In the last century, Kolkata saw widespread change the more it embraced electricity. Our member Mr S. Ray speaks about the City of Joy, his first impressions of the city as a boy, and the sights and sounds with which we are no longer familiar.
I was born in Bihar near Dalmianagar. My father moved to Konnagar in 1955 and since then I have had a relationship with Kolkata and the Greater Kolkata area. My most abiding memory of the city in the ‘50’s and the ‘60’s is of the streets being washed early in the morning. You could hear the sloshing of water as hydrants on the side of the road started to gush water. Men with leather bags full of water would walk around the city to hose the streets down. As the day got busy, the neighbourhoods would ring out with musical calls from the ferrywallahs selling hot dalpuri (flatbread with a daal mixture) and nimki and kotkoti (savoury treats), all delights for the children. A woman peddling kansa (bronze) pots and pans would announce herself by banging a stick against one of her bronze vessels. Some of these sellers would wear a ring and clang it against the pots, using it as a percussion instrument to call out to potential buyers. Ferrywallahs are today largely a thing of the past.
Recently we saw the iconic tram of Kolkata becoming a part of history. Back in my youth the roads of Kolkata were a lot emptier, and the tram, with its slow ambling pace, looked far more majestic as it came up the road. Change, though, is inevitable with development. In the 19th century, the first trams were single-bogeyed and horse-drawn, and once the vehicles became electric-powered, the horses were taken off the tracks and more bogeys were added. Similarly, the tram has had to make way to make the transportation system more efficient. I have seen traffic control change as the city embraced electricity. In my youth, there were no traffic lights. Policemen in red turbans would orchestrate the movement of cars with their hands.
Life was indeed different before the widespread use of electricity. I remember we would study for our exams by the light of hurricane lamps. In the late ‘50’s, some parts of the city gas would still be illuminated by gas lamps. As evening fell, lamplighters from the gas company would go around lighting the lamps with long poles with wicks at one end. As darkness descended on the city and shadows came alive, the sounds would go quieter, and we would prepare for rest and look forward to another day.
I look back at those early days fondly, but I also embrace the changes that have come into our lives because of technological developments.
(𝘈𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘌𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳)
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The City of Joy- My Nostalgic Memories
