টাকি ভ্রমণঃ প্রকৃতি, ইছামতী নদী আর জমিদারবাড়ি

আজ থেকে ২০-২৫ বছর আগে অবধি টাকি শহরের পরিচয় ছিল শীতকালীন পিকনিক স্পট হিসেবে। আমার সেই সময়ের টাকি'র স্মৃতি হিসেবে যেটুকু মনে আছে, চওড়া ইছামতী নদী, পাশে ধানক্ষেত - ধান কেটে নেওয়ার পর ধানগাছের গোড়াটুকু পড়ে আছে, আর কিছু খেজুর গাছ, যেগুলোতে রসের হাঁড়ি ঝুলছে আর ফেরার সময় দেখেছিলাম চুপচাপ টাকি রেলস্টেশনকে। 

সেই টাকি আজ আর নেই। রিলায়েন্স ট্রেণ্ডস আর স্মার্ট পয়েন্ট খুলে গিয়েছে এখানে। চাষবাস এই শহরে আজ হয়না বললেই চলে। অবশ্য দোষই বা দেই কেন? দেশের অন্যতম প্রাচীন এই জনপদে পুরসভা গঠিত হয় ১৮৬৯ সালের ১ এপ্রিল ৪টি ওয়ার্ড নিয়ে। অধীনে ছিল সাড়ে ৪ বর্গ মাইল। ১৪ জন মনোনীত সদস্য নিয়ে গঠিত হয়েছিল টাউন কমিটি। শুরুতে পুরসভার কাজ চলত মোহিত কুণ্ডুর বাড়িতে। টাকি পুরসভার প্রথম ভারপ্রাপ্ত পুরপ্রধান সতীকান্ত মুখোপাধ্যায় এবং উপপ্রধান হয়েছিলেন জ্ঞানেন্দ্রকুমার রায়চৌধুরী। ওই সময়ে টাকির বেশির ভাগ জায়গা ছিল জঙ্গলে ভরা। একসময় বাঘের তাণ্ডবে অতিষ্ঠ টাকি টাউন কমিটি শেষমেশ বাঘ মারতে পুরস্কার ঘোষণা করে। যার নগদ মূল্য ছিল ১৬ টাকা! কে পেয়েছিলেন এই পুরষ্কার সে ইতিহাস অবশ্য সময়ের ধুলোয় চাপা পড়ে গেছে। স্বাধীনতার আগে থেকেই টাকির উন্নতি শুরু, সেই উন্নতির পিছনে অবশ্য টাকির রায়চৌধুরী জমিদারদের অবদান অনস্বীকার্য। ১৮৮১ সালে প্রতিষ্ঠিত টাকি গভমেন্ট স্কুল এখানকার শিক্ষা-মনন গঠনে এক দারুণ কাজ করে চলেছে। বিভিন্ন সময়ে টাকি পুরসভায় এসেছিলেন নেতাজি সুভাষচন্দ্র বসু, আচার্য প্রফুল্লচন্দ্র রায়, শরৎচন্দ্র চট্টোপাধ্যায়, রসরাজ অমৃতলাল বসু, জলধর সেন প্রমুখ। বিধানচন্দ্র রায়ের আমলে একবার রাজ্যের সব মন্ত্রীদের নিয়ে ‘আম দরবার’ বসেছিল টাকিতে।

Chinese Eateries in and around Old Cheenapara of Kolkata (টেরিটি বাজার)

Frankly speaking, today old China Town of Kolkata is quite gloomy compared to Tangra (pronounced asTyangra/ট্যাংরা) - the new China Town in terms of food offerings. Tangra has some very good restaurants with good ambience. And Khoka goes there to have Chicken Chowmein and Chili fish (Ref: Dwitiyo Purush). 

Kitchen of a Chinese Eating House, Tyangra (1978) (via facebook)

Jokes apart, Tiretta Bazaar has its own old school charm and they don't burn your pockets at all. Being quite affordable and location near to College street, hence college goers have quite heavy footfall here. Another thing is none of these Tiretta 'eating houses' serve alcohol while Tangra is famous for cheap boozes with good Chinese starters.  

