Saturday 23 March 2013

My Kolkata Walk





There are holidays, & 'holy' days, 'wholeness' days & 'holla-out-loud' days, honeymoons & heavenly hiatus &, of course, your good old fashion, run-of-the-mill, rest & relaxation, sexy vacation. All imply some form of respite, intermission, suspension of duty & recess from the ravishes of everyday life, perhaps even some perfumed-pamper & a little extra five-star-sparkle thrown into the crystal clear waters.



  The Hooghly River


I do not travel to INDIA for any of the aforementioned, ney, I tell you, I go there to be: propelled, pummelled, shaken about, spun around, smacked sideways, stunned, stupefied, confounded, confronted, crushed, affronted, assuaged, jolted, jarred, scarred, stared-at, serenaded-to, thwacked-on (by ricocheting spit-balls!) bumped-into, blessed & blithely bothered. In short, I go to experience the full gamut of human experience, of life 'Unfiltered'....a 'Walk of Life', which starts for some, & ends for others, in Kolkata.



The push & pull of industry



The family that works together...




Negotiating the space


Kolkata, that City of questionable 'Joy', that evokes more Dickensian drudgery, than Dalrymple delight, more 'Mother-House' affliction, than multi-fusion menu & more begging black-holes than a quantum-physics symposium. That she is ALL this, and more, makes her so frustratingly fascinating & likeable, people flock to her Hooghly-shores, not to escape the minutiae of life, but to face it.....head on & unapologetically.



 The wall of fancy-pants pundits




Tottering trams & tired buildings




Herbaceous road-side vendors




Peaceful Buddhist Shala




Ever wonder where your hair/shaving brushes come from? 
The finest goat manes!




Bow Barracks




Door to the 'other' side




 Churning chick-pea flour




Old Russian Theatre




Spicy street


While the heaving Howrah Bridge dominates, & august, British-colonial monuments flank the cityscape, as well as lend to it its modern history, it is the interactive alleyways & 'paraganis' (traditional townships), with it's confluence of cultures - British, Persian, Chinese, Armenian, & Portuguese among them, their shapely shrines, mosques & churches, edifying eateries, beguiling bookshops, institutes for 'adda' (political/topical conversation), tireless tailors, wily wallahs, vendors & hawkers, iconic, rickety-rickshaws, scrumptious, sought-after sweetshops, witty, bouncy, Bengali repartee, rolly-polly aunties in shimmering saris & unmatching cardigans, little girls in felicitous frou-frous, paired with non-negotiable Nikes, the elder-spunk in a safari, the young bro' in Gabbana, industrious indie films, lilting literature & fierce, freedom-fighting....that all give this city its soulful, colourful cadence.



Beth El Jewish Synagogue, 1856




The call to prayer caps




Old Portuguese Cathedral, 1799




Bubbly bidi (cigarette) stall
 jolly Bengali belly!




Vanity Fair!  
Mirza Ghalib (Freeschool) Street 




Dakshineswar Temple




Namaste your Majesty! 
The royal residence under renovation




Armenian Church, 1707




Snack time









Puppy-Love




Hindu wedding preparation




100 year-old Chinese tea shop

   
So, Ok there are also scuzzy dogs & stench-filled drains, pesky touts & clambering charlatans, roving eyes & ridiculous poverty, not to mention a swelling, swarm of 22 million sonorous souls all vying for that same cup of chai...but there's a story for ALL of that &, if you're interested & willing to rise above otherwise preconceived notions, relatively privileged lives & necessary sanitary proclivities, able to stomach the sensory intensity & digest the inescapable iniquities......you might just get a far more gratifying & graceful picture of this grand & life-giving megalopolitan.



The poor



The industrious



The hungry



The iconic


Don't expect though, to see a beautiful city.....if anything, she is a shambolic mess of snazzy new cars, overwhelmed infrastructure, whiteness cream, dreams, fumes & aspiration. Kolkata tests & beckons you to forage for her 'beauty', weed it out, blow off the refuse, paint it a new colour, reinterpret the concept, pack it away.........then carry it in your heart, veins & lungs, for a lifetime.




Thank you for making space in your day to read my post
PLEASE CONNECT WITH ME ON IG or TWITTER

**************************************************

#All Writing & Photography by Rani.C (Char)


If comments box below does not appear, move cursor along pink bar to reveal the 'comments tab'...I love to hear from you all!

3 comments:

  1. Happy to be the first to comment on this brilliant post. Rani you are an impressive writer and a joy to read. Makes me want to visit kolkata. Amazing photos, amazing place .. Roland

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Big thanks my friend! Kolkata is waiting to welcome & challenge you.
      Actually, followers & friend's comments were mostly left on my now defunct FB page. Hugely grateful for the kind feedback I received from people I met on there ... & of course, on here.
      Glad you enjoyed this, & once again, cheers for your time & appreciation of my posts. Makes a gal grin much too widely!! Xx

      Delete
  2. Amazing words and photos. You have so many talents its crazy!
    Peace -
    John

    ReplyDelete

#Thanks for bringing some extra sparkle & cheer to the Palace today. I'm delighted to read your comments (& Shimmying too!!!)