Calcutta - the City of Joy?

As the day went on, and Calcutta sat through another bandh (after very long, though), I fell back into my thoughts. I have been brought up in Calcutta. I have always considered Calcutta to be my hometown. I love this city and would have happily spent all my life here. Until recently!

Calcutta for me is a city with boundless love for all those who come to her. It has heritage, it’s rustic, has an earthy feeling. It’s laid back, far away from the world’s rat race and yet you don’t feel like you’ve been left behind! Sometimes when you walk down it’s streets in the afternoons of summer, you’ll feel like you’ve landed in one of those R.K.Narayan stories centered on villages. The dusty streets, the scorching sun, only a handful of people around… One thing I’ve always felt is — No one gets lost in this city! They just can’t! Because someone’s always ready to help!

Yet somehow over the past few months, I’ve been feeling detached from the city. People are getting frustrated, mindless quarrels are waiting to happen at every corner, the youth is going away, the industries don’t even think of coming here. Calcutta’s been in the news for all the wrong reasons, of late! And our new CM seems to be making matters worse. Today, she declared another rape case as an attempt to malign the Government. Excuse me? Malign the Government? How exactly? More importantly, why exactly?

All those crib deaths happening in Bengal for the past year have been labeled as the Opposition’s conspiracy! The lady’s comments defy all logic! Basically, the Left didn’t do anything in their 34-year rule and now they are the ones who are doing everything wrong!

Every morning the papers bring news of another murder, theft, sexual assault or suicide!

It’s depressing to see that a city I once found to be so safe is now turning into a dangerous den of criminals!

I can only wish that Job Charnock’s City of Joy regains it’s allure and charisma before it’s too late...

It's all in the mind!

A fortnight ago, while I was waiting for an interview for my articleship, in the lobby of a firm my mind was full of apprehensions and dilemma! The regular chaos which comes before we face anything new... Clouds of doubt overcame my thoughts... How would the work be, my colleagues, my seniors, the work culture... While I was waiting for my turn, I realized that the long wait led my mind from nervousness to to impatience. by the time I was called in, I was surprisingly nerve-free because my mind had been diverted from frenzy and fear to boredom and frustration.

What I'm trying to say is it's all in our mind! The anticipation, fear, nervousness... The negative response to anything new... We don't wait to experience the change, rather we think of the worst possible situations which might happen! It happens... Happens to a lot of people... What we need to understand is that whether the change will be good or bad for us all depends on us! It's all in our hands... If we respond to the change properly and adjust ourselves to it, with the drive to make our life worth living come what may, how blissful it would all be!

If it's happened to you, don't worry you aren't alone! It's human nature to be wary of changes, but then it's also human nature to try and overcome our weaknesses. Next time you are all nervous, with butterflies flitting in your stomach by the dozen, take a moment out for yourself, inhale some deep breaths and remember it's all in our hands. What you make out of your life, depends on you. Every one has weaknesses. But all of us have strengths too! :)