D for Dog. Photo story by Reema.

Everyone knows D is for dog, but if you want to listen, I will tell you a story.

Since childhood I had fun every second because our home was in the middle of a vast green field, a very calm and peaceful place indeed.  My neighborhood was one of my favorite things apart from toys that I treasured, in the end there stood around 5 coconut trees, the field was about 10 acres if not more. I used to run like a wild child in the muddy field! Life was fun!

Our home was at the start of this field (now there are almost 10 houses). One day I saw this dog, a dark brown colored skin, and an angry face. I was merely 5 or 6 years back then but yet his devilish look didn’t scare me.  I hurriedly ran back to mom and asked for biscuits and came over and fed him.

Since then he used to stay in the pavement of our house.  Dad named him Raja, because of his kingly attitude. That cutie (I prefer to call cutie instead of dog) one day on our way to a friends place followed us, and in that way he got lost, since then I never saw him.  I was too little to feel what loosing something actually means but yet I was really sad unlike any other 6 year olds. I lost a precious friend. But as I grew up,  I forgot the love with time.

After that incident, lots of stray dogs had this similar kind of love for us, but they lasted for few days, or months.

A year or two back, a similar though a bit fair and frail than Raja, came wandering to our neighborhood. I spotted him sitting just outside my window in the street.  He didn't look interested to talk to me and I was literally irritating him by clicking pictures. He was feeling annoyed because of my weird behavior. I took almost twenty pictures of him, and at last I fed him a whole lot of yummy biscuits. Oh, well, he indeed loved how I pampered him and this made me win over his pure little heart and from that day he used to stop by our house and take a long nap in our pavement, just like our lost Raja. I named him Jigu; my mom's childhood pet was of same name.

The first day and how I stalked him.

After around 2 months, I saw another dog sitting just beside him, now I was too annoyed. A black and white colored ugly and weird dog that had this devilish facial expression, this dog made a horrible first impression. Gosh, I used to curse him all day, and never really fed him, because I thought he wanted to win our hearts and dethrone Jigu of our love. That would never happen I told this ugly dog repeatedly.  Thank God that he doesn’t understand human language, if he did then it would have been another story.

And the one.

Suddenly one fine day, Jigu was nowhere to be found, not in the road, not in the neighborhood, just nowhere, as if he drank some magic potion and got absorbed into the thin air. I started missing him terribly; because after growing up I fell in love with this dog for the first time (I don’t have a pet at home). The disappearance of Jigu made me go mad and my entire wrath rained on that disgusting ugly dog who was still sitting beside the gate.  I shouted at him, and literally blamed him for Jigu's disappearance.  I missed Jigu for almost a month or so, and still I miss him.  This unpleasant dog continued to stop by our pavement and I continued to curse him.

Till one day.

It was a Monday, as I returned from college and pushed the doorbell, suddenly this unpleasant dog shouted at me, and it made my heart come out.  I was never scared of dogs, but his voice was so terribly devilish as if he will eat me alive, gosh man, I called my mom in a loud voice and asked to open the door fast. I got in and took a long breath.

Next day in the afternoon, once again while I was returning from my college, saw that cursed dog sitting as usual, as if waiting for its prey. I was literally tired of cursing and shouting at him, so I just ignored and walked to the door, and voila, he got up and I heard some shrill cute noise coming out from his nostrils.  I was taken aback by surprise, what happened to this dog? Has some angel possessed him ? He was a devil reincarnated the day before and now an angel in disguise? Or did he realize that he made a mistake by shouting at me? He is just a dog for God sake! My mind went topsy-turvy.  His facial gesture and this cute voice made me aware that though he looked this angry, but from inside he had a heart of gold, he too knew love, and he too deserved a fair share of love from humans. At that moment, he reminded me of Raja and then of Jigu, and made me think that he wanted a pat on his back. He wanted to be cuddled, hugged, and so I whispered to him "you shall be loved." I was taken over by him, all my bitterness, harshness, bad feelings got over just within a few minutes. I fell in love with this angry dog!

and he loves to sleep all day.

Since that day I call him Jigu…and just a coincidence..he totally looks like my mom's childhood pet Jigu. Reincarnated? Perhaps!

Based on a true story!

....

Photo Story by Ajoy Konar

When we encounter something unexpected, it puzzles us. This was the experience of this columnist who is about to tell us the story about the temple of Ranak Devi at Vadhwan, Gujrat.

