From: t60bss9@mp.cs.niu.edu (Bijoy Sagar)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh,soc.culture.indian
Subject: Calcutta dairy : Relics of a rainbow.
Date: 8 Jan 1993 01:43:15 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu



	I heard recently that trams have been banned in Calcutta after
decades of procrastination. I wonder if it is true! I have always felt
that trams have strongly impeded with the transport planning and development
of the great city. However, now that they are gone, I feel sad.

	I never travelled by trams while was in Calcutta and once or
twice when I did out of curiosity, I felt terrible because the mere
existence of these motor snakes from a period now long-gone into
oblivion made the lives of every motorist hell. Yet, trams were undeniably
a part of Calcutta... like Nondon, Victoria memorial and the Lakes (though
the other three have certain obvious functions to perform in assisting
certain self-confessed ma**baaz types here:-)

	Boy! that reminds me of evenings on the victoria memorial lawns
looking at the colorful clothes that passed by your nose... and it is rumoured
( not that I will ever know:)) that the same lawns transferred themselves
into a randezvous for hungry souls who could not afford any private places.

	It makes me wonder ( now who will answer this question?) why the
"government of the peepuls" a.k.a Jyotibabu's kitchen cabinet prides
itself in building such "imperialistic" monuments as Nandan and fountain
of joy:-) I have nothing against both of them, in fact I love both, but
they just don't go with the "peepuls" image of the government. I would
rather see that unfortunate monument(?) at Kolaghat running in full
or at least half capacity before the turn of the century.

	Talking about monuments, I think some refugees finally designed
world's best "housing estate" beneath Lake gardens station. No kidding!
They simply occupied the hollow insides of the platform and covered it 
with curtains. Everytime a local passes, they simply go inside. No let
me tell you, that is a noisy neighbourhood.

	I have always wondered why the medics in Calcutta were perpetually
on strike! One day travelling from Park circus to Entally, my doubts
were solved and I attained self-realization. ( that is why Deepokda, I am 
a pacifist), the hostel looks like a lunatic asylum, worse like some 
dangerous "evil-dead horror movie" type mansion which could collapse
and call it a day any goddamn minute. No wonder the poor guys were so hyper
all the time, instead of saving other lives, they were worried about
saving their own lives.

	Calcutta is so complete in the sense that life is presented
in the city as it is, without comment, reaction, frills.... pure zen!
Even the violence and slogans and traffic jam are all part of a whole that
is so spontaneous and unconcerned. Bombay is ashamed of its slums and
proud of Ambaniesque characters, and Delhi is probably ashamed and 
proud of ram Vilas Paswan types. calcutta just IS. That is why we love
it. who had said, " it is impossible to like calcutta, no one likes 
Calcutta, you either love it or hate it". I guess I do both. 

	The poem that posted a week back ( Calcutta by Sunilda) perfectly
echoes this feeling. The love and hatred....

	How do you feel?

Bijoy Sagar
******************************************************************
| BIJOY SAGAR,               *|* ALL DISCLAIMERS APPLY.          |
| Dept. of Geology, Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, IL60115|
| Internet : t60bss9@mp.cs.niu.edu OR bijoy@geol.niu.edu         |
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^                                                                                                 



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