The guest post by Ashvini Ranjan elicited diverse points of view, all of which in some way or the other supplemented or complimented Ashvin’s narrative. I am happy to share some of those views:
Shahji Jacob: “I was shocked by the picture of the man in shackles until I read the more humane side of the story. I must confess that Prasanna had invited me to the exhibition, but I now regret not making it. He even said I would love it. I did see the three movies mentioned in the piece. But, being the layman I am, I didn't recognise the connection.”
[SJ: Perhaps Ashvin can respond]Tarun Kunzru : “Interesting! The thing I love about photographers is their sensitivity. A picture is truly worth more than a thousand words. Thank you! The power of the shackle picture helped the truth emerge — wonderful!”
Manivannan: “Wow… never imagined that shackles could be used for some good cause.”
Pramod Nigam: “The story about shackles is very moving. I don’t know how old this picture is, but today, one could put a digital tracker on such a person to track his movement or locate him.”
[PN: Then the irony would be lost]Shailaja Prasad: “Lovely story. We, as humans sometimes have to experience the ‘proverbial shackle’ brought on by a serious ailment, or we are sometimes shackled to our work/situations. The story provoked this sentiment.”
Shereyar Vakil: “Reminds us that we are shackled one way or the other to responsibilities in life, to high ambitions, to peer pressure, to one-upmanship, to fear of failure, and so on, until death unshackles us.”
Anastasia writes: “I wait for the FC columns every Sunday. Each one is unique and informative. This is a beautiful piece on ‘shackles’ — albeit, for good reasons. In another context, it reminds me of the adage, ‘Man is born free, but is in chains everywhere.’”
Dear Readers, April 14th is Vishu, the Malayalam New Year, and Tamil New Year. The festival of Vishu is celebrated differently under different names in other states. People start their day sighting the auspicious arrangement, called ‘Vishu Kani,’ set up with much enthusiasm by the women. The sighting is in a way unique. As you get up you are asked to keep your eyes closed, and you will be made to stand before the arrangement which includes a mirror, and you look at your reflection reminding you that God is within you. Celebrations conclude with a banquet popularly known as ‘Sadya’. If you want to know more about ‘Vishu Kani’, listen to this tuneful Malayalam song which also has meaning in English. 🔗 Kani kanum neram/ English translation/famous Sree Krishna devotional song .
I wish all my readers a happy Vishu and its equivalent in other states.
🌆City of Joy
From 1979 to 1982, during my days with Vulcan-Laval, Pune, I used to visit Calcutta, as it was called then. The office was on Ho Chi Minh Sarani. Sarani meaning, road. Later when I joined Brooke Bond India Ltd., I used to visit the registered and corporate office at No.9, Shakespeare Sarani. The corporate office later shifted to Brookefields in Kundalahalli, Bangalore.
Some humorous anecdotes were associated with the names of both these companies. While on a visit to Mysore, to an inquisitive relative, I mentioned the name of the company I worked for in Pune, and he seemed disappointed that I worked for a vulcanising company. I let him shake his head with disapproval and did not attempt to explain that I had nothing to do with affixing a rubber patch on the tyres.
In the year 1982, when I joined Brooke Bond India, it had a makeshift office in Mahalakshmi Chambers on MG Road. The movie Blue Lagoon starring Brooke Shields was being talked about then. At least half a dozen guys popped the question “Why did Brooke Shields refuse to marry James Bond” and not to be a spoilsport, each time I would say “I give up”. With a guffaw, the guy would say “Because she did not wish to be called Brooke Bond”.
The road in Kolkata on which the US Consulate stands has a history. The British had named it Harrington Street. During the Vietnam War, the USA was seen as an intruder, meddling with the affairs of Vietnam. The Left Front government changed the name of this street to Ho Chi Minh Sarani, reflecting its disapproval of the role of America in the Vietnam War. Ho Chi Minh was the name assumed by the Vietnamese leader Nguyen Sinh Cung, who served as both Prime Minister and President of North Vietnam. The meaning of the name is ‘He Who Enlightens’. This name change caused some discomfiture to the US Consulate, which had to recognise Ho Chi Minh in its official address and stationery.
Reverting to my allusion to my visits to Calcutta, the one thing that remained unchanged in that city in those years when I changed jobs was ‘load shedding’. Readers who have been to Calcutta in the 79s, 80s and even in the 90s may recall their encounter with load shedding. There was no schedule or plan for shedding the load. It happened at all odd times with no assurance when it might resume.
Despite the staggered phases of darkness that descended on the city, the die-hard Calcuttan still called it ‘City of Joy’, a nickname popularised by French author Dominique Lapierre in his 1985 book of the same name. Lapierre tells the story of Kolkata’s remarkable spirit of survival and resilience in the face of poverty and hardship. The book itself was about the struggles of a rickshaw puller and the hardships of slum dwellers in the city.
