Today being Thanksgiving day in another part of the world where a part of me resides it seemed a good idea to give words to my thoughts.
My way of saying Thank you .

Yes there are many moments during each passing day when dusty chaotic noisy north Kolkata makes me moan and grumble .
The vanishing semblance of civic sense makes me fret .

But the calmer introspective moments makes me pause and smile and it sure gladdens a portion of me deep within just to be here .
Simply because North Kolkata for me and my extended family is Home .
Simply because North Kolkata personifies a sense of belonging.

-In the narrow , windy , confusing by lanes reside warmth , laughter and a gentler atmosphere.
-Within the crumbling old fashioned houses with their high ceilings, veranda and traditional slated windows reside tales of generations of extended families. The members have become global citizens but their stories stay cherised within those walls .
-The water bodies with the floating vegetations and birds reflect the dawn and sunshine while accompanying the morning walkers .
The sound of conch continues to herald sundown .
-The vegetable vendor with his makeshift push cart , the fruit seller with his basket continue to call out to you as they walk past your house .

North Kolkata seems an embodiment of the crumbling heritage past , the jostling occasionally confused present and the hopeful future.
It’s time immemorial river ghats and temples and the flowing waters of the Hooghly serve as beacons of constancy in this fast changing world of today .

Debjani’ s never ending ramblings
28 Thursday Nov 2024