3rd august .A pretty insignificant day for the past 22 years .Mainly a day that would be associated with monotony ,if the context was my life .But this year it changed .2014 was building up to be the year i would leave my hometown in search of a career or to create a future for myself (that is what they say in INDIA :P ).But this post is not about me making a name for myself and finding some calling .I left to pursue my masters in engineering (Howard Wolowitz anyone ?? :P :P ).....But more precisely its about my home town Kolkata (or as the British in their gallant accent would say CALCUTTA )....
Calcutta, in the context of present day India is, what would say a dying city .Its vibrancy, being in all its beauty, nothing ,but the brightest glow that the candle light gives before it goes "Poof ".Its a city rotten by politics (unwanted and wanted ),where the people have been labelled, in general, corrupt ,lazy and unnaturally incapable of professionalism .Where time would rather be spent wasted than doing something productive and at the end of the day everyone would say ,"sohor ta ucchonye gechey "(Literally ..this city is a lost case ).Calcutta, being the capital of West Bengal ..(Its Basically Bengal ,,but just enough to the west )..is what the world calls "the city of joy ".A city that is home to Bengalis predominantly, and comparatively less Non-bengalis ..A race that Indians earlier called the lifeforce of the nation ,The people of money,Mind and Intellect (true ..most of the famous indian Minds are from bengal)..but now ,when the whole of India is riding in the wave of Development it is this race that is labelled as corrupt regressive and unprofessional .The state of West Bengal Is nothing different .With closed factories and every new company backing out of proposed projects ,the State and therefore the city is slowly seeing an increasing number of people leaving their home town to try their luck else where .Its turning into a city that once was .
Yet, though insults are thrown at it ,its governance is being criticized ,its own people allowing political blunders to happen at random in the city and the state ,it still remains my hometown .The city that saw my birth .That helped in nurturing me ,in making me what i am today .Kolkata is that city . I may not be a poet ,nor am i a great writer or narrator .but i can say this .I loved ,love ,and will till the end of my time ,love this city . In its every nook and cranny i had spent much of my life so far . In all its glory and pain i have been with this city . And when the time came to reciprocate ,it never disappointed me .Kolkata ,was never perfect .It had and will always have its flaws .But,when i think of it ,not even i am perfect .It is our imperfections that make us human and not gods .And in our imperfections lies our beauty .Kolkata is one such elegant beauty .Yet,the city is in its burning state .Its burning in all our flaws .It is paying heavily for the sins of the people who call it home .
My city is slowly turning into a place without hope .A place of despair .My Kolkata is being insulted all over the nation,mostly by Kolkatans(read ex -Kolkatans ).But i would not do the same .For even in its despair this city held me in all its warmth and loved me passionately . From the Banks of the Ganges to the busy Park street ,from its Metro to its Buses in every part ,my memories are present .Memories capable of framing .Even in its pain this city danced in my triumph .Now,when it was time to say goodbye,it didn't hold me back . It did not shed its tears .But it did say to me ."Remember me ".
As the train passed near Dakhineswar and i could feel i was leaving my home behind there would have been thoughts of "home sweet home" to the nostalgic nineties kid's mind ....but in that moment i realised that me and my city were in a rhythm for the past twenty two years .Through my short life's up and down .And only one thought could come in my mind .
Indeed we were Dancing ...slow dancing like lovers would ....Slow dancing In a burning room .
Calcutta, in the context of present day India is, what would say a dying city .Its vibrancy, being in all its beauty, nothing ,but the brightest glow that the candle light gives before it goes "Poof ".Its a city rotten by politics (unwanted and wanted ),where the people have been labelled, in general, corrupt ,lazy and unnaturally incapable of professionalism .Where time would rather be spent wasted than doing something productive and at the end of the day everyone would say ,"sohor ta ucchonye gechey "(Literally ..this city is a lost case ).Calcutta, being the capital of West Bengal ..(Its Basically Bengal ,,but just enough to the west )..is what the world calls "the city of joy ".A city that is home to Bengalis predominantly, and comparatively less Non-bengalis ..A race that Indians earlier called the lifeforce of the nation ,The people of money,Mind and Intellect (true ..most of the famous indian Minds are from bengal)..but now ,when the whole of India is riding in the wave of Development it is this race that is labelled as corrupt regressive and unprofessional .The state of West Bengal Is nothing different .With closed factories and every new company backing out of proposed projects ,the State and therefore the city is slowly seeing an increasing number of people leaving their home town to try their luck else where .Its turning into a city that once was .
Yet, though insults are thrown at it ,its governance is being criticized ,its own people allowing political blunders to happen at random in the city and the state ,it still remains my hometown .The city that saw my birth .That helped in nurturing me ,in making me what i am today .Kolkata is that city . I may not be a poet ,nor am i a great writer or narrator .but i can say this .I loved ,love ,and will till the end of my time ,love this city . In its every nook and cranny i had spent much of my life so far . In all its glory and pain i have been with this city . And when the time came to reciprocate ,it never disappointed me .Kolkata ,was never perfect .It had and will always have its flaws .But,when i think of it ,not even i am perfect .It is our imperfections that make us human and not gods .And in our imperfections lies our beauty .Kolkata is one such elegant beauty .Yet,the city is in its burning state .Its burning in all our flaws .It is paying heavily for the sins of the people who call it home .
My city is slowly turning into a place without hope .A place of despair .My Kolkata is being insulted all over the nation,mostly by Kolkatans(read ex -Kolkatans ).But i would not do the same .For even in its despair this city held me in all its warmth and loved me passionately . From the Banks of the Ganges to the busy Park street ,from its Metro to its Buses in every part ,my memories are present .Memories capable of framing .Even in its pain this city danced in my triumph .Now,when it was time to say goodbye,it didn't hold me back . It did not shed its tears .But it did say to me ."Remember me ".
As the train passed near Dakhineswar and i could feel i was leaving my home behind there would have been thoughts of "home sweet home" to the nostalgic nineties kid's mind ....but in that moment i realised that me and my city were in a rhythm for the past twenty two years .Through my short life's up and down .And only one thought could come in my mind .
Indeed we were Dancing ...slow dancing like lovers would ....Slow dancing In a burning room .
