Of sleepy afternoons

Sunwashed mornings, rainy afternoons, magical evenings.....there's something about the place you grow up in, something warm and comforting that transcends all boundaries of geography and time, that makes you remember with fondness and longing.

For me Calcutta stopped in time 6 years back which is when I left the city. And with time I have learnt to selectively block all memories of the dirt, the pollution, the bandhs, the political bureaucracy. All I retain are the fond and warm memories of days I spent growing up there. For the most part of my childhood my idea of Calcutta centered around our house in Kalighat. So my world only stretched as far as Ballygunj (which is where my maternal grandparents lived), Jodhpur Park and Dhakuria (which is where my school was), and the Park Street-New Market area (which is where my Dad would take us shopping- this of course was in the pre AC market and other newer mall days). After I started going to college and learned to explore beyond the boundaries of home I got introduced to college street, park circus and moulali. I discovered the joy of watching back to back shows at Globe and New Empire while grabbing a chicken roll from Badshah. I learnt that you could go to Flury's and order a cold coffee and sit and read a book or talk to your friend for hours without anyone coming and asking you to leave. My orientation of Calcutta started to include places like Kasba, Behala, New Alipore, Kudghat, Ranikuthi, Golfgreen, Salt lake, Rajabajaar. I knew the place to have the first cup of morning tea was Maharani's on Lansdowne Road with accompanying jilipi and shingara; the phuchka would have to be from Vivekanada Park; I could compare between egg-chicken rolls from Campari- Bedouin- Hot Kathi.

For me Calcutta is all about the people: people who will give unsolicited attention and advise to you (the all familiar "ki holo dada, byapar ki?" which translated would be roughly a "what's up, dude?") and places: the early morning smog near the Dhakuria Lake, sweltering afternoons shopping at Gariahat, getting stuck inside an auto-rickshaw during a thunderstorm, going to the Boi mela (book fair) every single day, staying up 4 nights in a row at the Dover Lane Music conference, taking a boat ride from Outram Ghat, eating freshly roasted peanuts at Victoria Memorial, meeting a friend outside Symphony, drinking lassi at Rallis, staying up all night pandal hopping during Durga Pujo, watching the cricket match between India and Pakistan at the Eden Gardens, bunking class to catch a matinee at Nandan.....that is where Calcutta stopped for me and that is the flavor I carry in my heart when I leaf through the pages of my memory. That's what makes Calcutta special to me.