Kolkata Watch- A trip as wonderful as chronicles of Narnia - but sadly without the special effects.The Wedding, The exploration and Food

Warning : The Characters and incidents used here in the description below are all real. Any similarity with any person, location and event is completely on purpose . 
A second trip as wonderful as chronicles of Narnia - but sadly without the special effects

So finally we were inside the train. It was all coming true. We had planned it this time around and it was an event awaited for 4 months. December 2012 was also end of the world. But sadly (thankfully) the world did not end. 

We missed Jango's wedding to be here and we were glad we came. But we did miss Jango's wedding... moving on. 

So me (Taken) Approval and Heartistic were on a train and we met two interesting girls named Analysis and Trend.  Hippo was originally going to join us. He did directly as it was his destiny to explore and perhaps exploit the charms of AirIndia Dreamliner. The conversation we had with Trend and Analysis was interesting. We also accidently met an old college friend Shomie in the train. It felt good to meet her.

The first 3 days were spent in the wedding of  Shenanigans. This time we were introduced to the delicious south indian food (yes ... south indian!) in Hotel Raj. We were guided by Authoreshwari as we visited Kali Ghat and then revisted Netaji's house.

The city of Kolkatta has changed quite a bit with turning itself in blue and white. Also the street lights look pretty but they are just pretty. The walk back was relaxing.

The sangeet was good. We also explored Fire and Ice. Had a cheese less Pizza and cheese full rice. The pre sangeet evening walk included a puchka jhalmuri and finally ended with a misti dohi
We also had a walk from Maidan to Maharashtra Niwas.

The wedding it self was great, it brought people together. Some after a period of 30 years. 30 years is a long time. It was great to be with Shenanigans family. Her brother, her dad and her mom.

After the wedding we (guys) went to Ghariyar and confidently and desisively shopped for saries. (It is not a sarcastic statement).Authoreshwari then helped us find a good place for buying kurtas. We again went back closer to Kali ghat to buy Shakapola - the red and white bangle combination.

The visit to Victoria Memorial brought back old memories but we rushed to find wrist watches at the ghari market. Soon we found ourselves running to reach the boat ride. The ride itself was great and our local hosts    
Authoreshwari and Rangini (colourful) helped us in a big way. 

We had authetic bengali dinner that night at Bhojohori manna where we tasted Ilish, Bheaty, Hilsa and nolengul icecream. Taken did not like Hilsa that much.

The night was completed by a gramaphone music listening session along with coffee.

The last morning Taken Approval Hippo and Heartistic were together again at Flurries. It was sort of the last meal in Kolkatta. The place now looked radically different. It was crowded and had lost some of its charm.

But it was not quite the last meal. We had lunch after that and then we visited Ivory's place were Rangini joined us. Even though Ivory was in Delhi, we had to meet her family for the special time we had at their place the last time.

Taken lost  his camera right at this moment. And then it was time to go back.

The trip had ended on sunday night as the Mumbai smell hit the groups sensation.
This time there was nothing observed between the two cities and when Monday came... Taken reported to work.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sunday, November 21, 2010

Kolkata Watch - An icebergs tip

Warning : The Characters and incidents used here in the description below are all real. Any similarity with any person, location and event is completely on purpose . 

So finally we were inside the train. It was all coming true. It was a dinner conversation a few days back when Ivory suggested that we should all go to Kolkata. Somehow everyone agreed and things did fall in place.

So Me ( Taken) , Hippo, Approval and  Ben  started out to a journey as wonderful as chronicles of Narnia - but sadly without the special effects.

So we had Ben  defeat Approval in a arm wrestling competition. We had the award ceremony and then Hippo and Ben had a pillow fight.

When we eventually landed in Kolkata. (By a train) we saw the evening traffic and we got struck in one place for around 40 mins.

Oh my God - Taken. What is this place. This was my reaction.

Images of city of God (Movie with Om Puri) flashed in my mind. Thankfully I was wrong. And I am glad.

Had milksoda at balwant ka dhaba. Nice. Liked it.

The first morning in Kolkata was spent with Great Expectations which began with a breakfast at Flurry's, a look at St.Xaviers College, the new post office and the whole Park Street area. Also BBD/ Dalhousie block was discovered. 

As we later came to know that this was one of the oldest areas. Also we saw writers building. A building where administration of the state takes place.

And ofcourse Taken had the privilege of running behind a bus to get some change. It was a scene. Approval and Hippo screaming at him to get the change and just as he reached the bus. It started moving and so Taken followed as fast as he could.

In the Evening we were shown the way by the Shenanigans who I guess knows the city as well as Lord Hastings himself or may be even better. So after having the best Puchka it was coffee time in the Place where the CCE close by 10 pm , actually closes by 8.45 but 10 pm it closes for sure. (CAFE COFFEE Evening)

The Bus tour the next day was interesting where we learnt that philosophy, history and culture are blended in Kolkatta roots. Also I learnt that I was not supposed to call a certain someone as laughing buddha, not even as a joke.

