Sunday, October 28, 2012
Going past Barrackpore Bridge: Dakshineswar temple and roundabout
Going past Barrackpore Bridge: Dakshineswar temple and roundabout
On a Friday i visited Dakshineswar temple. Started a little after eight in the morning went past Barrackpore Bridge at 8.40. A ride lasting over an hour in three different buses. The crowd inside the temple was not strong enough to keep you away but it took a while before the queue arithmetic could be understood. For those intending to skip the queue qualm, the best part about Dakshineswar is one can gain a glimpse of Goddess from rear which is as overwhelming as one made possible by joining the queue. In the precincts are Jyotirlingas in a row which is followed by a Hooghly river. Quite close to the bathing space came across Jagdish Das, newspaper vendor, and Uttam, tea vendor, who seem unfazed by a large number of devotees taking a dip in the Hooghly and getting themselves into a new fabric. Herein spotted an old man, Vibhuti, sitting under a tree, who seem content to keep to himself than reach out to a new set of friends.
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa's room
As for the room where a picture of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and the articles used by him are displayed, the floor has a shine round the year. There is a different entry and exit to Ramakrishna's room. Opposite to the entrance to the temple is Pnya Bithika. A maruti esteem bearing number wb 02 X 0018 is sighted in the temple area. The same car i spot near Tirupati General Stores, 36 C J M Avenue on a different day.
While leaving the temple area at 10.55, came across "welcome to second vivekananda bridge tollway". The dunlop-shyambazar bus ride was by and large along expected lines with B T Road looking as complicated and congested as ever. There were numerous stoppages on the way due to pile up of traffic and once i was in the vicinity of Shyambazar some breathing space could be visualised.
Taking a Shyambazar-Esplanade tram
As i took a tram from Shyambazar to BBD Bag/ Esplanade, inside is a board on last date of renewal monthly tickets; last date of deposit refund. Kindly tender the exact fare, 5 and 10 rs notes cannot be changed by the conductor. Other messages put in the tram were:
- This car is yours. Please take care.
- Please move inside the car.
- Smoking prohibited.
- Beware of pickpockets.
With the tram from Shyambazar heading towards BBD Bag/ Esplanade, the sightings in Hatibagan and roundabout came as follows
- divine cafe 26, bidhan sarani, kolkata 6
- paul jewellers
- ghosh & co sweets
- new college law hostel, 14 bidhan sarani
- vidyasagar college, board pointing inside
- darpana theatre (there are three theatres in a row)
- shyambazar p.o 700004
- second theatre had tollywood badshah celebrations underway
- next to third theatre is nati bindonini sarani
- bharat engineering stores corp had pictures of munshi prem chand and a message
In rasbehari road and other places:
Straits restaurant for meals (combo meal comprising veg fried rice with veg manchurian comes for 49rs). This reminds me of probably Vittal's in Nashik where the brunch till last year too came under 50rs.
From rasbehari road to lake road
-bharatmata mistaana bhandar
-nepa sweets & snacks
-sharma sweets & snacks
- chandana sweets, 32C lake road (those running the sweet shop are an organised lot with no airs whatsoever) Against this one in the vicinity seems to be haughty and timid probably to do with surroundings that are humid.
- amrapali learning centre: english, european
- mahaprabhu mistaana bhandar
- shree hanuman bhandar 4, lake road
- lake tea centre
- bytes cyber cafe (run by partha bose, a cooperative and gentle soul)
During various rounds to rasbehari road/avenue, attempts were made to snatch a meal or two and on one occasion it led me to a regale restaurant. Well, mixed vegetables came for 50rs, and in view of no plain rice (15rs), basmati rice came for 25rs. The eating joint has sitting arrangements and if they start serving plain rice, some can visit more often.
On a Friday i visited Dakshineswar temple. Started a little after eight in the morning went past Barrackpore Bridge at 8.40. A ride lasting over an hour in three different buses. The crowd inside the temple was not strong enough to keep you away but it took a while before the queue arithmetic could be understood. For those intending to skip the queue qualm, the best part about Dakshineswar is one can gain a glimpse of Goddess from rear which is as overwhelming as one made possible by joining the queue. In the precincts are Jyotirlingas in a row which is followed by a Hooghly river. Quite close to the bathing space came across Jagdish Das, newspaper vendor, and Uttam, tea vendor, who seem unfazed by a large number of devotees taking a dip in the Hooghly and getting themselves into a new fabric. Herein spotted an old man, Vibhuti, sitting under a tree, who seem content to keep to himself than reach out to a new set of friends.
