Oh Calcutta...........!!!!!!!!!

People ask me what I see in Calcutta? So I ask them the same question in return. All that they tell me are piles of garbage, crowded streets, clamouring of street vendors, obnoxious open sewers, persistent beggars, run down houses and the sickening pollution.
Yes, they paint a very bleak picture indeed. But then, every person is entitled to their own opinion and therefore, I think it is only fair that I stick to mine. So far, I have never answered anybody (excepting one person) what I see in Calcutta.
How can I make someone understand that the teeming multitudes flowing through the winding and sinuous city streets is like my life blood flowing through my veins? Will anyone ever realise that my heart beats in rhythmn with throbbing pulse of the city? That the thought of the wild surging currents in river Hoogly wakes me up in the midst of my slumber and entices me to return to the place where my heart lies.
For me, love was never blind but it has always been synonymous with acceptance. It is not that I am blind to the vices of the city that I was born in but I have grown to love it, in spite of everything. How can not be touched by the people that moved Mother Teresa? How can I ignore latent energy in the atmosphere which inspired Bose to lay down his life? How can I choose not to see the divine beauty of Shantiniketan on a mellow autumn day which brought out hunderds of sweet verses from Tagore's heart?

This is a city which has shaped my thoughts and has made me the person that I am today. Intricately woven in with every dingy lane of this city are sweet memories of my childhood. Every alley echoes with the sound of mirth and laughter of the days when worries were alien to us. Every breath I take here refreshens my soul with the pure and passionate ideals that, I believe, is the luxury of a naive and innocent mind. Every wind that blows here carries with it the torn dreams of a fiery spirited young girl, like ashes and sparks from an extinguished hearth.

Oh Calcutta............

I miss you so!