Brought up in a traditional south Indian home, i have always been keen to inspect the elements of city life. but have always stayed carefully out of the system. my experiments were always limited to the relative experiences and desperately necessary situations totally explainable to me.. These experiments led me to correct so many myths that were installed in my head by a conventional traditional society that was desperate to protect it's assets. a girl was never thought to be as a wealthy asset though she was always the pride and caretaker of a man's home... well may be well may be i can explore my inner feminist later ... :)
The city's i have visited have always been kind to me. like i said, when i came to live in Chennai, i could see the colors of joy and sorrow dancing through the streets. always eager to hide and protect me under it's wings, the city took gave me a home away from home. the traditional and culture rich metro accepted me with joy... the life it offered was simple and traditional at times though posh and rich at times. but not even once did it confront me with the striking unfamiliarity of a big metro a girl who just migrated from a small town should feel..
But Kolkata with it's vibe and vigour surprised me. the words tradition and culture were redefined miles and miles away form where i first heard it. the way i heard it first, it meant talk less, work hard, look beautiful but bot stylish. (though i was an utter disappointment in both those aspects for people around me :) ). score high marks, watch less movies preferably at home. have less friends again preferably girls. By all these i don't mean i was any of this as the people who know me and reading this will know.. but yes my idea about being cultural and traditional was about the same... this was totally challenged by kolkata.. "The city of joy" was the first words i read when i set my foot in this place. This made me think about the joys this place could give me. though i smiled to myself thinking about the definition of the word joy and what it meant to me, i was proved wrong.
The city with it's freedom and passion awed me in a way no man or book has ever done that.. i fell in love with the streets of kolkata that had it's order in-spite of the busy crowds. The colours this place had was only of joy and nothing else. The culture of the city was imbibed in it's people as well as it's streets. Honest and polite, they led me through their life. The life in the streets surprised me the way the little girl who was studying at night on the street near her tired mother sleeping after a day's work.
Am leaving this city today... but with a promise that i will be back... not to explore it or feel it but to immerse in it and live up to the life the city of joy is offering........
