Kolkata - The City of Joy

Growing up in a city as intimate as Kolkata will always be a bliss to me...31 years in the same city, growing up and knowing all the nooks and corners of Kolkata had been a wonderful experience...and, my memories make me live each day in Kolkata again...feel each season once more through my mind's eye...My blog speaks about me...weird to some...adorable and a perfect darling to others.....
Romance and the City...Kolkata is truly a fascinating place...and who would say that more than the young lovers of the city! The city has always been a great place for romance...there is a place for all types of lovers at every nook and corner of the beautiful city. Be it a park or a movie hall, a restaurant or a cafeteria...a boat ride along the Ganges...the crowded shopping malls or just a long drive along the quite highways...there are so many options to choose from.....
Nandan:

Located on one of the most busy streets of the city, this is originally a movie hall. It is also one of the most prestigious cultural complexes of Kolkata. But, in more cases than one, Nandan serves much more than just a movie theater. The lush greenery and marble paved pathways among which it stands attracts more people than just movie goers. So, we would often find college students sitting cozy under the trees and around the walls of Nandan. You can also see a lot of typically "intellectual" couples walking around with cloth bags on their shoulders and sipping black tea. But, to top it all, Nandan serves as an ultimate place for college goers who have just slipped into the world of romance...

VictoriaMemorial:

Besides being a museum and a great tourist attraction, Victoria Memorial has also always been a great place for young college couples. A minimal entry fee and in return they get cool shady seats under the big trees. Sitting on the lush green carpet around the grounds of this place and whispering loving words in each others' ears can really be a great attraction for young lovers.

Restaurants:

Sitting over a candle light dinner is quite an archaic yet elegant way of expressing love. So, in every restaurant of Kolkata, you will always find a lot of couples leaning over a plate of noodles or pasta. Starting from the big ones like Oh! Calcutta and Mainland China to the comparatively smaller ones like BBQ, Peiping or Magnolia, these are usually the places for love-luncheons and dinners. 14th Feb in these places can be a nightmare as the loving angels do not leave a single place for anyone!


Hangouts:

Kolkata also specializes in a number of hangout places. These places are very popular among college goers, especially large groups...out of which sweet couples come out. You might often find a girl and a boy a part of a big crowd today...and sitting away, alone and together at a cozy corner tomorrow...Such hangouts include Haldirams, Coffee Pie, CCD, Barista, Flurys and not to forget "Hangout" in City Center! People eat very less here...sometimes sharing just a single chat or samosa plate...but the time spent is enormous and a great deal worthwhile!

Coffee House: Another popular hangout, the oldest among the cafes of the city, Coffee House definitely deserves special mention. With scattered chairs around small square tables, this place has a charm in its antiquity. The second floor of Coffee House in College Street is specially dedicated to young love birds. Hand in hand, eye in eye...you can spend hours at this place. Kolkata has witnessed a lot of love (not to forget a lot of break ups as well) over a cup of infusion (strong black coffee) at this warm place.

Parks:There are a lot of parks in the city as well where you can find college lovers flocking, especially during the end of the month (when pocket money seems to lessen down and cafes and movies become a perfect no-no). Citizen's Park on AJC Bose Rd, Millennium Park by the Ganges or the Central Park in Salt Lake...Love cannot flourish better than under the wide blue sky above and with lush greenery around!

Ganges:

The River Ganga remains an eternal place for romantic souls in Kolkata. A boat ride along the breezy river or just snatching at each others' jhal-muri along the banks can be a memorable experience. Ice creams, phuchkas, bhelpuris...the ingredients found along the banks of the river are just appropriate to spice up your love life for the evening...With all the places mentioned, there still remains the highways (Eastern By-pass or Rajarhat Road) where lovers with cars go for lovely long drives. The nooks and corners still remain...way-side tea-stalls, art galleries...even the libraries...lovers flock everywhere...love happens everywhere in the city! Behind Victoria, along Kolkata's Race Course...the streets are silent and charming in their own way...a wonderful place for budding lovers to express and feel...With the cool breeze tugging at your carefully set hair...and the nip in the air tickling you beneath your sweat-shirts...evening walks hand-in-hand can really be a major part of your love lives...

Raindrops on Roses..
It's wonderful that the rains are here now. After days and days of heat and humidity, the rains seem to be a perfect bliss to everyone...it's not only the rains, not only waters and not only the water logging...it is also about the cool north wind, the clustering nimbus clouds in the sky...gray against a bright blue...it's about a refreshing smell with the green leaves turning greener and roses redder...Everything gives a feeling of wetness...starting from the clothes in the clothes-line to the towels in the towel stand...the clothes that are hung on the roof for drying often come back wetter than ever at the end of the day...window sills and railings always have rain water dripping...lone crows perching on the street lamps...feathered sparrows all hoch poch with the water...dogs running around for a shelter... It's lovely to have a sky full of dark clouds in the morning...rustling breeze swishing through the trees and drizzling rain forming a delicate net outside the windows. It's lovely when schools declare a "rainy day"...it's even lovelier to rush for the school bus before the rain catches you, your bag stuffed with raincoats and umbrellas...and, it's heavenly to return home late wading through the water logged streets at the end of the day!It's heavenly to come home and be pampered by your mother with plates full of sizzling fries and hot cups of bournvita or steaming coffee...The rain follows its own sweet rhythm and goes on pattering...the clouds go on grumbling...what does it matter! We are at home now...tucked under the warm sheets, it's a divine feeling to hear the pittar-patter raindrops at your window sill...the frogs still croaking and the insects buzzing away...The cool rain outside makes the homes warmer and cozier...the notes and the melody of the rain are lovelier than the loveliest music ever composed...and it takes you to some distant dreamland...while, Kolkata continues to bathe...bathe in the loveliest music of nature...