Barrackpore Christian Cemetery - Commonwealth War Graves

ব্যারাকপুরে বেশ কিছু ঐতিহাসিক 'Hidden Gem' আছে। তার মধ্যে বেশিরভাগই আর্মি বা পুলিশের জায়গাতে অবস্থিত বলে সাধারণের নাগালের বাইরে। আজকে যেটা নিয়ে কথা বলব সেটা কিন্তু সবার নাগালের মধ্যেই - কিন্তু Cantonment এরিয়ার ঠিক বাইরে আর রাস্তা থেকে একটু ভিতরে থেকে বলে বেশিরভাগ মানুষই এর ব্যাপারে জানেন না। ছোটবেলায় এই সব এরিয়াতে সাইকেল চালিয়ে অনেক ঘুরেছি, আমিও জানতাম না এর ব্যাপারে। এটি হল ব্যারাকপুরের খ্রিস্টান কবরস্থান বা Commonwealth War Graves। ২০১৯ সালে West Bengal Heritage Commission এই জায়গাটিকে 'হেরিটেজ সাইট' হিসেবে নথিভুক্ত করেন - গেটে লাগানো হয় ব্লু প্লেক (Blue Plaque)। 

ব্যারাকপুরের খ্রীষ্টান কবরস্থান -  Commonwealth War Graves

Chintamani Bird Sanctuary - a Hidden Gem (or Forest) in Kolkata City

Want to find green in the midst of Kolkata, then your destination could be Chintamani Bird Sanctuary (চিন্তামণি কর পাখীরালয়) in Narendrapur. Truly speaking it's a hidden gem of Kolkata and dream destination for bird lovers or watchers inside the metro, where birds dwell in the long trees or come here every winter. 

It is like a Wakanda, the hidden city of Marvel comics. 

How Mysuru King Tipu Sultan Got Calcutta Connection?

Tipu Sultan

Tipu Sultan has never put his feet in Kolkata, but there are two masjids in Kolkata, of his name, bearing the legacy of the Tiger of Mysore - one at Esplanade/ Dharmatala and another one at Tollyganj. For the uninitiated, Tipu Sultan was a ruler of Mysore, and fought against British during 1700's. Today Kolkata does remember him and his successors. Prince Anwar Shah Road and Prince Golam Mohammad Shah Road in South Kolkata bears the name of his son. But what is the link between Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan and Kolkata?

George Orwell said, “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history."

Zakaria and Teritti Bazar Walk - Calcutta

Long Post Alert !!! 

After a long ​​wait and planning for years we made out a food walk as well as heritage walk across the city of joy, Calcutta (now known as Kolkata). I would prefer the name Calcutta as it carries the weight of history that's a mix of cultures. Calcutta, being the first capital of British India is a perfect landscape if you're looking for the colonial India, though it's not very perfectly maintained for somewhat reasons. 

Our walk begins with food, and why not? Bengalees love food. While winter starts its steps across the city, mughlai breakfast starts at sharp 4 o'clock at Sufia, Zakaria street, just opposite to Nakhoda Masjid. 

My friend Sagnik and his wife Ayindreela booked their Ola from Khardah (north suburb) at 4:40 am, and I took a local train from Barrackpore at 5:15 am to reach the city. I boarded off at Bidhannagar station and took a Uber ride to reach Sufia at approx 6:10am, while my friend directly reached there earlier. However Sufia is full of crowd, and men of Sufia are very busy in packing Nihari and Paya in the tiffin carriers as well as serving hot breakfast at the tables. All tables are full and remained full till we completed our Mughlai breakfast. 

I was told and read through the blogs that Sufia is out stock after 6:30 am, and yes that's true. You may miss any item if you're late enough. 

Ramzan at Zakaria Street (2019 Edition)

Entrance to Zakaria Street/Nakhoda Masjid

I am again writing on Zakaria, as the last post I wrote on Kolkata's Ramzan special Kebab gully in 2017 (Read: Kebab Gully of Kolkata - Zakaria and Phears Lane). Zakaria is now quite famous among Kolkatans and many no-beef people just visit the area to see the grandeur of the Kebab Gully.

For the first timers, the festival of Ramzan focused on Zakaria street, and extends in surroundings including Kolutola Market/Colootola Bazar, Phears Lane, Chitpur and Rabindra Sarani. Many says the celebration is similar to Delhi’s Chandni Chowk, Mumbai’s Md Ali Road, and Hyderabad’s Old Quarters, I can't verify as I visited none of them. For off-Kolkata people Bangalore has a similar arrangement in old Bangalore but my friend confirms that can't match Zakaria by cost or taste! 

