear those words and the area smells of fish, you are at Howrah Railway Station. That was how I was greeted on my first trip to the eastern part of India.
The concept of a Crowded railway station is not new to a Mumbaikar but with 23 platforms, Kolkata welcomes you in a grandiose fashion and it feels like eternity when you finally reach the car parking.
The yellow Ambassador taxis transports you to the good old times. The famous Howrah Bridge welcomes you, bathed in yellow lights in the night sky and no matter how matured you are, you are left with no option but to stare at the engineering marvel with sparkling eyes.
The vehicular traffic made me feel at home and the long drive to Salt Lake presented me an opportunity to witness the sleeping city’s glory, aging like a fine wine.
Although it was an official tour, I left no stone unturned in exploring the city in my free time. A city which only existed eloquently in travel blogs and literature pieces had actually come to life.
A wise man said to me, Dada, if Kolkata is heart, then Sandesh is the heart-beat. This wise man was the owner of that sweet shop and I was glad to be his guest for the next fortnight, tasting almost all the sweets he had to offer! Sandesh, Rosogulla, Mishti Doi, Rasmalai; you wont regret ditching your diet and putting on a few kilos for these delicacies.
On a lighter note, a colleague said, Fishes can survive without water but no Bengali can survive without fish, so you very well know what you may be served every day for your meal. I had a tough time finding dishes which had no fish or eggs or chicken. And this was when, the humble ‘puchkas’ came to my rescue. It is a sin not to gorge on the roadside puchkas if you are in Kolkata.
Apart from food, the second thing Kolkatans absolutely love, is their sport. A visit to Kolkata without visiting Eden Gardens would have killed the cricket fanatic inside me. The entrance to the Mecca of Indian Cricket boasts of India’s many iconic cricketing moments. Contrary to the nation’s sole obsession, almost every open space in Kolkata is a potential football field and you just can’t resist yourself from joining the young boys in their game.
If fascination over art is an art, then Kolkata is the Picasso of it. The city is blessed with art in its every by-lane. Crossing the Hooghly river in the jetty, at the backdrop of the scenic Vivekanand Setu, with Rabindra Sangeet playing in the background is a delightful solace for your wandering soul. In the mad rush to survive modernisation, Kolkata preserves Tagore in its music, Vivekananda in its morals, Netaji in its valour and Teresa in its humility.
If you are a culture and history buff, Kolkata is an incomplete assignment without a visit to the Victoria Memorial. Spend few hours in there and you would know more about the less. And yes, to reach there, you can ditch your sedans for the trams that still holds its place tightly, on the concrete roads and in the concrete hearts.
This city has seen it all, the years from 1911-41 of prosperity and expansion. Even Kolkata was not immune to the harsh sufferings of the mortal world. Japanese air raids, Famine, communal riots, the second partition. No other Indian city benefitted in quite the same way from British rule, but no other city had to pay as high a price either.
But the spirit of interchange and assimilation, which has been part of Kolkata’s ethos from the beginning, triumphs once more. Kolkata continues to provide pioneering leadership in various fields, as if Goddess Durga lovingly nursed the wounds of her child city every time it bled.
Like a Kaleidoscope, although a simple toy, enchants you in a million ways, Kolkata awaits you to mesmerise in a million more. Like a Kaleidoscope is best enjoyed with your loved ones, my dear friends, when are you packing your bags for Kolkata? 😊
