The Road not taken

The second day of our Kolkata kaleidoscope experience was quite different from what we had expected. One of the most photogenic and oldest roads of Calcutta did not appeal to me when I had to walk over blood being washed down a butcher’s shop ,when after every two steps I had to close my nose due to the unavoidably ubiquitous presence of an urinal. While this was not enough, the road that prides itself in specializing in its markets for different goodies right from paper plates to brass utensils ,cane decorations to weirdly shaped dried cowdungs had a distinct smell which was a combination of both marble dusts and chilli powder. As you can imagine , this smell was enough to make the journey a nose-tickling one if not as scintillating and risky as we had imagined. Even though my perspective of the famous Chitpur Road might be a dismal one, there are certain things I cannot help appreciate while walking down this road or while going through it in a tram. Primarily, the road did not fail to astonish me in its ironic juxtaposition of Kumartuli nearby and Sonagachhi on another side. Its almost like one road showcasing the two distinctly contrasting worlds which cannot collide yet somehow coexist in perfect harmony for centuries now. On one hand you see women standing in enticing poses alternately in broad daylight and on the other hand you see Goddesses being carved by mere mortals in their own little dens of sculptures , making a random pass at us when we ask for permission for clicking pictures. However dirty might Chitpur road be ,you cannot shut your eyes to the creativity of handmade cane baskets, sculptures, statues, fancy utensils and sweets that are sold in different corners of the same unending road. Kumartuli is fascinating in the way you get to see idols of Gods and Goddesses being dried on the roof of the huts,the way a man is engrossed in adding a detail on the idol of headless Saraswati and the way the sculptors are indifferent to photographers. It might not be easy finding anything in such alleys of this old road .While Kumaruli is easy to locate with the approach of sculptors' shops, the lesser known alleys with dilapidated ruins of Tagore Castle might be a little difficult to find. Quite unexpectedly you realise you are at the foot of this ruined monument only when you are standing in the middle of a vegetable market with vendors and buyers caught in a perpetual battle of bargaining . Despite the large display of fresh fruits and vegetables that you might have to hop, skip and jump over to click a photograph of a certain Tagore Castle or the other, this is a road which does not cease to arouse your curiosity till the very end.

We stretch our necks out to have a good look as our tram snakes through the hustle and bustle of this long road and by the time we reach Nakhoda Masjid we are already regretting not having been able to photograph many things that we would have captured had we been walking through this road. There is some kind of relief on one hand as you leave the road and also a certain amount of regret but you shall be assured of one thing after everything that is it is one part of Calcutta that defines it in a way that you cannot ignore if you really want to absorb the character of the city in and out. Hence despite its infamy ,if its still a road not taken, it’s a road that should be taken only to experience Calcutta at its industrial, commercial and creative best.