Victoria Memorial is indeed spectacular but I also liked the math, Bose house and the jain temple.

May the force be with us. (dedicated to that spectacular film our group watched at the house of  the great social reformer of last century Sir Raja Ram Mohan Roy). 

The wow of the planets dazzled us in the birla planetarium the next day. I had never seen stuff like that. 
Yeah ! I am sarcastic.

But Science City was  good and I felt nice to see entertainment with science packaged and positioned together.

Boat ride down the sethu bridge was also very good. 

A sup-rise for the Shenanigans ended a perfect day after a real delicious dinner  and for once Taken was completely wrong. Ben  was right to burn all the candles on the surprise birthday cake.

The lunch with Great Expectations lead us to the amazing fact that 3 kali mandirs were in the same area. It felt like Mahim. But Mahim has petrol pumps all around and Thane city actually had 3 petrol pumps at the same spot once. But thats enough fuel for debate for a day.

Then as we toured around the city with Sanky we explored areas like India Coffee House and Trams and all.

Ivory, her family and her friends made our dinner with her family one of the most pleasant and memorable experiences in our trip.

The trip had ended on monday morning or had it when we learnt about Eden Gardens - the real one, the race course and the building with 999 windows.

And to tell you the truth Taken actually understood what the trip meant the next day as he landed in CST - Mumbai.

He had just caught a train back to Thane when a couple of Bengali boys asked him which side the platform would come as they wanted to get down at Dadar . I with the charged up refreshed mind told them not only the direction of the platform but also the fact that they should get the corner (khopcha) so it would help them travel with comfort and also assist them to get off the train.

The looks of fellow train travellers told me that I had overstepped the mumbai's code un-written behaviour. We are not supposed to help unless asked. That to me is the major striking difference between the two cities.
One which helps on its own. the other minds its own business and helps out only when asked.
   
By Ninad Tatke

Ten heads and one cake.

It was fresh, it was baked

Along came a delicious custom made cake

Heads turned as it came

"I want a piece badly" - everyone thought the same

And before even eyes could blink

Ten people came and stood still

Awaiting for the piece

Of that cake

Cake was small

The city was far

No one even had a car

The cake could not be shared

And everyone gave it a envious stare

Ten heads and cake

Looking delicious and freshly baked

Each Head unique full of talent

Now awaiting for cake, each head is silent

The cake holder is in catch 22

He doesnt know now what to do

Ten Heads staring at him like Ravana

pratekalach cake tar havana

Mahanun taine kele kaam tamam

Ten heads wala Ravana bethla  Shree Ram

He destroyed his own cake by dropping it on ground

And then he looked around 

It was fresh, it was baked

A delicious useless cake 

The curious case of Uninor.

It came with a wave and bright colours. It was everywhere. It was Uninor.

Now it is no more. Atleast in Mumbai.

The death was sudden, but it was painful. Painful because its users have been left stranded.

They will obviously move on to something else but the point here is external forces are not just a element we learn in B schools and forget about. External forces are indeed a force.

Perhaps in few months from now Uninor will bounce back and create new version of success, perhaps it may not do so.

It continues to operate in six circles.

The late night trance

Ladies and gentlemen   now please pay attention

You are part  of the late night trance

The  logical mind dims and 

The real fun then begins

Like  a slowly cooked biriyani,

the human mind is slowly flavoured

as it waits late in the night

Like  a kite in the wind

it finds  its way to different thoughts

It then  spots  its prey and then it targets

I cant pinpoint what happens

But what should be avoided the night definitely sharpens    

The Night with Rs. 2 - (Part 3) The end of the night.

Back in the hotel room. The lanky one spoke  "Chutia samjha hai kya. Abhi to tujhse kaffi kaam hai. Tu adequted jo hai".

Then the lanky one spoke with others in a language Harish did not understand and the next thing he knew was that he was given a list on a sheet of paper and that paper had a few numbers. he was asked to add these numbers and tell them its average.  Harish did that without any resistance this time as he wanted to gain some confidence. He also was asked to file a few documents and format the laptop. he was also asked to measure a few substances, most probably drugs and document them.  This went on for a while.

As the new day was about to rise. These men again blind folded Harish and took him and dropped him at a place. He was asked to open his blindfold exactly after 3 minutes. This he did and he was free. Harish knew that the whole night, he had helped out in some form of crime but he could not prove. But he could. He suddenly remembered that he had the mobile phone. He immdeiately called his friends, arranged a good lawyer and rushed to a police station to lodge a complaint.

One Month Later :-

The police had managed to track down 5 men who had kept him that night and also cracked their shady business. The lanky one was as it turned out a criminal named Chota Jummur and it was the mobile phone which had helped in tracking down these men.

