Calcutta Canvas

Calcutta Dominique Lapierres City of Joy- a city of many contradictions- of beauty,

mingled with poverty; of sincerity mixed with hard bargaining salesmen; of a
cacophony of smells and sounds that are quintessentially Indian in every possible
way; and of many cultures merging together to form the unique experience of a city
that truly defines cosmopolitanism.
A city that has been the witness to the most invasive and tyrannical form of British rule
and their violent suppression ,strikingly, and if I might say, most poignantly reflects
elements of British culture and heritage- even those elements, that have been
obliterated from the face of modern-day Britain.
Calcutta is a strange experience- if you turn down one street, you feel yourself to be in
London.however, the very next moment you will find yourself in an alley bustling
with rickshaws, chaiwallas, people, hectic trafficand maybe, just maybeamidst all
the mayhem, you might just find some time to halt and marvel at the incessant honking
and the hustle-bustle.
This quintessential post-colonial city, exposes the struggle to move ahead into the
future, and at the same time, basks in the glory and revels in the splendour of an
imperial past that palpably throbs in its present.
Calcutta is not immune to the passing changes, yet it is an ultimate instance of an
Indian city that has the capacity to absorb and amalgamate parallel realities, juxtapose
several paces of life in the same physical space and presents to us, a canvas of
contradictions. The city ostensibly changes, grows old, yet somehow seldom betrays the
impression that it is actually moving ahead in linear time; the experience can be more
accurately described as back and forth
As much reality, as the noise of rush hour, are moments of stolen tranquility. At times
the blurred crowds speeding by might even give the sensation of isolation. In Calcutta,
sleek icons of modernization seem to contrast and compete with the historic
monuments. The stifling, claustrophobic commuter train experience alternates with
the unobstructed and breathtaking expanse of the river and sky. The human landscape
persistently and incessantly challenges its overarching Euclidean geometries. Street
vocations survive in complete peace amidst the whizzing traffic.
Calcuttas most remarkable landmark, the Victoria Memorial-a vast,imposing,British
style monument bears a fascinating epigraph-a quote of Edward Said-Here for all to
see is the arrogance and opulence of Empire- the cynicism of which, the engravers
never gave much of a thought to-somehow sums up the edifice remarkably well.
Housed within the grandeur of this memorial, however, is a collection of portraits of
several freedom fighters and exhibitions of contemporary Indian art, symbolizing that
the memory of a time of oppression has instead been adopted by the people of this
place and made their own;showcased for the soul of a nation,long suppressed that
has found utterance
The city leaves us with an epiphanya manifestation of its compassion for
humanitya city that has fought against all odds with unerring stoicism.
To the ones moving ahead swiftly, the citys languor leaves imprecise and hazy
impressions. But to the ones at rest, it is a city in tryst to reach someplace unseena
city that we all eventually fall irrevocably in love with.