Poila Boishakh 1416

Bengali year 1416, April 15, 2009 AD, was welcomed with music and dance, drama and recitals at the Netaji Subhash Indoor Stadium, here in Kolkata. Presented as “Joy Hok. Joy Hok, Nobo Noboarunodoy” – the entry fee was a mere Rs 20.

The evening began at 6 pm and ended past midnight. Featuring well known poets and musicians, vocalists and dramatists, it ended with “Mumbai’s Abhijit” singing in Bangla. My favourites – Joy Goswami and Protul Mukhopadhay were there too.

I was there late but left a little before Abhijit came on stage. The reason being, I have seen Abhijit too many times in Mumbai and in fact, he and his band rang in the 2000 millennium year for our Agency in Mumbai’s Royal Palms Hotel at Goregaon. A big incident had marked that night.

We had two shows going side by side. One at the Royal Palms which I and my team were managing and one at Fantasy Land which was being managed by another team.

It so happened, the organizers at Royal Palms started late and no sooner had the drinks been laid out, they were also over. The cover charges at that time were Rs 2000 per head and you can imagine the place was full. The open air music and dance which we as Event Managers were doing, featured Abhijit and his team. Needless, to say, Abhijit too was late and we hoped that the drinks would keep the crowd entertained. Alas!

The boisterous crowd yelled for more wine, while we kept them entertained with fillers till Abhijit arrived. As soon as Abhijit arrived, he bolted out two of the most popular numbers. The crowd forgot their grievance and rolled! All except one! A drunken Sardarji, desperate to win a backless beauty’s attention, jumped on stage and began to hurl abuses at the Royal Palm’s Management. It was a screaming match out there, there on, as we hid Abhijit back stage and pushed the now crowded with the aam junta on stage, back to where they belonged. It was at least 20 minutes of struggle before Abhijit could reappear and belt out more of his songs.

We had worked with two to three hours sleep for over 72 hours and the last straw really was managing the Event up to 3 am the night/early morning of 1st January, 2000. The last of the drunken, drooling, smooching, hugging couple left at nearly 4 am. I asked the car which was to drop me at the Office for a night crash on the Office bunk, to drop me home instead as I longed to hit my own bed and die out to the world for at least the whole of 1st and 2nd January, 2000.

It was not to be. As we were waiting at the level crossing for a train to pass, I decided to get off the car and cross the lines and get into an auto on the other side and ride home without delay. Just as I crossed the lines, I misjudged a hole dug in the ground and trying to step over it, fell and hurt my forehead badly. Blood oozed out like a rivulet down my face and the waiting rickshaw sped me to the nearest Nursing Home. I had several stitches on my forehead and my sleep escaped for again two more days!

Thus, this time, I hastened to flee the Abhijit masala music!

But, alas! This time too, when I arrived at 1 am, I found that I was locked out! Thus, had to break open the door to get into my Shobho Navabarsha home! Bizarre! But this time, I blame it additionally on the presence of a well known politician there!

Momotadi!

I wish all my readers Shobho Navabarsha – 1416 Bengali New Year!

Ami Bangla
Ami Bangla Gai
Bangla amar jeebonanaonda
Bangla amar moun

- Protul Bandhopadhay

Kolkata College Street and elsewhere (Photo Blog)

......inside the Tram

College Street Coffee House

On Sunday 12 April, 2009, the famous College Street Coffee House opened after being closed for six months for renovations.

Albert Hall – which is the other name for the College Street Coffee House – was set up by the Coffee Board in the early 1930s, but had decided to close it in 1958 and retrench staff. It created such a furore that the then CM of Bengal – Dr Bidhan Roy stepped in and the Albert Hall workers, under his guidance formed a cooperative and started to manage the College Street Coffee House themselves.

This year the Coffee House, the intellectual hub and adda of anyone worth his intellectual salt, in Kolkata celebrates its Golden Jublee.