The name Vadhwan is after the 24th Tirthankara Mahabir Vardhaman. Well, this temple was not dedicated to some heavenly Goddess but the deity here was a queen of the 10^th century of Junagadh of the then Saurashtra. This deity is accompanied by Mahakali.

The story of Ranak Devi in short is this: she was the queen of Ra Khenga and stayed at the formidable fort “Uparkot” of Junagadh. When Solanki king attacked Uparkot, the king and his two sons died in that very day. The queen fled by a hidden tunnel with her husband’s head so that she can be a suttee to Vadhwan, some 261 Kilimeters away.

When she reached Vadhwan, she asked the villagers to help her to be cremated alive with her ‘husband’. But the villagers denied helping the queen. Next Ranak Devi asked for help from the river Vagwa, on the bank of which the village is situated. The river did not respond. The queen cursed the river that it would carry no water. People believe that the river is dry throughout the year because of this curse. Finally Goddess Mahakali helped her to be burnt alive with her husband by turning the queen’s despair and rage into fire.

The temple is of red stone and was built in the 10^th century with exquisite carvings on the wall.

The architectural style is interesting. It is not as seen in Rajsthan or Gujrat, the solanki style’, rather it is Rathadeul type of Orissa. It really can be a challenge to the students of architecture, how such a structure could be constructed at this place is a mystery to many. Is it that the architects were hired from Orissa or Bengal? No one really knows. 

The temple and its sculptures are breathtaking. The height is about 10 meters from ground. Though much is lost or broken with time, still the sculptures that stood the test of time is intricate and beautiful, and is a pleasure to the eyes. Once there was a porch, but it was broken down much earlier. In short it is a temple with a story to tell.

A temple with a mysterious beauty and a sad story!

....

Durga Puja and Kumortuli Part-1. A story in 4 parts by Rimita Sen.

In the month of “Chaitra” according to the Bengali calendar (April according to the English calendar),the Hindu used to witness Durga Puja.

The deity Durga was worshipped as Basanti (the goddess of spring), which in due course of time has lost its popularity. There are few families in and around West Bengal which still makes it a point to celebrate this ancestral puja of Maa Durga.

The more popular is the Sharadiya Durga Puja which is also known as the Akal Bodhan. It symbolizes Lord Rama’s victory over Ravana with the blessings of Devi Durga.

We witness a period of five days of overflowing joy and happiness during Durga Puja. But for the photo-lovers it starts with the “Kathamo Puja”. This the ritual the “kumors”, the people who make the idol, follow. “Kathamo”- meaning the wooden frame on which the whole clay idol is made, is worshiped before the actual work starts!

The hay bundles taking shape.

The man busy tying up the hays.

I, being a photo-lover visit the “kumorpara”- meaning the locality where the Durga clay idols are made, every year and each time I visit I am amazed by the dedication of these men and children alike. These people are of different age and experience but the intricate designs and the perfect idols make me wonder, how do they manage to do that? each of the idols of Maa Durga looks just the same like the other ones, these people are indeed the finest among all other I have even seen. Few are friendly and few asked a question with gloomy faces “bhenge gele ki hobe? Na na kono dorkar nei chobi tolar.” (What will happen if the idols break? No need of clicking pictures) but yet I managed to click a few..

A boy busy coating the hays with clay.

Tensed.

t

It's time to dry the Deity's! 

The creator and the creation!

The art.

Kumortuli, the place where the Durga idols are made, is a network of narrow alleys, on the bank of River Ganga.  The idols are given life here. From the wooden frame it is covered into bundled hay, twisted and turned to give shape of body, hand and legs, the clay flesh, the hair, the “daakersaaj” – ornaments made of thermocol.

Durga Puja, the legacy of the centuries unfolds loads of rituals, myths…. Let unfold them part by part.

To be continued...

Life at Kumortuli by Sayantan Dhar

Durga Puja, as we all know, is one of the biggest festivals in India and is the biggest festival of Bengal and the Bengalis.
       
The Durga Puja usually takes place in the month of October but the preparation for the Puja, by the organisers and also the idol makers start from the month of July, on the day of the RathYatra  with the worship of the hay structure.
       