During one of my visits in 1978, I had to visit the office of the Registrar of Companies to inspect the books of a company in which my company had some interest. When I reached the building there was no power and there were many in the lift lobby discussing politics and theatre, two of their favourites (as I was told). The thought of climbing and sweating it out was quite daunting. I casually asked an elderly babu as to when power may be restored to be able to take the lift. His first question was “Where are you from?” When I asked how he knew that I was not from Calcutta he replied solemnly “Your English is very different”. I couldn’t but help curse my flat Kannada accent which gave me away. He then asked solicitously, “Whom do you want to meet?” I said I had to meet an officer to inspect a company record. Pat came his advice, “I am that officer, no need to climb the stairs. We shall go together in the lift when power shall come” I noticed that Calcuttans used shall more frequently than others. Not only did he escort me in the lift to his office but helped me gather the information I needed.
In those days, it was quite a common sight of people trudging up the stairs during load shedding. Some officers would vindictively take the stairs to display their fitness, prompting their reportees to curse him and follow suit. There were many buildings without a lift and taking the stairs was inevitable. Jobseekers settled for less pay if the office was in a building with a lift.
Speaking of jobs, labour unions in Calcutta were many, and their influence was felt in every sphere of activity. I have seen many marching with red flags and banners. Someone told me a joke during one of my visits when there was a public transport strike. A stranger to Calcutta sees a huge procession and a couple of guys in front holding a huge banner. The stranger goes to one of those guys and asks, “Bannerjee, what is this march about?”. The guy turns to the stranger and asks, “How do you know I am Bannerjee?”. The stranger replies “No, I don’t know Sir, since you were holding the banner, I called you Bannerjee”.
On August 24, 2020, Kolkata turned 330 years old. Kolkata was formed by merging three villages, namely Kalikata, Gobindapur and Sutanuti. Job Charnock, who was the administrator of the East India Company, is said to have purchased these three villages and called the merged area Kalikata which later became Kolkata. He is credited as the founder of the city. His grave is on the premises of St. John's Church in Kolkata.
Calcutta served as the capital of British India from 1772 to 1911. Before Independence, it was the capital of all of Bengal. After Independence, it served as the capital of West Bengal. One of the best architectural marvels in Calcutta is the Howrah Bridge, which doesn’t have a single nut or bolt. It was built by riveting the whole structure in 1943. However, in 1965, it was renamed Rabindra Setu after the renowned poet Rabindranath Tagore.
There are many fascinating facets of Kolkata like the Eden Gardens, the fish market where Bengali men are seen angling for fish at a good price and the Gariahat market. And how can one forget Rasogolla? Its geographical indicator (GI) was in dispute when Odisha claimed the rights over it. Odias consider their Rasagolas to be soft and so juicy that they melt in the mouth without the teeth having to work harder. Also, Odias have a variety of colours in their Rasagolas while Bengalis have only one colour and that is the white Rasogolla! Both were accorded the GI tag, differentiating them from the spelling and pronunciation - Rasagola in Odia (pronounced as (Ras-Gola) and Rosogolla in Bengali (pronounced as Ra-Shaw-Golla).
While Rosogollas are delicious, Mishti Doi is my favourite. To those who are not familiar with this sweet, it is prepared by boiling milk until it is slightly thickened, sweetening it with brown sugar or date molasses and allowing the milk to ferment overnight in earthenware. It is reported that before the discovery of miracle drugs for typhoid, well-known allopathic physicians like Dr B. C. Roy, Col. Denham White and Nilratan Sircar prescribed Mishti Doi for their patients to accumulate Vitamin Bs.
I cannot conclude this brief (?) post without paying obeisance to the famous Calcutta tram service, which started in 1902. It is the oldest in Asia and also the only surviving tram service in India. It is also a tourist attraction. Visitors are eager for a tram ride not because it is cheaper than other modes of transport, but for the reason that it affords them a chance to see the different parts of the city at a languid pace.
I invite readers to share some of their experiences of the City Of Joy. Until next week, be happy, be sweet to others and take good care of yourselves. Ciao.
The tram used to have just 2 bogies (cars), the 1st class at the front and the 2nd class tagging behind. The 1st class used to have cushion seat and fan, while the 2nd class had wooden seat with no fan. We always used to travel by 2nd class. My sister and I used to pester our father for the 1st class and he used to reply: "No means no. I can't afford the 1st class fare (which those days used to be 13 paisa vis-a-vis 10 paisa for the 2nd class). That incident taught us the value of money, not then but many many years later
The man whom you called BANNER ji could also be CHATTER ji as he would be incessantly shouting the slogans while marching. The one thing you missed out was BANDHS, the reds gave to the nation. . The bandhs were very violent leading to several deaths. The city would come to its knees. It was Dr. B.C. Roy who brought peace to the city. But it is back to its violent ways. The Maidan to Kolkata is like marine drive to Mumbai. It is only in Kolkata that you still see the good old Ambassadors plying. They love it.