Tala Bridge, the lifeline of North Kolkata, to reopen before the Pujas

The Tala Bridge, built in 1983, was designed to carry a load of 150 tons. In view of the need to carry more load, a new cable-stayed bridge is ready to be reopened before the forthcoming Durga Pujas. The carrying capacity of the new 650 meter long bridge will increase to nearly 365 tons. A stretch of 240 meters of the new bridge will hang in the air above the cable. The design of this railway bridge will be in the Majherhat style. Moreover, the new bridge will be a four-lane one with sidewalk on both sides. Earlier it was a three-lane bridge. Once thrown open to the public the speed of traffic will increase and improve the link between North Kolkata and portions of South Bengal. The demolition of the old bridge began from the night of January 31, 2020. New Tala bridge will be ready before Puja. The Railway Board approved the new design on 22 December of that year, and construction began in January 2021.

After the construction of the bridge, the safety commissioner of the railways will have to carry out inspection. In view of the length of the bridge which is nearly 650 meters, there will be steps to get own at Shyambazar, Chitpur and Sinthi. Incidentally, there are no pillars and the bridge hangs on cables. The Public Works Department is working to complete the drainage infrastructure in the area below the bridge. The authorities have plans to present the new Tala Bridge to the people of South Bengal before the Pujas.

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Independence of India – I was there on that day

Yes, I was present on 15th of August 1947. It was the Independence Day of India and I was a three-year old child at the time. On this, the 75th Independence Day, I still remember how people enjoyed the occasion. At that time, I stayed with my parents and younger brother in Belgachhia. It was in North Calcutta and my father owned a lorry. He with two of his friends had a business of sorts. They used to transport coal from the coalfields and distribute them to the local dealers. They had a very trusted driver who was a Muslim and played a crucial role. It was a period of unrest with riots between the two communities prior to the partition of Bengal. The driver would ensure that the lorry with my father and his friends would move out safely through sensitive spots. He carried a change of clothes in the lorry and the occupants wore them, as necessary, to avoid any local problems. These are what my father told me much later when I could understand the intricacies.

Anyway – to come back to details of 15th of August 1947. It was raining and I was in the lorry. It was crowded and my parents were there as were the families of his partners. There were many others and the, lorry was crowded as were the roads. They were jam packed with people who carried the Indian flag and shouted slogans of Bharat Mata ki jai. There were also lines of vehicles and all of them were moving at a snail’s pace in one direction. All of them wanted to see the huge statue of Bharat Mata that a shop in College Street had put up. The shop was a landmark. It sold readymade clothes and the statue was enclosed in a glass case on the first floor and visible from the road. It was still there in the 1960s when I used to travel to my school in Bowbazar Street and college in Park Street. I do not know if it is still there.

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The changing face of Bengali movies

Last Sunday there was this movie on a Bengali TV channel – it was all about women and how they can really put up a big fight to assert themselves. The name of the movie was ‘Swadey alhadey’ (Swada means taste, Ahlad means happiness). It was yet another example of the gradually changing attitude of Bengalis towards cinema. Gone are the days of Bengali cinemas that dwelt on poverty, on sorrow and on disappointments in life.
The storyline is nothing great – the setting is in a house in North Kolkata that evokes nostalgia. The housewife is constantly hounded by her husband and ma-in-law and makes friend with the girl next door who goes about in short pants even on the roads of this conservative society. When a couple of men try to get fresh with her, she gives it back to them in their own coin and they run away. And, the domestic help joins in the thrashing.

Our docile housewife watches from her balcony and is impressed. She becomes friends with the girl and the two of them plan to go about making some money on their own. The domestic help joins and the three of them decide to go in for catering.
The housewife steals out of her house when her ma-in-law is sleeping after lunch. And, the three women begin their catering business that grows by leaps and bounds.
As expected, our housewife gets caught by her ma-in-law and it all turns nasty – the housewife packs her bag and moves out to stay with her friend. Their business prospers and they open outlets in posh localities and get coverage on TV. But, true to Bengali tradition, there has to be the sentimental touch and that is provided by the illness of the father-in-law. The treatment means money and that raises its ugly head. The only solution appears to be to sell off the house and that is when our docile housewife reenters the scene to resolve the issue.
It was a new type of Bengali movie and bodes well for new producers, directors and actors who want to experiment and have the guts and the ability to take on sensitive issues to reveal the underbelly of society. (to be continued …)

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Insider view of the world of Bengali magazines

While Mashik Romancho was handled by a single individual who had people around him to carry out the numerous activities associated with the publication of a monthly magazine, the setup in Mashik Rahasya was totally different.
It was more or less a one man show – there was a man who did the type setting but, the editor himself was the proof reader. He was a middle aged bachelor and cooked his own meals.
I first met him when I located the office of the magazine – it was a single room on the main road and opposite the Scottish Church College. The clanging of trams and they trudged along the road and the smoke belched out by the buses kept the atmosphere polluted. And, in the midst of it all, the editor would be seen either poring over some manuscripts or busy correcting first-off prints in the role of a proof reader.
When I introduced myself, he was happy. He was familiar with my writings and now it was time to take the familiarity to the next level. He invited me to his home for lunch. Since I had no other work planned, I agreed and we walked down lanes and by-lanes to reach his house. The location was in north Kolkata and narrow lanes and by-lanes gave it a distinctive look.
I was surprised when he took a key from his pocket and opened the lock – it was then that I realized that he lived alone. Later I came to know that he was a bachelor.
Anyway, he offered me a seat on the only wooden chair in the room and then lit the kerosene stove and cooked up a meal of sorts. Finding the door open, his pet cat entered, looked at me and then curled up in a corner of the room – it was its lunch time. (to be continued …)


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