OpenSignal: Kolkata Tops in India in terms of 4G Coverage

Kolkata, the City of Joy always has a sweet spot for Indian telecom. Back in 1995 Kolkata became first city to get mobile services in India, that was MobileNet from Modi Telstra - turned Hutch later, and now operates as Vodafone Idea. 

Interestingly 3G, the next of 2G obviously, was not first launched in Kolkata, rather it was Delhi to get country's first 3G mobility from MTNL in 2008. And see what happens - in 8 years (however private players didn't able to launch 3G until 2010 when 3G auction did happen; so to be precise it's just 6 years) 3G is turning to be obsolete in favour of 4G (Jio was launched in 2016).

4G again fell in love with Kolkata, as Airtel became first Indian operator to launch 4G in April 10, 2012. Fyi, I attended that inauguration press meet. 4G has a very slow uptake until Jio started their commercial services in September 2016.

What I want to say, with out Kolkata touch, 3G failed while 2G is surviving and 4G is rocking. Same for CDMA too, Reliance Mobile India went for countrywide launch back in 2002 and in 2018 all CDMA networks are defunct.

Now while we are embracing 4G - thanks to Jio for bringing down the tariff to a super affordable level, Kolkata touches a new milestone as per OpenSignal's data. It's the only city in India to cross more than 90% 4G availability (90.7% to be precise) - keeping the other top areas of South East Asia behind, Hong Kong (90.4 per cent), Singapore (86.6 per cent), Taipei (89.8 per cent) and Kuala Lumpur (80.8 per cent) in terms of 4G coverage.

Well though it's impressive to reach a global standard, it's not acceptable that 4G is not that much fast in India. India's average speed is behind to that of Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Best of Beef Food Joints in Kolkata

Like many Calcuttans, I started my journey into beef dishes from Nizam at Esplanade. But it's sad that Nizam closes its door for beef lovers. Right now they only serve chicken or mutton. The famous beef roll of Nizam is now a history. Nizam was also making Halim during Ramzan days and beef biriyani every day, though biriyani is still not a favorite of mine.

Old Calcutta Walk - Connecting Synagogues, Zoroastrian Fire Temple, Churches and Buddhist Temple

If you are a early riser, take your breakfast at Tiretta Bazaar. Though the Tiretta's Chinese breakfast is one of the most popular breakfast stop in Kolkata with good footfall from foreigners, the quality is falling. But hot breakfast with chinese momos will definitely make you to explore the old Calcutta.

Dated 23rd December, 2017, in this tour we had visited temples, churches, synagogues, Buddhist Temples, Parsi fire temples .... the rich multicultural Calcutta is waiting for you! 

This post was a kind of immature writing, and I don't consider this post as very good reading also. However that was like in 2017, I thought that it would be a good effort to write down my experience while walking across the city. A detail post was made on Zakaria & Surrounding heritage site based on my walk in December 2019. You will find it here. 

Magen David Synagogue

Magen David Synagogue is one of the two synagogues those are still operating in Kolkata. It is operational since 1884 and recently had underwent a restoration.

Kabab Gully of Calcutta at Zakaria Street and Phears Lane

Ramzan is just ended, and the zeal over Kolkata's Kebab street Zakaria street is growing year by year. This is 4th July of 2017 and we had Ramzan on 25-26th June. During the Ramzan days I had a visit into Zakaria St. without any homework. I just googled it and visited the damn place - directly through the Nakhoda Masjid's gate on Central Avenue, opposite to Md. Ali Park. I just went straight and soon met the crowd of Ramzan, the narrower street by the middle-of-the-road stalls across the Zakaria st, till the road ended at Rabindra Sarani and Nakhoda Masjid crossing.

Mystery 2G Network (404-00) Live over Kolkata.

Few days back my fellow twitter user Iman Aryon informed me about a new 2G network available over Kolkata - 404-00 or INA-00.

Earlier this code was allotted to MTS India in Rajasthan, we got informed by MTS that they are not testing.

Then who is it? We are yet to know.

