An Ode to ‘A Tenant of the World’

Childhood… a myriad concoction of brewing emotions, boiling opinions and expressions seeking wings. You’d know what I am talking about, if you’ve been a single child, yet voraciously independent, detesting the usual gesture of pampering and protection. You’d know even better if you’ve been brought up in some of the classical cities of India like Delhi, Lucknow, Mumbai or the ultimate one, Calcutta and not just Kolkata. Every city has her own emotions, own vivacity and own cultures. We grew up to be the one we are today as an influence of the place we’ve spent our childhood in.

We address Kolkata as ‘Tilottama’, as in a maiden with her beauty and grandeur. Growing up has been an experience with all her ballads enveloping around like an aura of culture and wisdom. Amidst all this when a lonely soul, staring out of the window, on some lazy summer afternoon, would seek freedom, Kolkata would offer her breath of fresh poetry to unleash her prisoner!

Amidst all the hustling life and bustling monotony and jostling struggle to prove a point, we suddenly come across souls who seem to touch us in ways unfathomable. Physics was terror and tuitions were mandatory. Within the claustrophobic air of reflection and refraction, there was a soul much typical to mine, except for the fact that she was a physics pro! :P

It all started with a connection to my lady, now struggling to leave an impact on the world! “Do you know Anangsha?” were her first words.

“Yaaa… She’s my best friend!” And it never stopped after that! To the endless chit chats on Saturday evenings, to blankly cheating on Friday evenings… We saw it all. We saw the trickling down rain drops on the window glass and pondered to infinity. We watched the half torn posters on top of the skyscrapers, flapping in the unruly mid-summer wind! We clicked light trails together, when the lights were going up the buildings, on the way back home, just before Durga Puja. We tasted the spicy Mughlai dishes with bursting crackers on one fine Diwali evening. Yes, from Dahi Fuchka on the streets of Kolkata to kebabs in some well-lit restaurant, we had tasted it all. I still get to taste them. What I miss most is the company.

So what was the connecting link between two strangers who got together sooo well? Was it because our fathers were friends? Was it because we had mutual friends? No! It was because we grew up in Kolkata, and poetry was in our veins. Me, a fervent poet and photographer already. She budding. One dream, one goal. To study English after school ends. To end up as writers and to change the society with the most powerful weapon ever, Words!

Well, as most of the memes read on facebook! After 12th grade, Life happened. On some lazy afternoons when I sit and think how life has changed over the years, I see friends who’ve managed to become successful entrepreneurs, film-makers, musicians, singers, artists and have earned laurels in their field of expertise! And then there’s this lady who righteously calls herself ‘The Hue Woman’! The writer friend of mine. With whom I had spent days dreaming about pursuing Comparative Literature.

A Wanderlust freak with the gift of turning visuals into magical words that when you read helps you transcend to a universe much more perfect than this one! The joy of seeing your dear one’s dream come true cannot match anything else in the universe! A dream she has nurtured through all these years and when the limelight finally falls on that piece of art she’s been carving for years, yes, it’s pure ecstasy!

This is joy probably. The joy of seeing your dearest friend’s name on the cover of a paperback book. The joy of seeing her name in the copyright version! The ultimate joy awaits till the autograph is marked! :P

All the best Mademoiselle. Wish you all the luck and success. The world awaits you! Much love! After all,

“Love is the voice of a Sufi singer caught mid-rewaz,
The hem of morning shawl falling like

Curled, sonorous fog on the crackled ankles
Of the Jhelum, caught mid-tap dance on the bedrock;” :)

Also visit my photo blog: https://anmonacanvas.wordpress.com/