Friday, June 04, 2004
Oh Calcutta!
Back again in Calcutta , now Kolkata, the city of joy . Whose joy is not clear. The listlessness is still there. Communism has not filled their bellies . The garbage continues to stink. I of course stay in the Grand Oberoi hotel in the comfort of a Rs.4000 per day room having a breakfast fancily priced at Rs.500.
Volvo- E-Volvo
Yesterday I travelled ,overnight , by the Volvo on Mumbai-Hyderabad road .It was indeed a pleasant experience. I had got into the bus at 5 o clock in the evening at Mumbai and reached Hyderabad at 7 a.m.That was a lovely bus ride .
Bengal's lost glory
From the run -down condition of most of the Kolkata's buildings and the total absence of slick shopping malls that dot the cityscape everywhere else one comes to the conclusion that Kolkata has lost its pre-eminence among the modern cities of India .However this remains a culturally alive city .The amount of breast-beating that the Bengali intelligentsia have done after the loss of Tagore's Nobel Prize shows that concern for culture is still alive . In other cities nobody cares.The poem which I wrote on the subject a few days ago goes :
Mother Kali
Mother Kali’s magnificent lidless eyes
Were moist with maternal tears
As Bengal squirmed at her bygone glory
The loss of yesteryears’ literature trophy
Has left its bhadralok bewildered and bereft,entirely.
Thunder and lightning
Yesterday night there was lightning and thunder at the dead of the night. Suddenly the climate has cooled appreciably.In the morning when I came back into my room I found patches of small puddles formed in the maidan which shone beautifully against the morning sun.From the 19 th floor it appeared as if streaks of a dry river suddenly appeared overnight where there was this open ground.
The bridges appeared more beautiful than ever. The yellow taxis which were crossing the bridge looked like toy cars of solid gold from a distance .
Memorable Date !
Guess what , yesterday's date was something to remember ! It was 02-04-2004.
Oh Kolkata
Well. back again here after a gap of less than a month .This time I stay at the Park Hotel , closer to the Foreign Dept. where I am supposed to be spending the next twenty-odd days . The room , on the 19 th floor , which has been given to me in the office has a pretty view of Kolkata and of the magnificent suspension bridges, the old and the new both. Outside , on the ledge,an eagle perched nervously looking at me . Considering the tons of garbage and the oversupply of rodents and other scavengers the presence of eagles is not surprising .
¶ 6:48 AM
Back again in Calcutta , now Kolkata, the city of joy . Whose joy is not clear. The listlessness is still there. Communism has not filled their bellies . The garbage continues to stink. I of course stay in the Grand Oberoi hotel in the comfort of a Rs.4000 per day room having a breakfast fancily priced at Rs.500.
Volvo- E-Volvo
Yesterday I travelled ,overnight , by the Volvo on Mumbai-Hyderabad road .It was indeed a pleasant experience. I had got into the bus at 5 o clock in the evening at Mumbai and reached Hyderabad at 7 a.m.That was a lovely bus ride .
Bengal's lost glory
From the run -down condition of most of the Kolkata's buildings and the total absence of slick shopping malls that dot the cityscape everywhere else one comes to the conclusion that Kolkata has lost its pre-eminence among the modern cities of India .However this remains a culturally alive city .The amount of breast-beating that the Bengali intelligentsia have done after the loss of Tagore's Nobel Prize shows that concern for culture is still alive . In other cities nobody cares.The poem which I wrote on the subject a few days ago goes :
Mother Kali
Mother Kali’s magnificent lidless eyes
Were moist with maternal tears
As Bengal squirmed at her bygone glory
The loss of yesteryears’ literature trophy
Has left its bhadralok bewildered and bereft,entirely.
Thunder and lightning
Yesterday night there was lightning and thunder at the dead of the night. Suddenly the climate has cooled appreciably.In the morning when I came back into my room I found patches of small puddles formed in the maidan which shone beautifully against the morning sun.From the 19 th floor it appeared as if streaks of a dry river suddenly appeared overnight where there was this open ground.
The bridges appeared more beautiful than ever. The yellow taxis which were crossing the bridge looked like toy cars of solid gold from a distance .
Memorable Date !
Guess what , yesterday's date was something to remember ! It was 02-04-2004.
Oh Kolkata
Well. back again here after a gap of less than a month .This time I stay at the Park Hotel , closer to the Foreign Dept. where I am supposed to be spending the next twenty-odd days . The room , on the 19 th floor , which has been given to me in the office has a pretty view of Kolkata and of the magnificent suspension bridges, the old and the new both. Outside , on the ledge,an eagle perched nervously looking at me . Considering the tons of garbage and the oversupply of rodents and other scavengers the presence of eagles is not surprising .
¶ 6:48 AM
