Kolkata: Nostalgic love

For a quintessential Bengali staying away from his native city Kolkata, the complexities of life and monotony of daily routine never take away the resplendence of nostalgia.

For this sandesh-loving species of inherently agitated souls, who are much more than being sentimental about Durga Puja, New Market, misti doi, football, politics, Coffee House, Nahoums, Flurys, Victoria Memorial and Rabindranath… any reference to that land he belongs to or even a faint hint of its joys and he brims over with memories.

Thoughts of "shei din gulo" come crashing down as his mind, in an instance, traverses to far away Kolkata, with nostalgic yearnings for spending hours with friends and family, indulging in adda, and street food like phuchkas, egg rolls and fish cutlets, visiting Nandan, the theatre hall, enjoying playing football at the maidan, watching films of the detective Feluda, reading Tagore's masterful writing or pandal hopping during Durga Puja.

The charm of such flashbacks is very enduring and in most cases prepare him to survive a lifetime without losing his identity.

An interior narrative, whose echoes he still discovers in his sleep, has no prototypes. From trying to cope with the belated stirrings of ambition to combating the ever-existent mood of feeling forlorn, his longings are nostalgia personified – a euphemism, often for the world within him to negotiate and move on. And desire never to forget.

Nostalgia itself has been the focus of enquiry for years now across the globe. It is not until recently that this mental process has been associated with meaningfulness, connectedness and continuity to the past and it is like a vitamin and an antidote to those lonely states of being. It is no longer considered a malady but is now treated as a profoundly rooting experience of some sort and slowly through the years, this nostalgia has become a powerful stimulant to feel optimistic about the future. No wonder, it is so central to human experience.

For the nomadic Bengali, his lethargy and lackadaisical mood are the other side of patience and composure. And nostalgia, to add to this, is unbinding and unrestrained. There is a charm to the overtly-criticised portrayal of the Bengali temperament that he loves to cultivate. And so does his nostalgia!

Sovabazar Rajbari's Soumit Narayan Deb says: "I miss my childhood days. The whole paraphernalia used to revolve around our house, Sovabazar Rajbari (Boro Taraf). I miss the Ganga dips and the rickshaw rides. On specific occasions, my father used to take us out for Chinese food. At that time, Chinese restaurants were very rare, you see. It used to be like a festival. For days, we used to chat about it. All my schoolmates used to show great interest regarding the outing and I used to narrate every minute detail, adding my own embellishments, of course. Those days used to be so much fun. The feeling used to be very different. Visits included those to the zoo, Indian Museum, and Rabindra Sadan, where there used to be a park-like area called Jhilmil. It used to house several species of birds, deer and rabbits. There also used to be a hanging bridge that is still there but now, it cannot be used to cross from one side to the other."

Kolkata as a cultural and intellectual hub is quite vibrant and uplifting, contrary to what Dominique Lapierre portrayed in his novel City of Joy. Known for its crowds and massive traffic jams, friendships are struck up in an instant over a cup of cha.

For a broader picture, one can visit the wholesale flower market at Mallick Ghat, under the eastern end of Howrah Bridge. Here, wind through the mountains of marigolds and jasmine that bring one hope and a different kind of faith. Just above it, after a few steps on to the bridge itself, is the space for graffiti art and Kolkata's iconic aerial shots.

For those who live in some faraway foreign land and crave unstoppably for authentic Bengali experiences, there's Bomti Iyengar, a charming art collector who lives in a great heritage building and welcomes visitors to browse through his possessions. Apart from scanning through his extensive collection, one can enjoy lunches and dinners of Bengali cuisine, hosted by him.

Heritage activist Anthony Khatchaturian, who organises several tours covering Kolkata, attempts to give an insight into the colonial era of the place. Taking the "Ghost Walk" along Telephone Bhawan, well past midnight, with the roads all empty and barren, would indeed be quite challenging. The Standard Life Assurance Building, its colonial architecture and its Biblical connect, looks quite enchanting at night, leave alone its majesty in the daytime. Then comes the famous Garstin Place, where once stood the old All India Radio Studios. Every Calcuttan has heard of ghost stories from here and the studio was forced to shift to its current location after the workers at the station refused to work there. Then there is the GPO (General Post Office) and the mighty Town Hall, followed by Kolkata's very own iconic Writers' Building.

With less traffic around midnight, the city becomes a walkers' paradise. Traversing the silent, desolate lanes and by-lanes of this age-old city can be extremely interesting. Next time, my NRI friends, when you visit Kolkata, try to gather your courage and take this walk. It may not be down your memory lane but could well be one to remember for a lifetime.

Kolkata, for those in the know, offers a lot of variety in every sense of the term. From its buzzing market places to Asia's largest green lungs, the maidan, or a nature park in the wetlands, from its lessons on tolerance and co-existence to the political violence, from its soulful music to the lip-smacking street food, from its cultural affluence to its imposing Colonial-era majesty — the city has it all. It moves at its own pace. Slowly, carefully, and the world can wait. It has its own pride and lives within its means. And as Anthony would put it: "Everything that happened in India first happened here, be it gas streetlights, trams and even the modern-day Metro. It is very important for Calcuttans themselves to discover what lies at their doorstep, leave alone others."

So, this city of intellectuals, interests and innovations, moves on… Cheers to its spirit, soaked in sensitivity, modesty, curiosity and unending continuity, and so the overpowering experience lives on in our hearts.

Dhonyobaad… Many of us who live in some other land as well as in obscurity, would definitely be back for another round of drinks at Oly Pub. Soon enough. Because no one likes to be away from a city that generates so much warmth, emotion and nostalgia!