A Most Memorable Tour

Today I had a chance to visit the famous "Town Hall" of Kolkata... my brother who is an history aficionado like me had praised the place a lot. In fact, it is India's first interactive museum where the audience is treated to a series of Light and Sound shows, chronicling the our nation's history as well as the history of Bengal. We were taken through the period, when Job Charnock first stepped off the boat onto a sleepy little village on the banks of the mighty Ganges, which went on to become one of the most populous cities of the world. It was indeed amazing to learn that at the site of the present Kolkata, there stood a lonely village which primarily served as a pilgrimage place for visitors near and far. There was a Kali Temple in the vicinity of Prinsep Ghat or as some historians opine, this old temple of the goddess is the Kalighat Temple itself. However, there was only one muddy road that led to this temple and most of the populace of this village were bangle makers. "Pola" and "Shankha", a red and white colored bangle,worn by married ladies in Bengal, used to be the main type of Bangles made. There was a room chronicling the Battle of Plassey, the game changer in the History of Bengal, as well as of India. It was wonderfully presented, all the facts being cent percent correct. The mannequins looked pretty life like and the light and shadow effect was brilliant. There was also a show on the music of Bengal. It was indeed hearty to note that there were street singers in those early days who used to be composers, lyricists, singers all together. There was a street singer named "Rupchand Pakkhi" who actually dressed up like a white eagle, and sat on a palanquin carried by four men and he actually wrote songs on contemporary events. Some of his songs are still now sung in the villages of Bengal. There's also show on the Bengal Renaissance which took place in the late 16th century AD. This Bengal Rennaissance show has been divided into two parts, one dealt with just the literature and the arts, because this period was accompanied by a storm of literary writings and a host of new writers with a different world views emerged, the second part of the show was dedicated wholly to the Social Reforms that this period ushered. As is pretty well known, almost all the social reforms that we now take pride in, started from Bengal. From the abolition of Sati, to the legalization of Widow Remarriage and the education of girls, and even the women's right to her paternal property were all started in Bengal by stalwarts such as Iswarchandra Vidyasagar, Raja Rammohan Roy, Kesub Chandra Sen, Vivekannada etc. There are various facts have been illuminated on them. One of the meost important events of our history, the partition of Bengal or Bongo Bhongo, has been shown in a really enlightened fashion. The show has been very well conceived and it starts with Lord Curzon's tirade on how dangerous united Bengal copuld be. An ordinary Imdian's blood would actually boil listening to this speech. The only snag in this near perfect museum, was that the show dedicated to the Indian Freedom struggle, tries to pack in as much info as can be there in too short span of time which results in somewhat confusion. The pictures and videos are also of poor quality and some of the facts overlap with each other making it difficult for the ordinary audience to understand. Other than that, The Town Hall of Kolkata is a most memorable place to visit and on any given weekend, it would be a great leisurely educative trip.

Lover's words.....

If you want a boxer,
I'll step in the ring for you,
And if you want a doctor,
I'll examine every inch of you...

If you want a driver,
Climb inside,
Or if you wanna take me for a ride,
You know you can...
Cuz' I am your man...

Ah, the moon's too bright,
The chain's too tight
The beast won't go to sleep,
I have been runnin' through,these promises to you,
That I made and I could not keep...

Ah, but a man never got a woman back,
By beggin' on his knees
Or I'd crawl to you baby
and would howl at your beauty,
Like a dog in the heat,
Ans I'd claw at your heart
And tear at your sheet
I'm your man...

And if you've got to sleep
A moment on the road,
I'll steer for you,
And if you want to walk the street alone,
I'll disappear for you.

If you want a father for your child
Or only walk with me for a while
Across the sand
I'm your man...

If you want a lover,
I'll do anything you ask me to...
And if you want another kind of love...

Just hear them out...

The Kolkatans witnessed yet another suicide on the Metro Railways tracks today, and as usual the trains were delayed, the stations closed down, the harassed commuters cursed the Kolkata Metro for not having enough “anti metro suicide policies” and of course sent the poor soul into hell and back again. Me and my brother who were among the unfortunate thousands who had been affected, by the sad demise, did all the above, and then as a consequent went off shopping for our parent’s anniversary gifts.

But in the midst of all these we easily forgot to spare even one kind thought to the person who had died to the extent that when we were returning from our shopping three hours later, both of us, were relieved that the body had been cleared, that the Metro had resumed their normal schedule.

It was only when we both were crossing the Rabindra Sadan Metro station that our thoughts went back to the poor soul, who had ended his or her life on the very same tracks just hours ago. We didn’t even know whether he was a man or a woman, a girl or a boy, old or young, just that someone had committed suicide and thrown all our schedules to disarray. I marvel upon the fact that how mechanical have we all become. Here is a person like you and me, who probably had a lot of dreams, hopes, likes and dislikes, and he ends all of them on one fine day in front of hundreds of commuters, and the majority of us are angry just because we would be running behind schedule for a few hours.

It was then the thought stuck me, that how badly we need one of those counseling centers here in Kolkata. The rising suicide rate shows that people are becoming more and more prone to depression, to the extent that suicide in today’s Kolkata has become a thing of regular occurrence. Have we become that insecure, that depressed, that lonely, that death becomes our only escape route from the world?

I believe what we most need in today’s world is just a voice to hear us out. If only some of us could talk to someone, maybe then, a whole lot of our problems could be sorted out. But unfortunately most of us are too busy to sort out our own problems that we seldom spare thought for others. Yes it is indeed true that some of us, do take out time to listen to other’s woes, but the majority of us, believe that our problems are the most grievous of all and therefore why would we need to listen to others. This reminds me of that saying, “when they came for the Jews, I did not protest, for I wasn’t a Jew, when they came for the Christians, I did not protest, for I wasn’t a Christian, when they came for the Hindus, I did not protest for I wasn't not a Hindu, when they came for the Muslims, I didn’t raise my voice, for I wasn’t a Muslim, and soon one day they came for me, and no one raised their voice, for none was left to do so”, it is indeed scary the way, we are becoming uncaring and selfish.

The other day, I was left extremely depressed due to certain work pressures, and I couldn’t think of anyone in my vicinity to tell the problem to. So I went to this Reverend I knew, and simply poured my heart out. We talked for nearly three hours, and when we had finished, I felt much less depressed and far less worried. My worries still remained the same, but I felt so light hearted and happy, the difference was that only someone had listened to my worries. If some of us, were as fortunate as me, the suicides would have been much lesser. Probably today, if that person only had someone who would have just listened to him, maybe one life wouldn’t have ended.

So my friends and foes, if you are out there, and if you feel that you can today reach out to someone close, and just hear that person out, trust me, when you are in a similar situation you would have someone to reach out to...