Kolkata Meetups

Sree

That will be great. If we could arrange it properly, it will be much more enjoyable to all of us. This year the book fair may be shiefted to E.M Bypass (Do not know the exact place) so there we also can visit SWABHUMI, SCIENCE CITY (If we have enough time in our hand).

Sree

Judi

I'm intending to be in Kolkata from 30th December to January 6th - would it be possible to organise a meet-up then, please? Late January would be too late for me ..... and I do sooooo want to meet you all!

Paagla Dashu

If the meetup includes Biryani from Shiraz/Rahmania/Aminia....then count me in.

Sree

Cheers

"Biryani from Shiraz/Rahmania/Aminia...."
And Ice-cream from Scoop.

Sree

Then we may miss the book fair, but no problem, there are so many things in Calcutta to enjoy, especially when we all will be together. Inform senior members of IM in Calcutta after arriving here, they will arrange it.
Looking towards December.

somnath

Thanks Kanbe, we are glad that you like the meetup pic (credit goes to Rene). When are you coming to Calcutta to join the meetup?

TQ, don’t worry it will be a rocking meetup when you (and Allan) are in Kolkata.

Sadhuji, I think you are a regular visitor of Kolkata book fair. It doesn’t matter if the venue changes. There will be a meetup during next book fair

Sree, what do you mean by “If we could arrange it properly”? Despite the short preparation time, I tried my level best . Could you plz suggest what should be done to make the next meetup “more enjoyable to all of us”. Any suggestion or initiative is welcome.
Anyway thanks for the participation Sree, hope we will be able to arrange the next Kolkata meetup in much more organized way.

Hey Judi, “30th December to January 6th - would it be possible to organise a meet-up then, please?” – that’s a great news. Welcome to Kolkata . There will be a meetup, do not know we will make it with full strength (you know, it will be a vacation time some of Calcutta IMers may go for the tour) or not but if I am in Calcutta during the time, definitely, there will be a new thread – ‘Calcutta meetup (with Judi) report’ on the next morning. Plz confirm us before leaving for Calcutta.

Paagla, I do not think Biriyani and Ice-Cream (as promised by Sree ) are lucrative one to bring you to Cal. Confused? Ha ha…. look at your Location: In wonderland.

Babu and LI thank you for the interest. Hope with your and active participation we will make the next meetup even better . But no news of RockyS, where are you Rocky ?

Please let us know about your comments. Thanks.

- Somnath

somnath

Ohhhhh…..

Congrats TQ, for your double century

- Somnath

Sree

“If we could arrange it properly” ......I wanted to mean that If we could manage the time properly and could make a good tour plan, then we will be able to cover more places (considering the interest of participants).

Yes !! thanks again for arranging the meetup in such a short duration. It is prooved that you are a good organiser . That is why I told Judi to contact persons(Senior menber) like you.

I will be always there to help all of you to make the meetup more enjoyable

Sree

Congratulations!! Torryquine for completing 200 post here.
In next Calcutta meetup we will Celebrate it & will expect a treat from both you and Somnath .

renedu

Thanks to all for a lovely evening in Calcutta.

So sorry that it was so short, afterwards I so regretted only spending a few days in Cal.

I really want to thank both of you so much for a great time!

One of the things I came to understand after being there was that Calcutta is a not an easy city to visit, in that geographically everything is spread out and it takes time to get to know the city. In the sense that you can't just visit Kalighat and Vickie's Memorial and say you have "done Cal!"

One of my favorite parts was traipsing throuhg old neighborhoods in the northern Calcutta. Anybody been to Rajkrishna Street??

torryquine

Can't wait to hit Calcutta again and meet up with you guys. The travel bug is nipping away at Alan and me, but goodness know when it will hatch!

By the way Sree, you are really beautiful - lovely pictures again guys, here's to the next one!

__________________
http://werenotafraid.com/

Kanbe

Sree, you are such a sweetie...
You and Somnath are making me want to hop on a plane to Calcutta now!

I must admit, I got rather lost in the big city - definitely agree with Renedu there about everything being spread out. lols, it seems I got lost pretty much everywhere I wanted to go...had trouble explaining to the cab guy I wanted to go to Swabhumi (apparently saying Salt Lake city is the way to go)..got there eventually, then took an interestingly (long) bus ride to Victoria memorial...which closed down on me...decided to walk towards chowringhee rd...thought I would try the metro..an experience in itself. on another day, walked to new market post office, wasn't open..walked to the main post office (yay it was open)...wandered a many streets to get from there to Eden gardens, which was closed (lols!), then trotted to Esplanade Station...

haha I definitely could do with some navigation help next time Im there. dont know what the X factor is with Calcutta, but Im drawn to it! hopefully will explore it properly in due time...

Sree

Thank you TQ and Kanbe .

TQ, I saw the meetup picture of you Alan and Somnath.
You are looking great ! I missed it but next time I
will be there along with all of you, may be in front
of Victoria memorial hall? Or at Academy of Fine Arts?