When the sky turns grey...
Summer comes in Kolkata with a lot of things...unbearable heat, a rise in the price of air conditioners, a scorching sun, perspiration, bathing twice a day, a lot of talcum powder, black umbrellas, sun screen lotions...And a bit more. Summer in Kolkata also means relishing mangoes, ripened jack fruits...lassi and fruit juices...longer days...cooler nights...cool summer wears...cool evening breeze...and Nor' Westers, or Kalbaishakhis.Kalbaishakhi seems to be the most desirable part of Kolkata summer...It usually starts sometime during the late afternoons. Starts with everything turning a terrible gray...with dust flying hither and tither...with polythene packets flying in the air...followed by flashing lightning and grumbling thunder...with closing windows and banging doors...with people rushing to save their already dried clothes......and the kalbaishakhi goes on with a cool spell of rain...with cool raindrops pattering on the streets, washing away the dusts, settling the flying packets on the mouths of the open drains and resulting in bits of water logging here and there...The rain doesn't last long, but the wetness and coolness hangs around for long, on the lanes and by-lanes, on the street lights, on the balcony railings...the cool breeze lingers on for the whole of the night...the smell stays on...the feel lulls every Kolkatan to a deep sleep for the night...

As the leaves start falling...
Kolkata has never been so dear to me. Far away from the City of Joy, I can feel the subtle yet strong bond I share with the place where I was born. The love for Kolkata lies in the old smell, the crowded streets...the busy sidewalks, the junk food vendors...the fresh sunrises and the dusty twilights...
Autumn must have silently said goodbye by now...winter is gradually setting in with a feeling of coolness and coziness.
Falling leaves and thick fog in the mornings characterize winter in Kolkata…The day starts with sipping a steaming cup of hot coffee and ends with a cozy sleep among the thick blankets that remain tucked up in the cupboards all through the year.
The quaint lanes of the oldest part of Kolkata become vibrant and lively with the smashing and thudding sounds of badminton rackets. Sundays and holidays in winter are great times to play badminton and cricket on the streets.
As a slanting sun peeps round the corners of the big buildings of the city, the cable wires and the dry branches of the trees seem to be the best places for the crows and sparrows to perch on. Breakfast is a yummy experience on winter mornings. Added to the holiday mood, they tend to be spicier and lip smacking. ‘Koraishutir Kochuri’ or ‘Luchi-Alur dom’ seems to be the ruling preferences in every household.
As the day rolls into afternoon, lunch is followed by a snug nap, with orange peels all around…with the sun coming in through closed glass window panes…with goosebumps in your thighs because of the cold…with dreams in your eyes…
Evening follows, cold as ever…with hot tea and fries…doordarshan news…ma’s kitchen seems to be the best place then…the warmth of the stove…the smell of dinner.
It’s no longer a snug winter anymore…no longer warm anymore. Far away from city of joy, the sunrays no longer warm up my cold fingers…

Clouds of Nostalgia :It rained heavily last night...started with gurgling thunders...queer drizzles and ruffling breeze...It must have ended with wet streets, a fresh feeling and dripping rains...I have always loved to bathe my hands in the rain...but I'm so far away that the rain water doesn't reach me anymore...but I can still feel the freshness...the wetness still touches me...deep within me...Back in Kolkata, it still rains although the pujas are near...rain's a spoilsport now...what with all the shopping still left and so many accessories still to match, you cannot really afford to waste your weekends anymore. The pomp is round the corner, the festivity is on its way...Last minute touch ups on the Durga idols...a final touch at the pandals...Are the drummers on their way? And the Kolkatans? All year out of Kolkata, only to return during this most loved time...to dance to the drumbeats...to get lost in the festivity and inhale the enchanting fragrance of the incense sticks...'coz this is the time to lose yourself...to dress your best, to eat your best, to speak your best...write your best...and feel your best...Far away in a distant city, the sky is not as blue as Autumn sky in Kolkata...the fragrance not the same...the music's not the same......but, somewhere deep inside my heart, the feeling is still the same...sitting at my desk, hidden behind my machine...

I will still be a part of all the festivity...31 years of life have instilled in me the merriment...which pops up exactly at this time...Deep within me, I still h ear the drumbeats and tap my foot in its rhythm...I can still feel the lovely fragrance which refreshes me...my mind's eye still sees the color and vibrancy of Autumn in Kolkata...of Durga Puja...and all the odds and ends that come with it...