Mighty Chittorgarh and Blasphemous Indians

Massive, Mighty and Magnificent.  I loved Chittorgarh fort.

Morons, Miserable, Miscreants – Those Indians who desecrated its walls.

I speak of the Sunils who love the Nehas and are joined by that cupids arrow through the heart on the Ramayana etching, Chandraketus who visited the monument on July 7, 2009, Swapnils, Pankajs, and Rahuls who found it fun to use a permanent marker to scribe their names and present their autographs to the grim 1000 year statues. I speak of the Rams and Mohans who left their legacy on Mumtaz Mahal’s tomb.

I speak of the mother who instructed her kid to throw away the pepsi bottle in a corner of the monument and not carry it out to throw in the many dustbins stationed. I speak of the vile pan chewer who spit on most marvelous engraving in the fort.  I speak of the snacks vendor at the Rana Pratap memorial who discarded his trash outside his window on a hill which he thought was not visible to tourists. I speak of the literate but uneducated girl who did not think twice before throwing out tissue paper out of her car on the road after seeing the monument.

 Can we even remotely call ours a civilized society?  We harp about the ‘Mahaanta’ of Bharat and the rich culture and heritage and in the next instant trash it with our waste.  I am so indignant and disgusted at this apathy and this lack of reverence.

I had trekked earlier this year to a wonder of the world named Macchu Picchu to see some ruins which I have described in an earlier blog.  Those ruins, mere walls of stone, have been preserved with utmost care by Peruvians.  Peruvians who are from a similar poor country, are proud of their heritage and have not taken it for granted as Indians have.  In eras older than the Inca empire of the Peruvians, our emperors and kings were far advanced in their art forms and built structures which withstood not just battles and attacks but the test of time.  I could go right upto the Victory tower and I could only gaze in wonder at the art forms in the masonry and sculptures that were not valuable enough for the British to plunder.  But can we say that we have preserved them well enough? Sure, the Architectural Survey of India (ASI) has done a great job in digging out similar structures and maintaining them.  But what about the vast majority of the people who do not understand how privileged they are to be able to see them?

 I almost feel India and Indians are not worthy of this rich heritage.  All these beautiful ancient monuments and gorgeous art forms would have been preserved far better in countries such as USA or in Europe where people admire, appreciate and respect them.

Merely studying history is not enough.  Can we inculcate enough pride in our heritage so as to only be able to at least very mildly respect the wonderful history that still stands today and not desecrate it? If this cannot be imbibed, can more punitive action be taken against the cowardly sociopaths who carry out their ‘rebellious’ pranks covertly? Perhaps a fine of Rs 500 to be enforced by a wiry thin watchman standing at the entrance may not be the right way.  Can the government have CCTVs which are monitored and enforce more stringent action, say a non bailable imprisonment?  Is there anything we citizens who love and value our country can do more than turning away indifferently for fear of getting into arguments and then tsking tsking behind their backs? In this blog I speak of only our tourist places, but on a broader level, I question, why is it that the very same Indians who break all rules in their home country are able to even pick their dogs shit with their hands to throw it in the dustbin in another country? If only, everyone respected in their own country what they did in foreign lands, India could come somewhere near being called a civilized society.

A few glimpses of the magnificent Chittorgarh fort below –

Vijay Stambha (Victory Tower)

Hanuman ‘Pol’ (Gate)

Carvings in Victory Tower

Carvings in Victory Tower

Kumbha Shyam Temple

Trimurti

Padmini Palace

Jain Temple of Mahaveer

Meera Temple

Picturesque view near Gaumukhs Reservoir

This blog is republished from my other blog – Richland Talk

Kolkata Kaleidoscope

Thriving markets, speeding metro trains, boating on the Hoogly, calming Ganges, ferrying to Howrah, marveling at Howrah Bridge, colonial Victorian architecture, picking up trinkets at New Market, eating out at Park street, whimpering beggars, clamoring at vegetable markets, congested streets, sights and smells at the flower and fish markets, yummy roshogullas, Maa Kali fervour, art and literature, dusty roads, crumbling dilapidated buildings, annoying languor…….were my first thoughts as I reflected on the so called city of Joy, Kolkata that I recently visited.

When I sought to experience this East Indian city that the East India Company chose as its headquarters to leave a huge legacy after, I was not expecting much.  Though the city has its merits, this is one blog where I will not be raving only about the place! Though I hadn’t much time to explore the city while I was there, however, from whatever I could glean in the few days that I was there, I just felt, the city just needed to get going.  It was completely mired in the old age and is where it was all those decades ago.  It started the metro, and well, it hardly progressed beyond that.  It built that awesome engineering bridge, the Howrah Bridge, but couldn’t repair its dilapidated buildings.