Kanbe, is there any pic of yours in IM? Specially,
during your Calcutta trip?

laterally inclined

Yes i am definitely not missing the next IM meetup, or atleast i shall try to that effect. Late December's absolutely fine with me, and the book fair's a nice idea too. Its always best to dig into something cultural in Cal. After all culture, nostalgia...these are what makes us quintessentially Kolkatans.


Heres a an article on Cal i'd recieved long back from a cousin in the US as a fwd, thot i'd share it with u all.


Oh,Kolkata!
- By Suhel Seth

After several years, I spent six nights in Kolkata, which, thankfully enough, were like spending six nights in heaven after the kind of lives we lead in the Delhis and Mumbais of the world. There are no pressures of work; there is almost an embedded fait accompli in people's demeanour, which many a time suggests that this is the pace we follow, and bad luck to you if you don't like it. I also had the luxury of spending these six nights in unbridled comfort at what is certainly the finest resort hotel in India: the ITC Sonar Bangla. The editor of this paper, M.J. Akbar, thankfully agrees that the charm of Kolkata has still not dimmed, which is why the last time he and I were in Kolkata together we spoiled ourselves at the various impromptu dinners that were held in our honour.
There is also a certain basket of values that never escapes Kolkata. The city just doesn't care who you are as long as you, at some time in your life, have been a part of it. Which is why even the empty barstools at the Light Horse Bar at Saturday Club tell you tales you may have heard aeons ago. The butter chicken at Kwality's tastes just as good and thank god the ever evolving Priya Paul has done nothing to modernise the cuisine of Flury's which still serves up the best rum cakes and
chicken patties! I went back to some of our theatre haunts and remembered with great affection the time I spent with Ashoke Viswanathan savouring the Afghani chicken at Sutripti or partaking of Bacchus' generosity at Chota Barrister.
I even drove past the famed Lover's Lane several times just to relive those moments when we would sneak our girlfriend of the time to play hooky under a starry sky until the ubiquitous Kolkata sergeant would show up on his well-preserved Bullet motorcycle. I watched with fondness the various cricket matches going on in the Maidan and the same Maya Ram pao bhaji being advertised with gusto. I took an afternoon off and strolled within the corridors of Jadavpur University and was delighted to see Tommy Hilfiger stickers outside the SFI office: even the communists have realised the worth of Tommy.
But has Kolkata really changed? Have the people become smarter in terms of making the best of every opportunity? I think not. And this is why Kolkata is still such a special place to be. The only place where a lunch is incomplete without a Campari; where there is a distinction between the dining room and the smoking room and where round-collared T-shirts still find no acceptance in club bars. There is also a certain panache that Kolkata has with regard to the music you hear. Item girls and Daler Mehndi have still not replaced Barry Manilow or for that matter Nat King Cole. There are hundreds who can still recite their school song and have preserved their college blazers and not replaced them with some foreign brands. Where photographs are in photo frames and not in cupboards, so that you can litter your drawing room with garish vases. It is this about the city that makes it so special.
I took long walks in the malls only to witness for myself, first-hand, the consumerism that has invaded Kolkata and then I thought to myself, why not. If Kolkata can erect malls and frequent them without forgetting the Victoria Memorial or the National Library, then more power to its collective elbows. I smiled when I saw the queue of people trying to enter the American Centre. In no other city are libraries as crowded as cinema halls. And that is because Kolkata still has a mind when all others are busy losing theirs.
Many years ago I was part of a movement called "Concern for Calcutta" and it delighted me no end to see that Ward 63 was still sprinkled with the work that CC, as it was known then, was doing. It is perhaps the only city in the world which has a nature study park in the costliest real estate of that city. I went to Dalhousie Institute and saw an impromptu quiz just as I went to CC&FC and saw prompted drinking happening. The other unique dimension about this city is, if you belong here, you are never a guest when you return.
The family asks you no questions: it merely expresses unbridled delight in seeing you back. You can walk into dinners and parties alike; to cricket matches and merchant's cup soccer matches on the back of your past. Kolkata doesn't really care about the present or what you are up to!
The visit was even more special because I staged two shows of our English play Alipha: and the memories rushed back of a time when I would be staging a play most once every three months. The halls as beautiful and the audience as well-behaved. No one picking up his or her mobile phone and screaming Advani or Sonia. Just watching what they've come to watch intently and with the respect it deserves.
Sometimes, only sometimes, I wish we could throw the residents out of Delhi and replace them with Kolkatans. The purging would mean so much to all of us. But then when one ponders, one is gratified that Kolkata is still a city of remarkable joy. Of prose and passion. Of poetry and phuchka. Of people and, thankfully, no prejudices.

somnath

Hi Rene, nice to see your post. Plz have some more time in the next visit we will find out that building (photograph in your camera ) situated at Rajakrishna Strt. (still working on it).

I am honored !!!! Thank you.

Should I take it as a complement? Ha ha ha….
Kanbe, I must admit you have covered a lot in Calcutta.

Great stuff LI, thanks for sharing with us.

- Somnath