The place where idols of Maa Durga (A hindu deity) is created by the creation of God(human)  is known as Kumortuli and is situated in North Kolkata. This is also the time when these clay artists, who make these  idols earn the bulk of their yearly income, so in other words, this puja is also a good source  of livelihood for these poor people, who are very rich in their artistic talent.
       
Since the time I had developed my passion for photography, I always had a desire to visit Kumortuli and be a witness to the preparation of the puja and watch these artists at work. So accordingly one fine morning, me and my friend Sourav decided to visit the place where Creator is recreated with the help of mud, hays, and bamboos by the creation of him!
     
I still remember that day, it was a bright and sunny morning on 14th September, 2011 and nearly the end of the monsoon season. But when we finally reached our destination, we were greeted by a cloudy sky.
     
When we entered the main area, we were just amazed by the sight of the different workshops on both sides of the lane, where idols were being made. But within 5-6 mins our dream was about to get washed away as a spell of heavy shower started. We decided to take shelter in a roadside tea shop and just pray for the heavy showers to stop at the earliest.
     
Even while waiting, we didn’t want to waste our opportunity, we took some snaps of the place, during the rain itself.

At this time, we noticed a workshop just in front of the tea shop, where two aged artists were busy giving final touches to the idols of Maa Durga and we decided to shift our shelter there, so that we can have a close look at them through the lens.

We both were mesmerized to see their immense dedication and concentration  on each and every small movement of their brush. They gladly appreciated the presence of two young photography aspirants like us and we were overwhelmed by their behavior!

We watched them closely for around 2 hrs, shared some conversation  and came to know that they  are the creators of Maa Durga idols of some of the reputed Durga Puja organisers in Kolkata and even supply idols to foreign countries like USA , UK etc.

The ambiance was beautiful and holy!
 
By this time the rain had also stopped and after capturing some good snaps of the idols at different stages of their making, finally we decided to start our journey back home.

It was really great and we both enjoyed the memorable experience to witness idol making and how a hay structure is gradually transformed into a complete Maa Durga idol. Hope to have more such wonderful experience in coming days.

.........

Nights at a Hospital by Arin Paul.

It was a sultry afternoon as I started  my journey towards SSKM Hospital, Calcutta (Kolkata) on 26th February, 2012. The previous night my Uncle was admitted there following a mild heart attack. But thankfully he was out of danger. I entered the premises with homemade food in my hand for lunch (for my uncle) and looked around for the Cardiology Department. One of my friend had joined me and we were roaming. I asked someone and he religiously showed me the wrong way, so that's how we were lost in the way! I called up my Aunt to know the exact location and finally I spotted the building. And the first thing I saw on my way, just in front of the building was this little fellow:

This old fellow is a permanent resident at the premises and trust me, it has been here for years. It's favorite location during the day is the shed of the Cardiology Department. Amazed by my presence, it started moving ahead. Then after being at the hospital for around two hours I started my journey back home coz that night I would stay at the hospital as planned. Only one person per patient family is allowed to stay.

8pm: after finishing my dinner, I started from home towards the hospital. I was carrying a bag (quite big) with me which had fruits, a diary, a pen, few newspapers, camera, cigarettes, water and a book (Ritwik Ghatak's "Chalochitra Manush Ebong Aaro Kichu").

9.15pm: I reached the hospital and proceeded towards the ward. Checked if all is fine with Uncle or not. He was asleep so I went up to the nurse on duty and queried, "38 number bed-er patient dinner koreche..? Ami ekhuni elam aar uni ghumochchen, taayi apnake jiggesh korchi [Has the patient of Bed number 38 had his dinner? Actually, I came just now and he is sleeping, so I'm asking you.]. "Patient ke jiggesh korun. Ami 8 taye esechi, bolte parbo na" [Ask your patient, I've come at 8pm, I don't know] came the reply in one of the weirdest tone you'll ever hear from a nurse on duty. Amazed and irritated I left that room and went back to the ward. I thought for a while and checked the tiffin boxes and found them empty. I was at peace that he had his dinner. Silly me, I thought for a while. I could have done that at first! anyway, its been a hard day for me as well, so without wasting another minute I proceeded to find a place for me for the night. My uncle was fast asleep, so waking him up was not a reasonable thing to do at night.

It was crowded that night. All beds were almost full. Patients were kept on make-shift beds in the corridor.