During Pujo

Victorial Memorial

Racing on at the great big Maidan

When I first ventured out in the city, I found myself looking for a city as I traveled from Salt Lake! Well, I continued to look for it in vain.  Seriously, the whole place felt like a great big village with some urban trappings.  Perhaps I associate a large metro with large buildings, which were few and far between (some one told me, it was because of the silty nature of the soil that didn’t permit tall buildings),  good roads which large cities are supposed to have and Kolkata lacked, and a fast pace which the city did not have.  There were also few avenues of entertainment apart from those at Park Street.

Well, there certainly seems to be a lot more room for improvement where infrastructure and facilities are concerned. To add to the woes of the city, there apparently are constant bandhs and strikes that reinforced the lackadaisical image of Kolkata.  Why, in the week that I was there, there were 2 holidays declared, one for some puja, which was fine, and the other because a politician died at the age of 95.  Another thing I noticed while I was there, I could be wrong, but I really missed seeing young faces that I see at Mumbai.  I mean, has the young population of the state been forced to move for lack of better options of studying and employment?

Well, enough of the criticism.  I ‘ll come on to my more pleasant experiences now.

I saw the Kali ghat temple which is quite famous.  In Kolkata, the religious fervour of the people for Maa Kali and Durga is well known.  I wish I had the chance to visit during the  ‘Pujo’ days, where the city would become a grand spectacle, with pandals and the festivities everywhere. The Kali temple was like any other religious place that I have been to, with the rows of shops arraying their religious paraphernalia of photos, models, cds, cassettes, flowers, sweets etc, the throng of people and the chaos.  I have put two snaps, one in Maharashtra at Mahur and one at the Kalighat..see the resemblance, you’ ll see what I mean.  The similarity continued when the numerous touts hounded me offering me easy access to the deity and proceeded with putting the tilak on my forehead and demanding a cool 200 bucks for doing so..which I ran off from of course. J  Though crowded, it was an interesting experience all the same.

I enjoyed using the public transport too at Kolkata.  Though old, the metro was quite efficient and fast as compared to using the road and the expensive cabbies and I knew where I was as compared to using the roads that had a complete absence of signboards giving directions.  It was funny to see the trams that probably moved slower than I walked.  I was surprised to see the hand drawn rickshaws , which I had thought were obsolete.  Despite all this progress in the world, it was rather sad to see human beings acting no better than mules drawing heavy loads.  

The map at the metro station

The old world Tram

The ferry to Howrah was also a pleasant ride, though I thought the boat would sink when a huge throng of people who I had seen marching in a morcha or something to that tune, all jumped on to the same boat!  The river Hoogly, was as expected extremely dirty, after journeying its way from the Himalayas, through UP, Bihar and Bengal, it had enough waste dumped into it.  I wonder how the people who were bathing in the river, expected it to clean them even if they were using soap!  The old Howrah bridge was quite picturesque with its several trusses and old world charm.

The old Howrah bridge

The new Howrah Bridge

Shopping at Calcutta and eating out at Park Street was a pleasure.  Everything there was half the price that is at Mumbai and there was a phenomenal variety in the trinkets and accessories at all the local markets.  I absolutely splurged at New Market, Garia Haat and Shobha Bazaar.

Where eating is concerned, oh Man….Mishti Doi was absolutely yummy as were the unique Rasgullas or rather Roshogullas made of jaggery.  Folks back home savoured the different varieties of shondhesh which have funny names such as Bhimnag sandesh and Kheer Kadam.  Mishti Doi incidently that sounds very easy to prepare, well isn’t.  Very simply, its essentially made by using milk evaporated to half added to caramalised sugar and converted to dahi by adding some yoghurt to it in an earthern pot for that amazing earthy flavour.

After all that gorging and shopping, I reckon, it isn’t a bad place after all!  IT companies and manufacturing companies have already started making a beeline for this eastern city, and things are looking up. With so much great history and culture behind it, with so many intellectuals from this place, be it artists or revered writers such as Rabindranath Tagore and newer Bengali writers such as Amitav Ghosh, Jhumpa Lahiri, Anurag Basu etc, I am sure, the people of Bengal will not have their beloved city languish. Hopefully, things will improve and this place will catch up with the rest of India!

Richa