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I have been a citizen of the City of Joy since when I was a tiny speck of a human being flitting about in my tiny frocks. In other words, I was born and brought up in Kolkata, and the city has grown on me with every passing day. If you walk by the lanes of Gariahat (a prominent road in South Kolkata) during any random moment of the day, you’d find hawkers peddling wallets, handkerchiefs, nighties, fake international-brand perfumes, and everything else under the sun that can be hawked on a pavement. From the familiar refrain of hawkers ferrying goods in the hot afternoon sun to the routine evening addas on the wide neighbourhood balconies during weekends, Kolkata has a cacophony which is unique to the city. Heated discussions around a recent political manoeuvre, an upcoming football match between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, and buzzing discussions around culinary innovations contribute to the murmur of the city.
Offbeat CCU, a unique ecosystem where you blend education, entertainment, and hospitality under one roof, has curated the sounds of the city and blended them into a beautiful podcast.
OffBeat CCU shares with us their memories of a random day in Kolkata. For the uninitiated, here’s what a day in the hustle-and-bustle of the city looks like.
You board the metro, earplugs on listening to your favourite song getting mildly distracted by the announcement, waiting to get down at your stop, quickly swipe the card and go back home to mom’s super good Aloo Posto and remember the time the conductor went all bonkers shouting ‘Aastey ladies!’ (steady, ladies) at the Esplanade More.
It’s been close to 80 dry days AKA no noise, they say…
Quintessentially, Calcutta ... oops!... Amader Kolkata (Our Kolkata) is a beautiful languid (read ‘lyadhkhor’ (languorous)) city, moving at its own pace. The transition of stepping in and out seemed like the most natural activity up until 23 March 2020.
Something that always trailed behind you but you didn’t realise until you sat by your window and craved to hear... again...
As we draw closer to the day when we would go out, we couldn’t help but wonder how much we missed sounds, streets, puchkas (or gol gappas), and what not? A little something inside tells us the world will be starkly different than what we left but let’s admit it, CCU cannot let go of its charms – Soul City! Classic Much, eh!
Here’s a beautiful curation of the sounds of Kolkata by Offbeat CCU.
Kolkata is truly a feeling! The cacophony of bus and tram journeys, the familiar, robotic voice of the metro, aunties’ chitter-chatter, occasional bursts of familiar songs on the ever-so crowded streets, and everything that Offbeat CCU talks about is what makes Kolkata itself. And not just Kolkata, these peculiar yet familiar sounds are exactly what all of India is made of.
So, drown yourself in the sound of India and enjoy the track.
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