The Charm of early mornings in Kolkata

I have to admit- this is one of my secret fascinations. I have been exploring this for a while- scratched at the surface only so far. A city which bursts at the seams and strains every sinews during the day presents a surprisingly different picture in its relative moments of privacy- say Sunday mornings, between 5-8 am. The one way traffic rules don't come in to force till 8 am, which, coupled with thin traffic on the road makes driving a relaxed experience. Some of my favorite beats include a drive down the river Ganga, starting with the northern end at Bagbazar Ghat and going all the way up to the base of the Howrah Bridge. The ghats come alive in the morning, offering a slice of life that is normally obscured from view during the day. For example, you could see boats laden with tons of straw anchoring at the Bagbazar Ghat; a "kusti akhara" (Indian wrestling arena) at Mullick Ghat and one of the largest wholesale flower markets at the same place. The flower market is a riot of bright colors where with a bit of bargaining you could buy a bunch of 50 roses for $2 or less..

Even without buying, it is an interesting experience just to walk through the market. I have rarely seen Kolkata citizens visiting the place as tourist, but every time I go I see some foreigners visiting the flower market. I know that this place is in the informal word-of-mouth list of things-to-do-in-Kolkata among them. Is someone from the tourism department listening? It is original things like this, linked to the personality of the city that outsiders come to see.

The other locations that I love to drive are along Central Avenue (the Park Street of yesteryears), Bidhan Sarani, and several lanes that branch off from it- such as Muktaram Babu Street (most famous address here is the Marble Palace).

These have some charming buildings and dilapidated palaces still standing. You need to have the morning peace of mind to stop the car suddenly and look up to admire these fascinating beauties bejewelled with the most ornate wrought iron grills, splendidly designed windows and the Corinthian pillars. I am thinking of joining one of the few walking tours that are conducted by local organizations, often led by heritage conservationists and architects, to explore this a little better. I am also trying to motivate some of my friends staying in North Calcutta to wake up from their royal slumber early in the morning to accompany me. Most of them have certainly retained a piece of zamindari style and attitude in their genes!

Other good areas to drive through are the "White area" of old Kolkata- a few square miles west of the river Hugli (Chowringhee, Dalhousie, Maidan areas). I cannot help admire the British urban planning and architecture every time I drive through these areas.

No morning tour of Kolkata is complete without a food stop. Some of my favorites include a small shop near Marble Palace serving five small kachoris and aloo-sabzi in a sal leaf plate. This helping has to be followed by hot jalebis. There are a group of street dogs on that road who would not touch a morsel of the kachoris or biscuits which you might throw at them, but will lap up every piece of jalebi which you decide to offer them. Other competitors in this food category is Maharani at the other end of town- in the south- near Deshapriya Park. Same menu- here the regular patrons are the morning walkers of Dhakuria Lake who feel guilty of shedding so much calories and make an honest effort to make up on their way back home :-) If you are more adventurous, you could try the "telebhaja" shops near bagbazar (a national morning food in that side of the world). The attractions include out-of-the-world fuluri, dal-bora, alur chop, beguni, peyaji (no translations available for any of these). If you are in that side of town, you could polish off your breakfast with rasagollas (several different sizes, all heavenly) and/or madhu-parka (a cross-breed between icecream, sandesh and mishtydoi). And I am not telling you here what gifts to mankind are available in this part (only) in the evenings (subject of a separate blog). Lastly, if you are among the unfortunate ones who carry a red flag about fried food, you could head for the early morning Chinese breakfast on Tiretta Bazar near Poddar Court. A small group of Chinese sell strictly home style chinese breakfast items between 6-8 am there.. In this by-the-chinese-for-the-chinese affair, you could find various categories of broths, fish balls, steamed pao with a variety of fillings, spicy chinese sausages. You could carry home prawn chips, dried greens, strings of sausages and home-made soya sauce. The place is losing its character with other kinds of sellers crowding the chinese out; but if you visit within the next few years you might still be able to catch up with the food and experience.

As the clock strikes 8 am, the traffic cops take position and one way rules come in to force on most roads- it is time for me to head home, or to slip back in to my householder routine by stopping at the Manicktala market to buy a good, fresh bekty that would yield to succulent chilly fish cubes; or other special categories that would not be available in the local markets. And thus the day begins. What preceded this was the "zero period", as we used to call in school!