My gtalk blinks with irrelevant unwanted messages..."Instablogs:Latest News"..."Best Forwards of the Year"..."Date with Kylie Minogue"...
I wanted a lazy Saturday ...But I was out for almost the entire day...My day started with usual coffee... mailbox...music...resolutions to clean my room and not living up to it...
930 am...North Calcutta with baba: The cab made its way through the bylanes and cobwebbed alleys...Red brickwalls...narrow lanes... porticos...the colonial hangover... the vintage smell...North Calcutta was waking up to a bright sunny Saturday...Smell of tea wafted from the streets...
An occasional halt near College Street- the hub of quintessential book lover and bearded antels... It took its turn around Shovabazaar... amidst snazzy hoardings Shovabazaar still retained the charm of its palatial mansions...
Passed through Boubazaar lined with the jewellery shops ...noted for their exquisite craftsmanship...And finally crossed Surya Sen Street with its ever crowded Putiram that reminds me of my college days and my regular excursions to Boi para...
The grand old Medical College on one end of the road has special memories for me...I often came here with Maa...I was a kid back then when Ma pointed out to a staircase in Medical College and said..."Oi dekh...oikhane Saptapadi-r shooting hoechilo"...I watched Saptapadi much later... The movie still reminds me of that staircase...
My cab got stuck near Amherst Street...Amherst Street and Mahatma Gandhi Road is lined with surma and band party shops... Mehboob...Roshan ... famous band parties of yesteryears... these musical groups clad in the brightest of colors--red , green, orange, performed in various social gatherings back in 18th and 19th century... However with music systems flooding the market, the melodious memories of the band party are almost extinct...Their dusty old drums, trumpets, saxophones, clarinets still echoes the musical melodies of "Le Jayengey Le Jayengey...dilwale dulhaniya le jayenge" or "Meri Pyari Bahenia banegi dulhania"...
Baba stayed in a rented apartment in College Street during the 70s...He showed me the buildings, streets, sweet shops he frequented...Nostalgia had draped us all over...
I came back home...I got a haircut today though it looks almost the same...
Around 4...I headed for Esplanade...Located in the hub of Calcutta, Esplanade still manages to reflect the ancient charm... The Cottage Industry building and the palatial Oberoi Grand overlooks the city's busiest area... During the days of Warren Hastings, Esplanade was considered as the promenade for ‘elegant walking parties’.
From Dostoevsky's Idiot to Nike shoes to Kashmiri shawls to ornate photoalbums, Esplanade is the hub of all confused tourists, aimless travelers and the shopaholics....
Years back when I was a kid I walked through these streets tagged along with my folks...We went to New market quite often...I still remember the name of a shop called Strawberry...My fashion statement in those years was largely dominated by this brand...
My sister was a cricket fanatic those days...Whenever the huge tourist bus carrying the cricketers stood in front of Oberoi Grand...she jostled with the crowd to get one glimpse of Imran Khan or Viv Richards...I joined her too...I pushed the crowd...tried to make way for her...But back then I really had no clue about Imran Khan or cricket!
During my college years I used to visit Esplanade during film festivals for that quick matinee show in Globe or New Empire....
It was evening in Esplanade...The sepia toned streets in front of Oberoi stretched towards the flyover... lined with usual cabs, busy pedestrians and cars...I hopped into one of the them..."Camac Street jaben dada?"
I do not have any memories about Camac Street...I never knew about Camac Street before college...I discovered Pantaloons and West Side much later in my life...However Coffee Pai in Camac Street was one of my favorite place...They made a special coffee with brownie, cookies and ice cream...
I dont like Camac Street much...The smell of Paw Bhaji, Bhelpuri and pop corns, somehow adds to my disgust...and may be the crowd...it makes me claustrophobic...
My day ends with Forum Elgin Road...A snazzy shopping mall in the heart of the metropolis... The MAC counter with glamorous sales personnel...The Burberry perfume counter eagerly waiting for your response, "Perfumes Ma'm"...Lakme counter promise that perfect make over for you...Shopper's Stop ...airconditioned...moderately crowded...Levis mannequins posed to perfection...The line of eateries in Burpp which exudes a strange smell...Its a combination of Dosa meets Kebab meets Manchurian...
Its 830....I'm walking out of Forum...My day almost ends here..I'm feeling sleepy...
I'm back home...had dinner....and my regular dose of reality tv...And yet another day ends amidst memories and moments...
