Saturday, July 16, 2011

Street of Three Stations

Aallo !!! :)


Yah... Long time no see... I know. In case you are not in a mood to listen to any excuse, just jump to the next para. In case you are... here are few: # I had to work a few weekends (office work I mean) so, no new picture to show you. # [I guess, one excuse is enough!].

Sohh.. apologies done. Now, some sharing. (btw, I could not find any other logical order in which I could put these pictures, so I will go in the order they were clicked).

July 3rd,2011 was the Rath Yatra festival. Rashmila, Sounak, Sayani, Sewoti and I made a plan to get some of the Rath Yatra pics on that day. So we all decided to be at Park Street Metro Station (the first station from the title) at 1pm. When I came down from the bus at around 12:55, I got this man.
I was just checking my camera's battery and calendar settings when I found him lighting that cigarette. He probably had sensed that this guy with the camera is trying to take his pic, but he didn't move a muscle more than it was required to blow out the smoke. The way he ignored me, I got a feeling that he will look wherever he wants to but will never LOOK BACK.

I was there near the station and had just started to wait for others to join in, when I felt a little thirst looking at these colourful bottles.
Although I took only a glass of mist coloured Nimbu Paani, my real intentions were now turned to use my camera here. I asked him if I could take his picture. He should me an open palm [meaning: Stop!]. I stopped. Then he said, "When you take it, take the whole." and took out his full beard (those two long locks). I clicked happily. For me, this was the best catch of the day. I call it WATER COLOUR.

One thing I must confess, before we even started for Park Street, Rumki [my would be sister-in-law!] gave us the information that the ISKCON Rath will leave from Minto Park at 1pm odd and will reach Park Street not before 4 in the evening. [What is Rath Yatra?]Even after knowing this, we five gathered near the place and simply started walking towards Maidan Metro Station (the second one).
It was a Sunday afternoon and the streets were quite empty. So we five were a little more free to be a little more of ourselves. In front of every multistoreyed building, in our way to the station, the girls were screaming their own names and we two boys would get inside every ATM counter just to catch some low temperature air. And yes, when we crossed the road to the cathedral, I got this. That is the dome of the Birla Planetarium, that is the top of the St. Paul's Cathedral and that statue is of Indira Gandhi, OVERLOOKING.

After a few photo sessions (only I was not from St.Thomas School, rest of the four were and it was a long awaited reunion of Sewoti with Sayani), we walked inside the shade of a bus stand where I (and everybody else too) found this.
I wish you could read the lines directly. Just try. But in case you are not able to, here is what it is written: Through many years, / At great expense,/ Journeying through many countries,/ I went to see high mountains,/ I went to see oceans./ Only I had not seen, / At my very doorstep,/ The dew drops glistering/ On the ear of the corn. I will leave the interpretation of these LINES AND A SKETCH on you.

It was not 3:00 till then, so the gates of the church was not opened yet. And this was the time when Sewoti decided to treat us with some ice cream. The me in me was more than delighted! After the break, we all kept walking on the pavement behind the church and before we could feel tired about the walk, we were behind the Academy of Fine Arts premises. From there, before we could enter the Nandan campus, I got this [Nandan is a West Bengal Government sponsored center for cinema and other visual art facilitation and awareness and is very near to the Rabindra Sadan Metro station (the third one!)].
They say, the time of the machines or Kaliyug started with the death of Krishna when a hunter wounded his feet, mistakenly, with his arrow. This is a poster of a play called 'Krishna, the man alone' just outside the premises of the academy. If you see clearly you will see the very moment when the times of compassion ends and the times of mechanical emotions begins casually leaving behind some WOUNDED FOOTPRINTS.

Inside the Nandan campus, I too had a little reunion with my college friends Anirban and Anirban [Banerjee and Ghosh, (AB and Maha)]. But, I will say it openly, I did not stay with them for long showing my own reasons (its okay, you can be judgmental.). Then a few more pictures got shot, then people started to leave. After a little snacks at the Exide Haldiram's we went to the cathedral. Sewoti was in her usual super charged up mode and Rashmila was too being herself!

After this, we three parted ways. Strangely enough, none of us ended up returning back to Park Street for the Rath snaps which was the main reason why we were out in the first place.

Well... that was more or less how that afternoon of mine and of four more was spent...

By the way, this post was not intended to show the photograph but to show the little picture of the street inside them. So, if you hate them, I will say, I cannot help it at all coz that is how the place is... :)

Till next time,
Cheers! :)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

it seems you love to move around this particular part of the city. nice photographs. love them too.. ;)

-nini