Didi upbeat about Christmas tourism (satire)

It was time for another festival and, our Didi knew that she must do something special for those sing Christmas Carols and wait for Santa Claus to come around on his sleigh drawn by Rudolf, the red nosed reindeer.
Dee Wreck was by her side as she watched out of her window overlooking the majestic Howrah Bridge – it was symbolic with the City of Joy with its hand pulled rickshaws.
‘This year let us have the festival on a grand scale,’ Didi said.

‘Yes, I agree with you,’ Dee Wreck agreed. ‘The areas like the Park Street, the New Market and surrounding places are well known. Let us venture beyond these territories.’
‘You mean to cater to the foreign tourists?’ Didi asked.
‘Yes. We already have the Chappal Chopper Service at our disposal,’ Dee Wreck explained. ‘It will take the tourists to watch the sights from up in the air. The tickets will be in dollars.’
‘That is a good idea,’ Didi nodded. Then she turned towards Omit Misra, her financial wizard. He had mastered the art of making money from nowhere and had never failed when there was a need for finance – be it for purchasing bicycles for the schoolgirls or shoes or clothes for the boys.
Or even paying out donation to the sports clubs. Sports are a must for healthy youth and donations to these clubs were a means to the end. Hence, investment in the youth was a stepping stone to becoming a successful leader.
You could always rely on their loyalty.
‘But how will the esteemed foreign tourists enter New Market? How will they enjoy the fragrance of freshly baked cakes?’
Dee Wreck grinned.
‘You can leave it to me,’ he assured. ‘Cakes will be available for sale in the choppers.’
‘Then why don’t you add our unique winter favorites like nalen gurer sandesh, joynagarer moah and kadaishutir kachuri?'
‘Don’t worry – that will also be there. I will make it a package deal. Cost of snacks will be inbuilt into the basic fare.’
‘Let us do it,’ Didi said. ‘Santa Claus will provide an opportunity to the poor bakers and sweetmeat makers to make some more money.’ (to be continued …)


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org
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I learn cycling and travel to Kanpur City

#cycling #trams #rickshaw #GTRoad Yes, it is a fact that I learned cycling in Kanpur. Having been brought up in a city like Kolkata, I had never felt the need to use the bicycle. Kolkata is a city where in the 1960s, there was an abundance of buses and trams.
The buses were all of the Calcutta State Transport Corporation (CSTC) and the trams were of the Calcutta Tramways Corporation (CTC). Private buses used to ply on a few routes outside the city limits and auto rickshaws had not appeared on the scene.
Of course, other means of transport were there like the taxi cabs and the hand pulled rickshaws – the former was preferred by people who had money and, also, for family outings to the cinema. As to the hand pulled rickshaws – that became important during the rainy season when water logging of streets created problems for buses or trams to move. Anyway, in the bargain, I never got a chance to learn cycling and, once in Kanpur, I realized that I must overcome the obstacle. For the first few days, my friends took me along but, that could not go on forever. Therefore, I hired a bicycle and, in the evenings, my friends would help me learn the intricacies of riding the contraption. In order to gain confidence, they would give me protection when on the main road – one of them would be on my right, another on my left.
Then came the day when I discovered myself in a major dilemma and was forced to take the plunge to prove that I had arrived.
It was a Saturday and four of my friends and I left to see a movie in the city. We had to take the GT Road and, it always had plenty of traffic. As usual, I had my friends around me and, when we reached a crossing I stopped because of the lights. But, when the lights turned green, I found that I was all alone – my friends had gone ahead.
I did not know the way to the cinema hall so I just got down from the bicycle, pushed it to the edge of the footpath and tried to peer into the darkness to locate my friends. And – my joy knew no bounds when I saw them some distance away – watching me and enjoying my discomfort.
They had intentionally left me stranded – just to see how I handled myself in a crisis and, also, to boost my confidence. (to be continued)

Another interesting blog - Violence and atrocities
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