 |
Kolkata.
No, non Kolkata… Calcutta.
You can’t love Calcutta if you lot alone experience it through your eyes or your nose. You love Calcutta when you lot experience it alongside your heart.
I felt something unlike when I was wandering aimlessly through Calcutta’s streets this time. Here I was, inward the metropolis I thence passionately claimed to hate. I hated it thence much, inward fact, that I decided to teach for a walk to kill time… There was never anything to do! But suddenly, everything that I had e'er made fun of started making sense to me. Did I alter or did the metropolis change?
 |
| Kolata on the Hooghly River past times ArijeetB (Flickr Creative Commons) |
There went an Aunty inward the typical Bengali avatar- sari in addition to a sleeveless blouse. I remembered why I e'er made fun of their apparel (Only Bengali women from Calcutta tin terminate article of apparel sleeveless blouses alongside their arm fatty jiggling all over the place!). But I couldn’t think why I constitute it thence funny.
I went upwardly to aforementioned Aunty in addition to asked her for some generic directions. She stopped, looked at me in addition to smiled. She gently placed her manus on my arm, turned me to human face upwardly the correct management in addition to patiently explained the agency to me. Her elderly hubby stood smiling past times her side, waiting for her to finish, shopping bags inward hand. They asked me where I was from, why I was randomly walking around, in addition to a host of other questions- a trait I used to respect supremely annoying inward the past. This time, however, something else shone through. I could run across the innocent curiosity of a generation of people who had grown upwardly indulging inward a form of community feeling that I had never experienced, in addition to in all probability never will.
I run across it every fourth dimension I catch my aunt’s place. The plump adult woman side past times side door e'er stands exterior her gate in addition to stares at us whenever nosotros conduct maintain a conversation anywhere inward the vicinity. Nosy, sure, but I haven’t seen that form of unabashed, in addition to strangely endearing, nosiness anywhere else.
One sure as shooting traffic police officer I asked for directions was thence concerned close my determination to walk around, that he kickoff tried to respect out why I’m non inward my ain car, thence tried to convince me to utilization world transport, thence gave me tips on how to avoid getting run over past times traffic, in addition to finally sent me on my way, marveling at my energy, afterwards I assured him I’d alone inquire policemen for aid If I needed any.
Then at that topographic point was the human being who was trying to fill upwardly his H2O bottle from a manus pump. Near impossible task- he was pumping, running to fill upwardly the bottle alongside a few drops, running dorsum to pump in addition to thence on. It would conduct maintain forever. Already starting to autumn inward love alongside the city, I decided to aid him out in addition to offered to concord his bottle piece he pumped. I don’t mean value I’d ever exercise that inward Delhi.
Calcutta cares.
 |
| Calcutta past times Leonid Plotkin (Flickr Creative Commons) |
I visited some relatives in addition to friends on my way. Each i looked delighted at my unexpected presence. I stopped past times at a keen aunt’s house. She was napping. When she woke upwardly in addition to saw me, she jumped out of bed, threw her arms or thence me grinning from ear to ear, in addition to sat clutching my manus similar at that topographic point was no tomorrow. I all of a precipitous felt thence shallow, thence superficial. Is it genuinely thence tardily to brand people happy? Why don’t nosotros conduct maintain this endeavour anymore?
It all of a precipitous dawned on me why Calcutta weddings are non every bit ostentatious every bit the ones I’m used to inward Delhi. We Bengalis (I tell ‘we’ fifty-fifty though I conduct maintain NO intentions of toning downwards the far-in-the-distant-future marriage of my imagination!) don’t run across the demand to pass plenty of coin on apparel costing inward the 5-figure range. We don’t demand 8 cuisines at the wedding. We don’t demand celebrity performers. What nosotros exercise need, however, is to live alongside our loved ones- our friends in addition to family- during the big moments inward our lives.
Calcutta celebrates the things that genuinely matter.
Houses inward Calcutta are non lavish. My sis in addition to I spent years talking close ‘Ugh! How exercise people LIVE there??’ The mutual belief, in addition to in all probability the truth, is that the average Bengali from Calcutta does non brand also much money. And at in i lawsuit I know that it’s non because they’re non talented, or dedicated, or difficult working. No, that’s non it. The average Bengali from Calcutta is non every bit wealthy every bit his or her Gujarati or Panjabi or Marwari counterpart because the Bengali doesn’t alive for money. The Bengali lives for relationships- to exercise novel ones in addition to lift existing ones. The Bengali lives for the arts- you’d live difficult pressed to respect a Bengali youngster who doesn’t sing, trip the low-cal fantastic toe or draw.
The typical Bengali’s solid inward Calcutta is non done upwardly inward fancy upholstery. It has rickety old furniture, in addition to carpets that are thence old you lot cannot pare them off the flooring anymore (my house). The rooms are only whitewashed in addition to the outsides are a faded sea-breeze-weathered balance of a brightly coloured coat of pigment that hasn’t been retouched inward decades. It is dusty, in addition to if you lot expression exactly carefully enough, you’ll in all probability respect newspapers from a few years ago.
The typical Bengali’s solid also has books. Lots of them. Yellowed in addition to dog-eared from readings in addition to re-readings. There are hundreds of music CDs, in addition to fifty-fifty cassettes that haven’t been thrown out yet, fifty-fifty though the lastly fourth dimension somebody listened to i was several years ago. You’ll also in all probability respect a distich of musical instruments tucked behind some furniture.
 |
| India Calcutta Bookstore past times FriskoDude (Flickr Creative Commons) |
The typical Bengali’s solid feels to a greater extent than similar habitation because it’s non perfectly done upwardly similar a hotel room. The intimidating books conduct maintain been read. The fancy dishes conduct maintain been eaten in. The novel mattress has been slept on. You conduct maintain to scout where you lot sit down because at that topographic point may live an old pair of spectacles on the sofa (An oft-repeated, standing joke close Bengalis is our glasses. Almost all of us article of apparel glasses!). The solid almost e'er smells similar food, in addition to you lot tin terminate driblet past times uninvited in addition to unannounced, in addition to are e'er welcomed alongside the most opened upwardly of arms.
We’re non lazy operate shirkers, though nosotros are ordinarily the kickoff ones to teach out role every evening. We don’t aid close overtime pay, but nosotros exercise aid close eating dinner together alongside the ease of the family, discussing everyone’s day.
Never conduct maintain I seen life thence calm, thence peaceful, in addition to thence unhurried than inward those few hours. I was walking at my ‘Delhi pace’, walking briskly, deftly swerving to avoid bumping into anyone. It was similar the basis or thence me was moving inward tedious motion. I knew I was unlike when I heard people exclaim inward surprise when I said ‘I’m from Calcutta’. Everyone looked unconvinced at my claim till I admitted that I belong to Calcutta, but I alive inward Delhi, in addition to conduct maintain most of my life.
You cannot love Calcutta if you lot expression at it critically. You conduct maintain to experience it, in addition to gustation it… Inhale it, in addition to absorb it. And that’s when something changes. Maybe it’s the city… Or mayhap it’s you.
Author Bio: Surya Bhattacharya is an architect from New Delhi. She is currently a blueprint pupil inward Milan, Italy. She wants to go a lot to a greater extent than than she genuinely does. She tin terminate live constitute recounting her 'adventures' on her blog.
For to a greater extent than ideas on offbeat in addition to responsible destinations inward India, visit www.indiauntravelled.com or join on Facebook and Twitter. To contribute invitee posts / photograph essays to this blog, delight run across our contribution guidelines and send your story ideas to blog@indiauntravelled.com.