There is a brand new look and the old dirty walls have been washed and cleaned and have been given a lively-yellow. There are frescos and terra-cotta tiles on the walls and arty lampshades and in spite of the new look, the old has still been maintained.

Poets, writers, economists, CMs and all are regulars here.

And now, having visited this post – so are you, dear Readers!

NB: Landmark just ahead of Coffee House

Kolkata Haat - The New Thing in Town

He rocks!

Waiting for the gawds

Lay men too...

.......I scouldn't dance with another, when I saw you standing there - Beatles

Title: Kolkata Haat at New Market
On Friday, February 27th, 2009, Kolkata saw the opening of Kolkata Haat, a concept borrowed from Dilli Haat.

According to the Times of India February 21, 2009, The Kolkata Municipal Corporation along with Simplex (the car-parking solutions provider at New Market, Kolkata) decided to give New Market, the much needed a new push, all for nostalgia’s sake.

Kolkata New Market holds a very special place in the hearts of many and in a bid to keep it that way, KMC has decided to turn a certain section, along the pedestrian plaza of New Market into a ‘Me-too’ like Dilli Haat, in New Delhi. Thus, starting February 27, 2009, Friday evening – Sunday evening, every weekend, crafts of every district of West Bengal will take turns to showcase and sell their art and crafts. This is expected to give the much needed thrust to the tourist community in Kolkata to hang-out over the weekends at New Market, exploring art and craft and participating in the delicious lost Bengali delicacies. So next time you plan a trip to Kolkata, make sure you don’t miss the Great Kolkata Haat – ever!

New Market is in spread across a large area in Esplanade, and if you are arriving there by Metro rail just get off at Esplanade and walk into Kolkata Haat – and explore! And don’t miss the wayside happenings too as you go. For me it was a great pleasure to encounter and get lost in the music of the sixties by a band of young students sitting on the footpath and displaying their paintings and their love for music…..Kolkata Rocks!

Timings: Friday evening to Sunday evening, every weekend, Kolkata New Market.

Deepu Weds Kavita

Deepu with his mother, Nidra

I am not sure if one can call oneself fortunate or fastly aging if one gets to see the birth of a child and then be present at the wedding of that child as well.
A young girl came to our house in Bombay in the final years of my school days and continued to stay with us till she was nineteen or so. Then she returned to her village, in Nadia district about an hour’s journey from Sealdah in Kolkata. Her name is Nidra. During the years she lived with us in Bombay, she virtually became like my younger sister.

A couple of years after she returned to her village, we heard she had got married. Shortly we heard she had given birth to a son as well. But alas! No sooner had her husband heard that she was pregnant, he fled, leaving her to fend for herself and the baby. The baby was called Dipankar Mondol.

Not an uncommon thing here in the villages of Bengal but for us it was heart breaking. Naturally, we brought the mother and son back to our home in Bombay. For many years they lived with us, both in Bombay and Pune until, when he was around 15 years, both mother and son returned to their native village, to visit us during his holidays from school.

On February 10, 2009, Dipankar married Kavita, a girl living nearby in his village.

Kavita, in her bridal form

Sindur ceremony

Saat phera

“Mashi,” he had called me, “ ami beye korchi”. – Mashi, I am getting married.Naturally, I joined the elite borjatrik(people from the boy’s family) and introduced myself to the girl and her family as – “ Ami Deepur Mashi” – I am Deepu’s maternal aunt.

The wedding started at around 9pm and went on till after 2am the following day. The next morning, after a sleepless night, we arrived back to the boy’s house, since as a rule, marriages happen at the girl’s. I left for Kolkata after plates full of mishti and a sumptuous meal of maach bhaat complete with mishti paan.

Bringing the bride home......

.....even as the tuition classes go on.....

.......and others look on!

Pssst! …….and already the Tu Tu; Main main have begun as Nidra, whispered in my ear – “Dhoor! Ekdom bhalo lage na. Meyer data uchu….” – I don’t like it at all. The girl has buck teeth!

Oh Gawd! Not again!!

