Lights out Alice!
As usual, I always resist something at first and then later on realize the value of it and then slowly start adopting it. Bengal in general and Kolkata in specific has always held that place in my life. I was never a big fan of the place, didn't hate it either, but then towards the end of my B.Tech, when I had the opportunity to explore the ghats, and the hustle and bustle of the city's real people (the working class), I realized I was pretty much living in an Ivory tower (and was entitled) and the city is very alluring.
The charm that Kolkata has is one of subtlety. All around the city all you will find on first glance is neglect, dereliction, inertia, a city and its inhabitants that are stuck in their old, inefficient ways and have stopped searching for newer or better ways of doing things. As a person that just wants efficiency in every part of his life, this used to irritate me.
Why don't the people want to do it better? Why can't I see change? Why is no one interested in changing the way anything works and updating it to modern times? Why is everyone so stuck?
Slowly, but surely, it grew on me. The answer is that they were all making the best of the situation that they were in. Yes, the downside of this philosophy is that there will never be ground-breaking development here. The upside is that like ants, the people of Kolkata will always find a way to make it work. Doesn't matter the circumstance. Doesn't matter the equipment or the feasibility. If it has to be done, regardless of the complications, the politics, the corruption, the resistance, slowly, at times infuriatingly slowly even, it gets done.
On the surface it always seems like the system is broken or the city is stuck or people are lethargic, but it isn't the case. They are churning away in their own little worlds, making it work. They are AT PEACE. Hustle and bustle might be a part of their life, but it isn't their life. They live life at a comfortable pace. They understand their place in life, their surroundings and instead of resisting, they accept it and make peace with it.
The stillness of the river, the calmness of the ghats after a sultry afternoon that leads to a windy evening...all adds to the peace of the place. It just calms me down. It is not imposing like the big buildings of Gurgaon. The tall and monstrous buildings in Cyber Hub or Cyber City only serve as a reminder that we are but an insignificant part of the big picture, replaceable nuts and bolts that are not critical to the system. Contrary to that, Kolkata welcomes everyone in a manner that has the warmth of a human. It gives everyone the space to become their own self, to take it at their own pace and to make it work with whatever tools they have in their hand. It soothes, it heals and it relaxes the spirit.
You don't have to rush to the daily rat race. Take a bus that will be crowded (or overcrowded mostly) with similar people, heading to the same morning rat race in a pointless job. But the difference here is that people will be talking to each other. Laughing, squabbling over trifles, and asking each other about their life, what they had to breakfast, what they brought for lunch, how much of a villain their bosses are or how bad the state of the state is. Nothing is off limits but nothing is ever a point of contention. No discussion stops people from discussing further. Yes, fights have erupted before and things can get heated, but it still feels like family and it still feels like you are accepted.
Or maybe it is just me, viewing the town I grew up in through a rose tinted glass now that I have to shift out of it for real.
All I know is that sitting calmly on a random evening along the ghat, listening to the birds, the flow of the river, the constant humming of the drain water flowing into the river, the faraway noise of a steamer, the chiding of an elderly person sitting with his buddies in a tea shop talking of everything that is wrong with the current times, the frolicking of kids playing with sticks and stones will always be a happy memory for me and my happy place.
The silent whispers of the universe speaking to my ear to calm me down, telling me that whatever happens, it will be alright. People will come, people will go, pain will come, pain may stay, pain will eventually go or I will get used to it. My parents will grow old. Love will die. Things will end. Everything can be taken away from me in a moment. But these memories will remain. These memories is what I should cherish and hold on to. Stop crutching at happiness. Start grasping acceptance and contentment. Be ready to face pain. We shall all return to dust so there is no point fighting change or demanding happiness. I should be grateful.
And I am grateful to the windy, humid, calming air of the ghats by the river of whispering these lessons in my ear and calming me down. Future will always be uncertain. But I should come back to this happy memory whenever I feel down.
Thank you. Thank you 225 for all that you taught me as well. Thank you parents for being in my life. Thank you to my sister for being my number one supporter and making me dare to believe I could do things in life. You made me believe.
No comments:
Post a Comment