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The Beckoning of Home
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As I awoke by the warm
sunlight, the pain inside me still lingered - the pain of leaving home and
coming miles away in the lure of a career. It is hardly a day I have
reached the city of Bangalore, after bidding adieu to my hometown,
Kolkata. I could not have felt more pensive for my parents as I felt, for
my own city; that has seen me growing up, which I regard as the most
beautiful place on the earth. It has seen me grow into an adult from
an adolescent and a lady, eventually. It has made me learn quite a lot
in terms of love and sacrifice, and taught me to distinguish between
good and bad. Distinct are the days in my memory when my mother and me
used to go for a lazy walk in the lawn of the
pristine Victoria Memorial in those early mornings, the
grass still wet and people of all ages gathered for a dose of early
morning gossip with tea.
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Herein, one can find the
importance of the quintessential ‘adda’ in an average, middle-class
Bengali’s life. Storming the tea- tables over myriad issues as diverse as
dowry and euthanasia, the concept of ‘adda’ is still alive in almost all
Bengali souls till date, much to my joy.
The memories of my childhood are still fresh as we used to shop in the
corners of the old Hogg Market amidst severe cacophony. The semi-ruined
buildings constructed in the British period attract me a lot-they can
still be found all over the city and possess the charm of the olden times,
when there was no internet and Kolkata was Calcutta.
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But my favorite place
of the city would be, undoubtedly, the Park Street. It is said to be the
hub of the young Calcuttan (now Kolkatan) youth and fashion, its
popularity still unrivalled. One can walk down its streets without a
feeling of monotony, the various bookshops, restaurants and posh stores
demanding attention.
Last but not the least, the Metro Rail of Kolkata would always belong to
the core of my heart, I have not kept a count of the miles I have
travelled by the Metro but all I can say is that it is the last word in
conveyance in Kolkata. Amazingly, the entire city is covered in about 35
minutes. |
I have travelled miles away in search of a new life, but realized that
origins can never be uprooted and one remains tied to one’s soil even the
separation is physical. Whatever shape and form life takes, home continues
to beckon
Contributing Writer: Medha De works in Bangalore as a
copywriter and loves spending her leisure time reading and writing.
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