"Only in a human's imagination does every truth find an effective and undeniable existence. Imagination, not invention, is the supreme master of art as of life.”
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Musings
Stuck in traffic today I started to muse at how Hyderabad has changed in a matter of few years or rather has become the part of a flat world. The very road on which I was stuck in traffic could be driven through at the speed of nothing less than 80 km/hr, and this situation existed not more than 6 years ago. I have seen branded outlets mushrooming in my neighbourhood, which not so long ago used to a heaven of greenery nestled in the middle of a peaceful cantonment area.
‘Thoughts are like runaway horses’, someone had rightly said. Having long accepted that I usually give myself up to a train of thoughts which have often surprised me at how much of finer details I can remember about many experiences. So today my train of thoughts led me to think about my last trip to Calcutta about which I have written here. As I have said before I was both shocked and amused at how little globalization has managed to touch Calcutta, which seems to have blissfully remained in its ivory tower of isolation resisting the onslaught of modernization. This led to me reminiscence about Burdwan in which I have spent a good chunk of 4 years.
Those days, Im talking about the early 90’s when the Indian Economy had just begun its laborious process of opening up, people in Burdwan hadn’t quite heard of a Mercedes and literally gawked at the car. I wonder today what would be their reaction if they saw a spanking new BMW let alone a Mercedes, along with the whole plethora of auto companies which have flooded the market. Has it still remained that quaint little town which I had left 11 years ago? On impulse I Googled it, and to my utter surprise I found that modernization has indeed made its way to Burdwan which now even vaunts of an IT park. But like Calcutta it has still retained its charm of the old world, the days in which life wasn’t so complicated. Curzon Gate, BC Road, the lakes, near one of which I used to stay; have all remained the same and some day like the true wanderer that I am, I hope to pass this quaint town taking in the slow and peaceful life which I have so come to miss.
Often, even if it sounds a bit clichéd, you know, these visages, the sights and sounds, the fond memories you share with the town you grew up together, well almost, would have seemed so mundane, so ordinarily familiar and a shade contemptible if had you had continued to live at Burdwan or even stayed back at Calcutta. These would have become so much a part of your very being and subconscious that you would have verily lived it, breathed it and almost unknowingly, cursed it, hardly taking pains to feel its vibrancy, its varied nuances, its losing some of its innateness and desperately adding on to a few new patches and textures of colour, in its process of evolution.
It’s the distance, you know, both spatial and emotional, your gradual coming to terms with the life and milieu and frenetic pace of another Indian city that separates you now with your childhood town…… this inveterately draws the two of you closer in a quiet, nostalgic connect of a fond déjà vu, makes you look at it with an eager, coy freshness, savour some of the unmistakable quaintness that you now discern to have uniquely associated with it only, discover its newness even in its jagged frontiers and merrily ignore its inescapable darker shades, its morbidity….. This dichotomy is so common in us and you have expressed it so beautifully...
Thank you for the comment. I couldn't agree more with you, because I have so often found myself complaining about Hyderabad and on the other hand found people who have left this place going through the same emotions which I feel for Calcutta and Burdwan.
Santanu da has recently recounted beautifully on the city of Hyderabad in his blog (Reinventing Memories). It would be delightful if you chip in with your comments there.
Born and brought up amidst the mad rush of a growing city...loved it sometimes and hated it sometimes...this blog chronicles my experiences in my quest to master the art of balancing the various aspects of life and at the same time learning to balance myself with the effort of putting down on paper the multitudinous thoughts buzzing inside my head.
3 comments:
Very touching commentary indeed.
Often, even if it sounds a bit clichéd, you know, these visages, the sights and sounds, the fond memories you share with the town you grew up together, well almost, would have seemed so mundane, so ordinarily familiar and a shade contemptible if had you had continued to live at Burdwan or even stayed back at Calcutta. These would have become so much a part of your very being and subconscious that you would have verily lived it, breathed it and almost unknowingly, cursed it, hardly taking pains to feel its vibrancy, its varied nuances, its losing some of its innateness and desperately adding on to a few new patches and textures of colour, in its process of evolution.
It’s the distance, you know, both spatial and emotional, your gradual coming to terms with the life and milieu and frenetic pace of another Indian city that separates you now with your childhood town…… this inveterately draws the two of you closer in a quiet, nostalgic connect of a fond déjà vu, makes you look at it with an eager, coy freshness, savour some of the unmistakable quaintness that you now discern to have uniquely associated with it only, discover its newness even in its jagged frontiers and merrily ignore its inescapable darker shades, its morbidity….. This dichotomy is so common in us and you have expressed it so beautifully...
Love and regards.
Kaushik Chatterjee
Thank you for the comment. I couldn't agree more with you, because I have so often found myself complaining about Hyderabad and on the other hand found people who have left this place going through the same emotions which I feel for Calcutta and Burdwan.
Santanu da has recently recounted beautifully on the city of Hyderabad in his blog (Reinventing Memories). It would be delightful if you chip in with your comments there.
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