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa's room
As for the room where a picture of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and the articles used by him are displayed, the floor has a shine round the year. There is a different entry and exit to Ramakrishna's room. Opposite to the entrance to the temple is Pnya Bithika. A maruti esteem bearing number wb 02 X 0018 is sighted in the temple area. The same car i spot near Tirupati General Stores, 36 C J M Avenue on a different day.
While leaving the temple area at 10.55, came across "welcome to second vivekananda bridge tollway". The dunlop-shyambazar bus ride was by and large along expected lines with B T Road looking as complicated and congested as ever. There were numerous stoppages on the way due to pile up of traffic and once i was in the vicinity of Shyambazar some breathing space could be visualised.
Taking a Shyambazar-Esplanade tram
As i took a tram from Shyambazar to BBD Bag/ Esplanade, inside is a board on last date of renewal monthly tickets; last date of deposit refund. Kindly tender the exact fare, 5 and 10 rs notes cannot be changed by the conductor. Other messages put in the tram were:
- This car is yours. Please take care.
- Please move inside the car.
- Smoking prohibited.
- Beware of pickpockets.
With the tram from Shyambazar heading towards BBD Bag/ Esplanade, the sightings in Hatibagan and roundabout came as follows
- divine cafe 26, bidhan sarani, kolkata 6
- paul jewellers
- ghosh & co sweets
- new college law hostel, 14 bidhan sarani
- vidyasagar college, board pointing inside
- darpana theatre (there are three theatres in a row)
- shyambazar p.o 700004
- second theatre had tollywood badshah celebrations underway
- next to third theatre is nati bindonini sarani
- bharat engineering stores corp had pictures of munshi prem chand and a message
In rasbehari road and other places:
Straits restaurant for meals (combo meal comprising veg fried rice with veg manchurian comes for 49rs). This reminds me of probably Vittal's in Nashik where the brunch till last year too came under 50rs.
From rasbehari road to lake road
-bharatmata mistaana bhandar
-nepa sweets & snacks
-sharma sweets & snacks
- chandana sweets, 32C lake road (those running the sweet shop are an organised lot with no airs whatsoever) Against this one in the vicinity seems to be haughty and timid probably to do with surroundings that are humid.
- amrapali learning centre: english, european
- mahaprabhu mistaana bhandar
- shree hanuman bhandar 4, lake road
- lake tea centre
- bytes cyber cafe (run by partha bose, a cooperative and gentle soul)
During various rounds to rasbehari road/avenue, attempts were made to snatch a meal or two and on one occasion it led me to a regale restaurant. Well, mixed vegetables came for 50rs, and in view of no plain rice (15rs), basmati rice came for 25rs. The eating joint has sitting arrangements and if they start serving plain rice, some can visit more often.
The visit to tea centres in Lalbazar and other areas in Kolkata by Puneet Rajhans
The visit to tea centres in Lalbazar and other areas in Kolkata
After returning from Dakshineswar, the ride to Lal Bazar was effectively accomplished in a tram. A place teeming with series of activities, a slew of tea shops on the left while approaching BBD Bag conveyed the tea the tea masters wanted to showcase. Fewer would be found tripping over tea and the discourse during the course of purchasing tea is not confined to benefits the tea releases; it equally underscores the benchmark the tea companies have set for themselves.
Perhaps there is a tram stop in the vicinity but given the time consumed in taking the receipt followed by taking the tea leaves in a wrapping almost an hour gets spent. By this time more than two to three trams would have gone past you. Sometimes it can get more than that depending on the rush to the tea centres and those refusing to relieve themselves from the task of standing in the queue even after collecting tea in a ton.
A return from Dakshineswar the other day i was split on the areas i should approach. Certain was a tram i had to take from Shyambazar at any cost. A tram from Shyambazar which would take me to BBD Bag i took and in the course had a different set of sightings. Somewhere after reaching Bipin Behari Ganguly Street the thought crossed on why not take the tea from Dhruba Tea Centre which the other day i had spotted.
