This would probably qualify as the laziest visit to Kolkata ever. I have simply not done anything much.

Umm... that statement isn't really true. I did fill up an application form for a BSNL Landline on 20-Dec-2010 and by all accounts it seems like that the installation would happen today. As someone who has seen his father run between various telephone offices to get a telephone line and then finally get one under the Own-Your-Telephone scheme and that too with the hefty fees involved with that scheme, this development, if it does happen, should be an unique experience. I also visited the LIC Housing Finance Ltd office on the 21-Dec-2010 to make a part pre-payment of the housing loan for the flat. And, surprisingly enough, that went well too. Not much by way of hassles or, tantrums. Nice and polite interactions along with quick completion of the transaction. So, in all, it appears like two of the big ticket tasks are done. That is the good news.

That I have been lazy enough to not go around tripping is partly a factor of the city being besieged by protest rallies. And not having anyone to go around with. The traffic situation is terrible compared to what I remember. Couple it with the rallies and I already had a taste of having to do a circle around Strand Road to get into Esplanade - that puts anyone off. The only thing which I'd fancy doing is probably going to Tero Parbon and dig into some meal. Eating outside has been totally restricted on this trip - just two trips to Mocambo (I had the most amazing spicy Crab Cheese Balls - recommended) and even those, being a single diner, meant limited food :) Not much by way of eating the "street food" too ! I guess not having friends who have the free time to indulge in my trips are influencing the home bound habits.

Add to that the cultural shock of seeing an avowed and staunch Bengali sweet shop selling pakodas, bhajjis and other oil-fried snacks I associate with the northern part of the country. My quick trip to get some singara was thrown askew at this mindbender. Imagine this. And, imagine this at a staid Sakherbazar ! The Chandi Mela seems to be on in full swing and doing the needful to throw traffic out of whack. The WB Police Personnel are helpless bystanders at the Sakherbazar intersection of Diamond Harbor Road. And, is it me or, have the number of auto-rickshaws plying between Behala Tram Depot/Taratolla and areas beyond Thakurpukur have exponentially multiplied ? I chanced to look at the Behala Chowrasta - Sarsuna etc stand and it does seem that an incredibly large number of new auto rickshaws ply that route.

There's an odd thing that has been happening since the time I've been here. Every day, during late evening, there are innumerable cars passing by with the lusty yet heart-rending cries of the journey of the dead. The intersection is on a route to two crematoriums and as such it makes it a place which these cars pass by. Every evening, there are at least a dozen or so that pass. And, it is somewhat startling. In the midst of life at a traffic intersection - the car carrying the dead wait their turn to pass through and complete the task they have been hired to do.