CITY OF JOY FOREVER

Kolkatta-The city of joy It is a strange and lovely coincidence that my first post in the fiscal year(sorry for that usage of accountants ) happens to mark my 100th post in my blog and relates to one of the cities which to a significant extent directed my life while i was in my mid 20s. Kolkatta , is known as city of joy , for any number of reasons, spelt and not speltfor many ;but to me it remained to be a city of joy for three important reasons.Reason number one it showed me what true love and affection means ....coming from a family whom i met there the first time ....Family of Sivamani.One may get close and friendly with one memebr of a family but to get so close and affectionate with every member of a family is unique. I developed such warmth and friendship with this family thAT it lasted for all most a decade with that intensity before i moved over to Delhi and tehn to Hongkong, loosing contacts with them. But as some one said, true friendship need not be measured in terms of the number of calls made or the number of meetings had, and the same would come in at the most wanted time with out any efforts.So let me count on that to establish the lost contact. Reason number two is the Bharathi TAMIL SANGHAM and Tamizh mandram wherein i was attrated like an iron ore being attracted by a magent .This association later paved the way for my particiaption in various debates and speeches (some of them still green in memory not only because of the contents but because of the contenders and the so called calf love association developed then (perhaps not mutual as i am already hooked to my sister's dear daughter)and the opportunities it created to meet and spend time with some of eminent personalities like KI.VA.JAGANNATHAN, Sandilyan, DEEPAM Na.Partha sarathy,Saraswathi Ramanathan, Kavi perarasu Kannadasan , MALAN, and a score of other distinguished writers and speakers.The fact that i donned the role of secretary of Tamil Mandram in its 25th year of existence and had the fortune of meeting and spending time with one of the down to earth chief ministers that the country ever encountered (MR Jothi Basu)in the celebrations of 25th year and that i got three coveted prizes , one for the critical write up on THI,Janagiraman's marappasu,the other for a short story written (which in fact is my mirror of reflections of my association with Number 5 , thakur bari road,Lake market,where the family of Sivamani and K lived ) and the third for my winning a sppech competition (at the end of which the judges called me and said that it is high time i stop particiapting as a debater and instead should occupy the role of a judge)from hands of the special invitee kaviarasu Kannadasn are events which are etche strong and green in memory.Time spent with Kannadasan in the journey to Shanthi niketan , is a dream come true in those years.With out making a rference to KA/SU MANI and MU.NA (the latter i met during this visit almost after 27 years)the association with Tamil mandram will not be COMPLETE who in their own ways contributed to the growth of TAMIL LITERARY activities in those years.And the innings stArted here W.R.T MY literary tastes, later bloomed further when i landed in Hongkong, when i was offered the opportunity of becoming the president of HK CULTURAL ASSOCIATION ,25 years later. Reason number three is the KALI MATHA of Kalikhat, who taught me lessons in my walks of life, in her own inimitable style. rewarding for pains taken and punishing for misdeeds and giving proper directions.And ofcourse the fourth reason and fifth reasosn are the friend circle (Consisting of Thirumoorthy, Subbu, Raghavan, Venkat ramani and Sreedhar --out of whom i am still in touch and close contact with the middle three having lost contact with the first and last)and the Popular canteen which provided food for 30 days with a coupon book of Rs 23 in those days, irrespective of power shedding or floods or draught. And the memory down the lane,now, is because of my recent visit to kolkatta when i spent a week at the famous Lindsay hotel, near park street, overlooking the city market and adjacent to the famous Eden gardens , bringing the memories of ever dynamic dada Surav Ganguli and the affectionate personality called Subir Chakraborthy who retired as a GM of the bank in which i worked over 4 decades.I was there for the audit of a State bank associate and it coincided with the first IPL match of the seasn, the curtains having risen the previos day at Chepauk, CHENNAI.oNE SHOULD BE IN EDEN GARDENS TO KNOW why the cit y is called as city of JOY.Kolkattans live their life with a passion, never ever seen else where,Whether it be watching sports, or whether it be bargaining and buying goods on the street side shops, or whether it be the travel thru any numberof modes available Viz tram,metro, minibus , taxi, Hand pulled rickshas (The first and the last still avl only in Kolkatta), whether it be the enthusiasm with which they go for morning Jilebi with pot tea, whether it be the craze for sambar which they exhibit in indian restaurants Komala vilas and Prema cafe, whether it be the devotion that they show when they rise as a sigle united force in celebrating Durga pooja, there is no comparison and no equals / At the beginning of my first innings of career it was Kolkatta which paved the roots for the same and the start of my second innings after retirement again enabled ne to have a relook at Kolkatta.I went to Kaligaht, The Dkshineshwar temple, the Belur matt, the south indian restaurants that i used to visit in lake market, the Ram mandir at Lake gardens , walked thru the sarat bose road and nTahkurbari road RELIVING the memories of the yeater years and spent couple of hrs with one of the oldest acquaintance in UCO bank , who joined the bank and remained there to rise to the level of its GM. sOME CITIES DRIVE YOU AWAY.SOME CITIES ENGULF YOU WITH WARMTH AND AFFECTION WHEN EVER YOU VISIT. AND THE CITY OF JOY, TRUE TO ITS NAME BELONG TO THE SECOND CATEGORY. Hats off to the city, its tradition and culture and to all its warmth and loving memories!!