As for Harish his thumb and index fingers are healing right now but the nights still haunt him. The only thing he asked the police was to keep his identity secret in the media reports of this case as he wants to live life happily and not as a hero. Infact he believes he was just a survivor in the storm which came suddenly one December Night.

The night with Rs. 2. A short Story. (part 2)

 "Toh iska kya kare". Asked the shorter one. Lanky one said "yeh padhaku lagta hai paise nahi to aapna kaam karwa lehte hai". Harish was then blindfolded and his hands were tied and after a walk of about 5 minutes he was pushed inside a rickshaw and then he was droven somewhere. When they opened his blindfold... he was inside a nicely decorated room. It was obviously a hotel room. Harish also saw that there were other men in the room. 

But the man he observed the most was the lanky fellow who had hit him previously. They opened up his hands. The Lanky fellow showed Harish a laptop with a internet connection and told him to open his email. When Harish protested, he was hit hard on his back with a large belt. Still Harish did not open his email. Thats  when his hands were hold up again and his left hands thumb was smashed with a hammer.

Awwwwau.

Then to make the point clear his left index finger was smashed with the hammer.
Aaaahh....

Harish was now in terrible pain and he opened his email and then copy tasted a email already typed in the mail body and sent it to email ids which they gave him. The mail body itself was in english but in code, so he could not understand what was being sent.

The men also spoke within themselves in a language which he did not understand. It was 4.30 am now and the early morning city had already started rising. The pain was hurting Harish's fingers but he also felt a dread. What was in the mail. He had sent it. What was going to happen to him.

Suddenly he felt another slap on his face. He turned and saw that the lanky one was angry again. He also saw that they were going to tie him again and the lanky one had slapped him to get his attention.

Harish ran fast and this even took him by surprise. This turned out to be a mistake as he immediately realised that he was followed by 6 to 7 armed men. In less than 30 seconds they managed to catch him. Then he was trashed.

His eye was swollen now and his stomach hurt and he felt that he might even had broken a rib.

But one good thing had happened due to his stupid attempt to escape. He managed to steal a mobile phone from one of the men. Now only if he could be alone for a moment. Harish smartly switched it off for now. He had a chance now a minor one but a chance never the less.

Back in the hotel room. The lanky one spoke  "Chutia samjha hai kya. Abhi to tujhse kaffi kaam hai. Tu adequted jo hai".

To be continued....

A story by Ninad.

The night with Rs. 2. A short Story.

December is a lovely month.

 The christmas sprit is in the air and even if you dont believe in christianity, you always feel good when the atmosphere around you is fun. 

Harish had a just finished a busy but a satisfying day in office and he went for a drink with his collegues. It was a group of four guys and hence the conversation rolled and more liquor poured. Eventually at 12.10 they decided to call it the night. Harish decided that he will take a taxi to reach home. He checked his wallet and found he just had two rupees. 

So he went to the nearest atm to withdraw money. But alas his card got sucked in by the machine. Now he had no money and no card and it was 12.30 in the night. Calmly he decided to walk to station and catch a train back home. As he walked, the empty roads presented a vast contrast to the people filled noisy ones he was used to seeing at day. 

They say mumbai never sleeps.

 He smiled and thought, well its sound asleep now. He had almost reached station and it was quarter to one. He climbed the footover bridge and caught the train. As stations passed he fell asleep. When he woke up he was in a dark place. 

The train was now empty. He looked at his wrist watch. The glow in the dark dial told him it was 3 in the night. He was in the train yard. He took out his cell phone for some light and discoved that it had no battery. It had gone dead.

 So he groped in the darkness with his hands to find a way forward. Eventually he reached the door and he he jumped out of the train. It was dark outside too but he could see something now. It helped that the moon and stars were prominently visible and functioning that day. He started walking towards a source of light when suddenly he found himself surrounded by four men. The tall and lanky one approached him and before Harish could react, he was slapped. Harish tried to move away but the other three men quickly lunged forward and pinned him. 

The lanky one spoke." Paise nikal". Harish told he had no money with him. Lanky one . 

"Chutia samjha hai kya. Nikal warna aur maruga". He looked me in the eyes and he saw blood shot eyes. Perhaps these men were drug addicts. But they were all strong. He told them that he had no money with me again and they checked his wallet and threw it away in frustration. The two rupee coin was still sitting safely in his pant.

 "Toh iska kya kare". Asked the shorter one. Lanky one said "yeh padhaku lagta hai paise nahi to aapna kaam karwa lehte hai". Harish was then blindfolded and his hands were tied and after a walk of about 5 minutes he was pushed inside a rickshaw and then he was droven somewhere. When they opened his blindfold...

A story by Ninad


To be continued.... Please comment on the Story so far.