North Kolkata Calling !!

Wonder why young generation is turning away from food ! During our age ( some 40 years ago ) we relished food like anything. Just a recipe  of mutton was enough to keep our tongues wagging. Or maybe a Khicdi ( in a rainy day ) along with hilsa- was enough to tantalize us sufficiently !

This cassette was produced by me for the sole purpose of implanting Indian Culture & Value to my children !

It was always a pleasure to visit Nahoum's on the Christmas morning ! But not this year.  Since 1954 we have been visiting Nahoum's with our father friends etc . It was a pretty good experience ..for quite   long long long time.  Somehow things have changed and my experience was not ..well not to my expectation !! I especially missed my Chicken Patties .  Let's hope things will be OK once again. 

I usually don't prefer to live on past.Yet,I believe, one could't live without being haunted by that very past ! So here I am .... We had long holidays in our school during Christmas and it was our father's wish to send us to Deoghar where we had a beautiful house surrounded by garden. De- oghar was a much much quieter place during those days with few houses scattered  here and there.Dhuki Mali -the caretaker of the property-took good care of the house including the beautiful garden-full of trees and flowers.The house -then known as Sripatinath Deb's House-was just at the corner of Bompas Town and not far from the station.  Among other things I particularly remember of an afternoon when I was sitting near the  window watching lines of trees just outside the boundary wall of our house.A madding wind was steadily and slowly blowing throughout the day.I was around 10 to 12 years  of age-the perfect age for day dreaming. Sudd

It was an experience that still haunts me!  I was probably 22/ 23 years old when I was passing through a North Calcutta gulee- not exactly a gulee-which had its own character, usually seen and felt during those days. It was around 8pm and quietness descended the place with only a solo female voice  coming from the first floor of a house. During those days flat culture was unknown or little known. The place was peaceful - in fact too peaceful except the voice which poured  into my ears and compelled me to stand still !I stood there motionlessly for nearly an hour listening to that gentle and melodious voice. I presumed the singer to be of my age or proba- bly more. She was a Classical singer absorbed in her Alap along with the accompaniment of her Tanpura ! Little did she felt my lone presence on the street below.I quietly walked away and felt the haunting voice pursuing me throughout the night in my sleep !  The voice melted away in the morni

At present we are all going through some financial problem.  People who have always managed to jump the queue are compelled to do exactly that rather unwillingly. We are particularly aware about the plight of the senior citizens. And let us not talk about the poor daily bread owners, farmers etc.Besides these ..what happens to GDP ,inflation, food production and consumers demand are other areas of concern. However let us see - finally what good does it do !

Katthak Dance Sitar