In the mean time, ITU Mobile Codes says 404-00 is alloted to Dishnet Wireless/Aircel, Madhya Pradesh and Shyam Telelink/MTS India has 405-00 in Rajasthan.

As Airtel got 900MHz band spectrum in Kolkata in last auction, they could start 3G testing. (note that Idea will roll out 3G on 900MHz in Delhi in April, 2015) But then why it's showing 2G only.

What is Happening in West Bengal? :O

I did not post a single blogspot article on politics over my blog, because it is not my cup of tea. But this time I feel must do my first one as student is termed openly maoist or SFI/CPM cadre by a chief minister of an Indian state.

Mamata Banerjee, the head of Trinamool Congress and CM of West Bengal has a habit of over-expression and don't know how to speak on public while the audience ask her about some wrongdoing of her party. She proved these before on Park Street rape case (which she remaked as a try to defame her government and later cops proved her wrong, and ultimately those cops were transferred), banning of popular newspapers in  state libraries (as they are defaming her majesty) and facebook cartoon of her and abusing & beating of a Jadavpur Professor.

She also pushed Dinesh Trivedi to resign as Railway Minister as he proposed of fare hike. Many says this happened b'cause she did not like Congress touch of him.

And this one is unique and idiotic!! Yesterday she lost her cool in an interactive tv session in Town hall as the audience asked about women safety in the state, Arabul Islam's activity (who abused and assaulted a lady teacher). She accused the audience, which consisted of students, to be Maoists and CPM cadre and left the hall.

Mamata walks out of show, calls students Maoists - Video 1 Video 2 (Digigiri Unplugged) Video 3 (Students take on Bengal CM).

I feel that she can't take criticism that's her big problem.

Read more: 'অম্বিকেশ' শুনেই অগ্নিশর্মা অগ্নিকন্যা

বিস্ফোরক বই প্রকাশ প্রাক্তন তৃণমূল বিধায়কের - Dipak Ghosh, ex-TMC MLA and ex-IAS officer published his book Mamata Banerjee As I Have Known Her. The book contains exclusive as well as explosive information on didi. He also said that fasting on Singur issue was celebrated with chocolates and sandwiches.

And read comments here on TOI.

Srijit's 3rd: Hemlock Society - Catching Storyline

Srijit Mukherji does not need any introduction. Director of Autograph and Baishe Srabon is going to be back with his 3rd venture Hemlock Society.

If you don't know anything about Hemlock Society, know this:

The Hemlock Society USA was a national right-to-die organization founded in Santa Monica, California by Derek Humphry in 1980. Its primary missions included providing information to dying persons and supporting legislation permitting physician-assisted suicide. In 1992, following the publication of his book Final Exit, Derek Humphry left the leadership of Hemlock Society USA. In 2003 the national organization renamed itself, and a year later merged with another group into a newly formed national organization called Compassion & Choices. A number of unaffiliated local organizations continue to operate under variants of the Hemlock Society name.

via Wikipedia 

This film will reunite Srijit, Sree Venkatesh Films and Musician Anupam Roy once again.

Power FM - Still Cool and Happening

During my school days I used to listen to radio during my late night study sessions. That time, new FM channels were beginning to tune up in Kolkata and all over India. And Power FM was my favorite because it airs less ad than other FM channels, secondly from the very first they are airing English songs along with Hindi songs - which is truly exciting to youngsters. Before the internet and youtube era, Power FM was the only source of listening English songs for me.

Just few days back I was listening to Power FM, and I find that it still keeps that old flavor. :) Thanks to the minds behind the FM channel.

But it is not good to see that they do have a not-functioning website. 

2010 & 2011's Bengali Films To Watch

    

Bangla cinema er market 2010 theke hotat tunge utheche ... besi kotha na bole 2010 er cinema gulo r ekta list kore dilam :
Mainstream movie gulo dhorlam na, sudhu jegulo ektu onyo rokom chilo seguloi list e thaklo ... kichu 2011 er cinema r naam o thaklo ....

The Japanese Wife 

Byomkesh Bakshi
Shukno Lanka
Autograph
Moner Manush
Gorosthane Sabdhan
Arekti Premer Golpo
Laboratory 

Computer Shops in Chandni

Supreme

Techno Crat

Eastern Logica

MD Computers

Vedant Computers (26 GC Avenue)

Arihant