Blind Faith or Heresy

Hoshangabad is a small town in Madhya Pradesh about a few kilometers away from Itarsi and an hour and a half from Bhopal by train. The place is famous for many reasons – the Indian mint is there. Some of the earliest settlements by the Narmada happened here. You also have rock paintings here.

However, of late it has become famous for other reasons as well.

The above pictures are taken at the so called Jai Bhole Baba Nath Aushadhalay which is thronged by thousands of very poor and illiterate people, who come from as far as 300 kms away roughing a tough journey, bitter cold and heat, to seek remedies for their umpteen ailments. The Baba’s main job is to assess their ailments and give them one of the water + powder concoctions and send them away giving them direction of how to use it. Most of it is of course for external use. Fee: Rs 50 only

Bhole Baba Nath has been operation there for many years. Four years ago when I first saw him, he was a puny fellow, looking starved and needy himself. However, things have changed now. He looks in the pink of health and has numerous sevaks at his disposal. He has also usurped a large government plot, constructed a pucca structure and has his living quarters adjoining this plot. There are two temples there as well – one of Durga and the other of Hanuman. He must believe that the latter will save him, because this plot on which he sits belongs to the forest department and the adjoining jhoparpattis have received four threats from the forest department already that their meager huts would be demolished soon and they need to find alternate accommodation. Many of the hapless inhabitants of these jhopadis have rushed to Bhole Baba for help.

In India, one thing is clear – it is very difficult for even the government to lay a stone on their hearts and demolish a temple and hence, the smart Babas have made sure that to occupy any land, they first construct a temple and then keep sprawling around. This has become a trend and if the Yoga guru, Baba Ramdev can become so famous having started from his humble background as a jariburi awashadhey wala to a Yoga celebrity, why not other Babas?

Therefore, Jai Bhole Nath Baba is NOT so bhola after all!

Jai Bhole Nath Aushadalay
Near Collector Karyalaya
Ma Narmada ke tat pe
Hoshangabad
Mobile: 09826557427

Jai Bhole Nath Baba

Oh! Come All Ye Faithful...

What a friend we have in Jesus,

all our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

everything to God in prayer!…

I remember well this hymn, What A Friend We Have In Jesus very well as we all sang it loudly right from our belly, as our music teacher, Miss Valent, rehearsed the song with us over and over again, in end November, just before we left for the winter holidays on 10th December, in Shillong. A small Christmas party would happen in the Dining room with lots of good food and gifts. As boarders, we were always excited and hungry for the food and we sang as loud as we could, almost till our lungs burst.

Hence, on my visit to Shimla this October, on attending the Sunday Mass at 9 am, I could hardly hold my tears as the memories and faces from the past flooded my mind as I sang with the Choir Group there, sitting right in front of me….

What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!…

Indeed, the first cornerstone of Christ Church was laid on 9 September, 1844 and the Church consecrated by Bishop Wilson of Calcutta on 10 January, 1857. The letters on the cornerstone was legible till the early twentieth century when it became indistinguishable from the masonry. Col. J T Boileau built the Church of stone and brick in lime mortar with neo-Gothic elements. This was the first 'proper' Church in Shimla. Before that, the Church service was held in a thatched building on the Northbrook Terrace, on The Mall near the Telegraph Office.

This has a nave, chancel and tower. The stained glass windows over the alter and the clock were both placed in 1860. The floor has a centre aisle flanked by pews and the two sides aisles again flanked by pews. Heavy snows in 1961 caused extensive damage to the building and the pinnacles running along its length were dismantled. Even today the Church has some interesting memorial tablets while the pews still mark the seats of the British Viceroy of India and The Commander-In-Chief.
Sunday service only: English 9 am; Hindi 11 am

Sunday Band outside the church
> State Central Library, Shimla
And those who watch the Sunday Band....

To each his own

October Shimla
Fun times at The Mall

Way to the house where Tagore stayed in Shimla

The house where Tagore stayed for eight months