Yep! Am back from the city of joy, science museums, Victoria Palace, first metro trains, trams and many more- The Kolkata. Though it seems to be an ancient place while driving through Howrah bridge and the connected streets but this place also has its metropolitan look once you develop interest to visit places like Park Street and Salt Lake.
Things I liked
I would say it’s a perfect destination for women who carry special hormone of that of a shopaholic. That place has every, really every possible thing a woman could imagine to stash into her wardrobe, bathroom, dressing room, kitchen, lawn, home, car and just anything. And the best part is you get them almost in all possible prices you imagine you can afford! Consequently its appealing, motivating and attractive market didn’t urge me to escape from there unlike all the markets in Raipur. (I am a big time shop-phobic) Although being a girl, it’s strange that I resist it, I rather prefer aimless shopping…picking up things like that only.
Oh! The restaurants there, are simply wowiee!! Every time I visit Kolkata, there’s a new restaurant I try to explore. Where my focal concentration would be ambience not the food, I feel the interiors and décor to be absolutely exclusive and unique. I went to Barbeque this time, a luxuriously expensive and yum experience.
Better than worse
I liked one thing that I haven’t found so widely in the places I have visited till date. The Hospitality. May it be a ‘paanwala’, ‘bhelwala’, or any other street vendor or a service provider. They serve absolutely ‘Dil Se’, they assure you best service and are dedicate din their work to fulfil customer’s satisfaction. ‘Jabaan ki value hai boss’ bol dia matlab hoga…I liked that spirit.
Things I Didn’t…
Okay! To ensure you, the banner of this post doesn’t go with me or the positive aspects of that place it’s just to highlight the characteristics of citizens of Kolkata. ‘Just to highlight’ because it would be too exhausting to get into the deep and Explain them, it’s endless. They can’t be described so easily, just a try. And it’s basically about the higher class Marwari crowd there so, no offenses with others please…
I gathered courage to write them here because I have been analysing them since years now, I was eight when my sister was married off to Kolkata then I was sixteen when another flew there happily. The frequent but permanent changes were good for them to survive in the metropolitan place like Kol.
And that gave birth to a perfect Kolkatian breed or say ‘avatar’! After their kids were brought to that beautiful world of Hippocrates, diplomatic rich and flaunt crowd. My pensive nerve told me that Kolkata is less about Bengalis and fishes and more about Marwaris and riches. First most annoying thing of this breed is, the moment they meet you, regardless of gender discrimination they behave like Maharajas who have just been dismounted from an Arabic horse! Almost everyone has got a big mouth there, even kids, too outspoken to be called kids, too matured to be innocent. If richer than the other one they can build a Tajmahal of flaunting words. Irritatingly they don’t give you a chance to describe what interests you because they are too busy graciously praising themselves.
Truly the day I reach there, I feel like a mouse who desperately searches for a hole to rest, hide and keep away from chauvinism. The moonless sky reveals the story of lifelessness there. I would say Raipur is far better than that place. Yes, dear friends it’s me who’s saying this. They say ‘Life is a wonderful servant but a terrible master’, accurately proved here. They (whom all I have met there) are all faithful servants of mind. There’s not a single mark of spirituality or truthfulness but there’s a desert of footsteps of materialism. People there do not care for how much you know until they know how much you have…in terms of materialism. The smirk on their faces invites you to a friendly talk and later you discover that the smirk was a cooker that needed a whistle to blow the pressure. And you were the whistle! (grin)
The heights of greediness, screams of flashiness, lowest temperature of air conditioner cars/rooms, competition between the filthy rich and filthier rich and no vacancy for kindness/ honesty/ hard work made me nauseated and depressed and sick on bed for 3 consecutive days. Doctor said it’s the food and climate. Definitely I thought, the food of money and climate of money again had sucked up my soul.
I tell you it’s so tiring to even pen them down here on an MS word page. Basically it scares me because everything that happens once has a chance of not happening again but something that happens twice has a higher chance of happening thrice or more…and I have been to that place more than twice.
I would rather prefer to nestle the face against the chest of dusty Raipur or any other remote area…but Kolkata? A big ‘NO’. Because I don’t want my teeth should fall before age, due to frequent gritting.
Cheers Kolkatians! Don’t come out, be there.
