Rivers they say are a metaphor of life. If you are pressed for time and yet want to peep into the kaleidoscope called Kolkata, the embankments of Hoogly or the ghats are the place to be. For us, born in the City of Joy, the nostalgia of the river is quite evident. The thrills of looking out on the sun-kissed river sitting beside our beloved, the gastronomic delights at the Outram Ghat restaurant or letting our hair down during Bishorjon- never die out for us.
Kolkata is mystic. The cool breeze from the Bay of Bengal caresses our dingy by-lanes, but somewhere deep down; it remains the good old Kolkata we knew. The journey from Tallah to Tollygunge now conjures up new images. Roads, modes of transport, even clothes are so different.
The ghats along the Hooghly- from Kidderpore to Kashipur are part of this change as well. From the sights and sounds of the north Kolktata ghats, to the ones down south that are lover’s paradise- each of Kolkata’s ghats has its own character. As kids, coming back from our sojourns outside Kolkata, the first glimpse of the majestic Howrah Bridge would give us a familiar embrace of home. From morning to late evening, the incessant flow of people across the bridge reflects the uninterrupted rhythm of the river it tries to vanquish. People come to the city everyday in search of livelihood. At night, they return to their homes in obscure villages. When our familiar city goes to sleep, another one takes over. The one in which the night shift in industrial areas, BPO employees, men of the nether world and the red-light districts are active. A temple priest, who perhaps spent the night at one such place, takes a dip in Ganga in the wee hours of morning and seeks absolution. The ‘purification’ over, he proceeds to open the temple gates! One more face of Kolkata!
Kolkata has come a long way from the days of sati and gangayatra. Yet to this day, the ghats bear a witness to the silent cycle of death and disease. Most of the city’s main crematoria are located on its banks. The murky water of the river is also a point of genesis. The artisans of Kumortooly use the river’s silt in shaping the idols of Durga. Perhaps it is allegorical that the idols are immersed in the same river and the cycle is repeated.
Is it just a coincidence that the hallmarks of Kolkata- from Howrah Bridge to the quintessential Durga Pujo have a connection with the meandering Hooghly? What do you think?
Photograph- Yours Truly :)