I was roaming around and exploring the place as well searching for a place were I can sit or rest for the night. Meanwhile, I thought I must visit the restroom before proceeding, so I went and trust me, it was a shocker. That's the only place which is not clean.

Somehow, I managed myself and left the restroom quite fast. Then as I walked past the corridor I found there are some chairs in front of the Operation Theatre and a man was also sleeping there.

I thought there's enough space and I can also manage with three empty chairs. So I settled in there. As I looked on the other side of the corridor, I found another man sleeping.

I was at that point of time happy coz the place was very clean and not at all crowded. I was enjoying the peaceful silence. After a while the person sleeping next to me left (he never returned back). I sat there, gazed around, drank some water from my bottle and clicked:

This was from the window. Then before laying down I visited uncle again, everything was perfect (hopefully). People were standing, sitting, talking near the corridor. Some people were sleeping at the edge of their patients bed. I walked back to my position (chairs opposite OT). After a while, I laid down and saw a man coming out of the waiting area of OT, he was talking over the phone. Here is the excerpt of the one-sided conversation I heard:


"Tor Baba Ke OT-te niye geche, aadh ghanta lagbe" [Your father has been taken to the OT, it'll take half-an-hour]..
"3000 takar pacemaker boshabe. Kothaye abaar? Bukey bashabe." [A 3000 buck pace-maker will be used. where else? It'll be put in the heart]..
"Tui maa ke niye eyi ghar-a ese shuye por." [You take your mother and sleep in the other room]..


Slowly he walked away after that and was out of my sight. It was pin drop silence and I fell asleep fast. Suddenly, after 30-35 minutes maybe, I jumped up hearing a noise. It took me a few seconds to realize that it was a Cat's meow. To me it sounded like a Tiger's Roar. I quickly took out my cell phone to capture the cat, but alas:

I missed the cat in the frame and it left "Meow-ing to Glory". I laughed at myself and settled back. I dozed off soon and again after a while I jumped up and looked around for my cell phone. Aah!! I finally spotted it under the chair. It was like finding a gem. Anyway, I thought I should check Uncle again and I visited his ward and found he was sleeping. As I came out, a ward boy (though he is a big man) sitting just beside the door asked me in a harsh tone, "Patient Party?", I said "Yes", "Kato nomber bed? [Which Bed?]", "38", "Hata Chala Korche? Gatokal ratre apni chilen? [Is the patient able to walk? Were you here last night?]". I somehow answered him while walking away, so that he couldn't ask me more, but he continued, "Ki koren? [What do you do?]". I was quite far now but I shouted, "Service" and left. I saw a big smile on his face. I donno why I lied to him, but I did.

Again I was settled. After quite sometime, I woke up, checked Uncle again, also spotted that many patients and their relatives were increasing in number throughout the night. It went on till the morning. It was 6.30 am when I checked my Uncle, he was still asleep and I decided to go for a stroll. So, I came out of the premises. And here is what I clicked.

The puppy was trying to befriend the old fella, I was a couple of seconds late pressing the shutter (6:18 am)

A Hoarding at Rabindra Sadan Crossing at 6.27am

SSKM Premises at 6.39am

The Newspaper Wallah in front of the Cardiology Dept. Building at 6.43am

The Lift inside the Cardiology Dept. Building at 6.51am

I returned to my Uncle's ward, prepared Horlicks for him, chatted for a long time and left for home. I was back a day later on 28th Feb again for the night.

Harish Mukherjee Road at 8.51pm

Well ya, it was the fastest journey from my residence to the hospital. Following the strike, roads were empty. Aah!! Wish every day it was this empty. Anyway, I was back to Uncle's ward, he was awake, had a chat and I left for my bed (the chair's opposite OT). Strangely, the hospital was empty, hardly patients were there in the corridor and also the relatives were missing, maybe due to the strike, but trust me it was very uncanny. I settled and after sometime I went near the window and clicked this,

10:49 PM

Well there was nothing much that night (28th Feb) other than the uncanny silence and a man who came and slept on the opposite chairs. He looked quite irritating and was wearing a sleeveless inner. I asked to myself, is it so hot? It wasn't. And the man switched the fans on. I didn't say a word and tried sleeping. At around 2.30am I felt very cold, woke up to find that there was a strong breeze going on and it was drizzling. Aah, I thanked Ananya (my wife). She had put in a shawl in my bag. What a relief it was. And to my surprize I found that man on the opposite chairs sleeping with a full sweater now and also the fans switched off. Hahaha. I laughed and was back to sleep with the shawl. Well next morning I was up quite early around 5am. I checked my Uncle, he was sleeping. I kept my bag near him, took my camera and left to click some early morning pictures. 

