We used to stay in a rented flat in Shyambazar situated in North Kolkata and the terminus of the bus No 2 was right in front of my house. The buses were all double-deckers and the route was right through the city and on to Ballygunge in South Kolkata.
The travel time was nearly an hour and the fare was an unthinkable 2-annas or 12-paise at today’s level.
North Kolkata was and still is conservative with houses that date back in time to the days of Tagore. South Kolkata, on the other hand, developed gradually much later and the people who lived there suffered from a superiority complex.
Traditionally, the North boasted of ex-Zamindars who were born with the golden spoon and the South was the haunt of the nouveau-riche. It was all evident in the dress codes of the day and the way they behaved with not just others but also among themselves. The great divide still exists!!
Anyway – on some Sundays, I would get permission from my parents to travel by the bus No 2 to Ballygunge and return – I would be accompanied by my three brothers and we would rush to the upper deck of the bus to occupy the two front seats. That way, we had a full uninterrupted view of Kolkata as the bus weaved through the streets unraveling newer sights all the time.
Being Sunday, the roads would not be crowded and the bus would have few passengers and the breathtaking views of Kolkata as it moved along Chowringhee Road with the huge expanse of green known as the Maidan on one side, the journey was always memorable.
Once the bus reached the terminus at Ballygunge, we would not get down but wait in the bus itself to begin the return journey. (to be continued…)
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Violence and atrocities through the eyes of a 70-year-old
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