Sunday, December 11, 2005

Ami Kolkatar Rosogolla

This is the title of one of the famous Bengali song and is based on Kolkata's lady beauty and have a good tune. The literary meaning is “I am Kolakata’s Rosogolla (sweet )”. The famous song sung by Bangla pop icon Usha Uthhup. I have danced on the tune in my childhood. I was humming the same lines on the streets of Kolkata on the human rights day, i.e. yesterday, 10th December. But now a days when I am grown up (still growing), as only humming the song , in Kolkata I saw the infamous Kolkata’s street dwellers, to whom I had seen in the almost same scene 13 years back too, when my Navodaya Vidyalaya arranged the Kolkata trip for us.

The black ladies and gents and skinny children, mud sticking to skin which again sticks to the bones. All their belongings packed in the sacks. The torn black plastic sheets make a roof shape structure for them. Ends of the plastic tent were tied to roadside electric poles and handles of old house doors. In between there is one broken kerosene stove and another black handi over it. Beside them two persons were on the aluminum food plate. The plate filled with rice and few fine meat pieces. The hungry eyes were concentrated on their shares of meat. At afternoon 3 pm, I too did not have my meals. In morning, I had two Kolkata’s rosgollas only and started the day. In hunger anything looks delicious. I was feeling hungry. The aromas of their limited prepared dishes set me tempted. I left the place. At least for my those Indian friends, whose coming generations too will not read my blog ever, I can never sing the song on Kolkata streets anymore. But the town celebrated the Human Right’s Day officially and rosogollas were of course the part of the snacks in between the meetings.