Harish Mukherjee Road at 5.19am

Rabindra Sadan Crossing at 5.24am

The Road-Side Tea Shop at 5.31am

The Crow wants to Hand-Pump..?? 5.34am

5.53am, Harish Mukherjee Road, See the Light..?

Balwant Singh's Eating House at 6.04am

Fresh Vegetables being sold on the road-side, 6.05am

The Man is reading a newspaper sitting on the road, 6.06am

The cab driver at 6.07am. Well, I guess, he is thinking, "whom to refuse today?"

6.11am. On my way back to the hospital found this besides SSKM.

Also spotted this.

Then I was back from my little trip, went to uncle, prepared tea for him, had a chat, met the doctor at 10.40 am, went mad finding a medicine and finally reached home at 1 pm. 

Next I was back to the hospital on 1st March, 2012 at around 10.30 pm. Everything was fine that night. Nothing major occurred. Next morning as I walked towards the ward, the nurse called me,

"Apni Patient Party? [From Patient's side?]"

"Hyaa [yes]"

"Ratre chilen na? [You were not here at night?]"

"Hyaa, Chilam. [Yes, I was here.]"

"Dekhte payini to? Kothaye chilen? [Didn't see you, where were you?]"

"Odiker bench-a. [On a bench, that side]"

"Patient-er paashe thakben, edike-odike naaye. [You have to stay beside the patient and not here & there]"

I was amazed by such words early in the morning. I entered the ward and my uncle was smiling. He said that did the nurse say something? I nodded as he smiled again. He said last night before I came she had asked about who is going to stay to which my uncle had said that whoever is supposed to stay, will stay and she need not worry. I was not getting the issue actually. After making tea, I left for outside stroll and clicked again,

Lonely Fella, 5.35am

The Hand-Pulled Rickshaw, 5.51am

After having two cups of coffee I moved back to the premises. Suddenly, I found a man shouting on phone, "Hyaa, arre hyaa, aami 'aap-ka-kalin' er samne dariye aachi, aarey hyaa, bolchi to 'aap-ka-kalin'..". I was amazed as to what was this man referring to? I turned and found..

SSKM, Emergency 

OMG!!! It's aapatkalin (emergency). I laughed and walked on. I went around the premises. There's pond and a spectacular corridor.

After all this I walked back to the ward to have a chat with my uncle. While chatting I discovered why the nurse was so angry. The previous day she shouted at medicines not being bought. Later it was learned that the  slip of 38 number bed went to 58 number bed and hence the confusion. My uncle was so pissed that he complained to the doctor (who is my elder uncle's close friend). The doctor thrashed the nurse and hence all the story. But what was more surprising was that there was another ward boy (quite aged) who used to sit on a chair whole day near the ward door and do nothing. I learned that he has been asking for money from everyone just to buy some alcohol. But no one is giving him and as the other ward boy said that if he doesn't drink, his brains don't work and so doesn't he. And I also learned that he was the culprit of the 38-58 confusion. After a long laugh we concentrated on an old man probably in his late 60's on the opposite bed. He was a charming fellow and the entertainment factor among the 15 patients out their. Having heart related problems and often on oxygen support he daily has his "Jhal-Muris" and "Potato Chips" & others. I learnt that he has a parrot at home and the parrot is not eating because the man is not at home. The man suggested someone on the phone to take the parrot out of it's cage and tell it to eat. I said to myself, "Is the bird deaf?? Will not not hear if said from outside the cage??". Anyway, the birds name was "Sundori [Beautiful]". And after many many such stories, I finally left for home, this time I was carrying the keys. Well, the other day I had forgotten to carry the keys and remembered when I reached my room door. I had to travel 2 hours and get a duplicate key, which was with my wife. To end, I remember a person just next to my Uncle's bed. Whenever he say me, he asked, "there's a pond, that can be seen from the window?", I would say "yes" and he would be happy. That's It For Now.

As of my Uncle, he will be going through a "Heart Stent Operation" on 6th March, 2012.

Today 14th of July 2013, my uncle is doing great. He is fit and happy :)