The tea flavour i could not recollect
As i reached the shop, the build up to the queue had not started but under 10 minutes the gathering-momentum gained. A lady ahead and an employee of a company behind engaged me in a conversation on tea and the flavour that were not fewer. I told them i was not in a position to recall the flavour which is admirably used by tea vendors near k c das food joint.The lady thundered "fennings" and this was handy enough to seek fenning favour from the man at the counter. Mind you tea leaves here are a bit expensive despite the state of West Bengal having a reservoir of tea gardens. One kg fennings were in the range of 300rs and up. I sought for 170rs which the counterman expressed his inability to do so. Finally had to settle for 500 grams for 150rs.
Taking tea and the receipt
The process of taking tea is to first make payment, take the receipt which has a number on it. One foil of the receipt is handed to the person who is putting tea in a wrapping. At one go not less than 10 to 15 foils go to him. These foils are put on the tea-putting wrapping table by the cashier who puts cash in a tray. Arrangement is fine as the foils put at the last minute are taken later and those buried under are taken first. No fault at this stage. My number was probably 708 and by the time i could hear the counting it was somewhere at 650. In between i came across a large number of instances where the number was read and the person concerned had not come to collect tea. Some leaving with one wrapping and some with five to seven different tea wrappings, all determined by the budget they had. I was told that tea began from 200 to 300rs a kg to touching all the way to 5000rs a kg were available here and in other tea centres.
As my turn came i came across an instance where an old man who had a receipt was told to pay 30rs extra as the quantity mentioned and the amount he paid had a disparity. The cash was handed to the cashier with no receipt whatsoever. And herein given the large number of transactions, there would be a repeat of such instances where receipt won't be handed and that would not be appropriate for those reporting for work there. Second given the big boxes in which tea had been preserved it took no extra effort for the men who were putting tea leaves in different wrappings quite familiar with which box had which flavour.
Given the insurmountable nature of transactions and the weighing machine nearby, there won't be a dearth of little hits and misses here and there. When the business is big and the customers seeking services no less there is bound to be malfunctioning to a degree. Here the owners need to lay stress to their staff that howsoever the big trade may be the staff has to be vigilant to adhere to procedures.Against this the Dhruba Tea Centre in Rasbehari Avenue had no crowd pressure whenever i visited. The rationale for this was only locals procured tea from here and in LalBazar there was a big bunch of outsiders placing tea orders.
As i left the tea centre i noticed a large number of staff members being served readymade tea made mandatory by the number of hours they were on foot and the number of orders they had to cater to. A strict arrangement where any customer who is asked to pay extra for the extra filling his wrapping has should be handed a receipt for the same. That would do a world of good to the entire tea centre.
After returning from Dakshineswar, the ride to Lal Bazar was effectively accomplished in a tram. A place teeming with series of activities, a slew of tea shops on the left while approaching BBD Bag conveyed the tea the tea masters wanted to showcase. Fewer would be found tripping over tea and the discourse during the course of purchasing tea is not confined to benefits the tea releases; it equally underscores the benchmark the tea companies have set for themselves.
Perhaps there is a tram stop in the vicinity but given the time consumed in taking the receipt followed by taking the tea leaves in a wrapping almost an hour gets spent. By this time more than two to three trams would have gone past you. Sometimes it can get more than that depending on the rush to the tea centres and those refusing to relieve themselves from the task of standing in the queue even after collecting tea in a ton.
A return from Dakshineswar the other day i was split on the areas i should approach. Certain was a tram i had to take from Shyambazar at any cost. A tram from Shyambazar which would take me to BBD Bag i took and in the course had a different set of sightings. Somewhere after reaching Bipin Behari Ganguly Street the thought crossed on why not take the tea from Dhruba Tea Centre which the other day i had spotted.
The tea flavour i could not recollect
As i reached the shop, the build up to the queue had not started but under 10 minutes the gathering-momentum gained. A lady ahead and an employee of a company behind engaged me in a conversation on tea and the flavour that were not fewer. I told them i was not in a position to recall the flavour which is admirably used by tea vendors near k c das food joint.The lady thundered "fennings" and this was handy enough to seek fenning favour from the man at the counter. Mind you tea leaves here are a bit expensive despite the state of West Bengal having a reservoir of tea gardens. One kg fennings were in the range of 300rs and up. I sought for 170rs which the counterman expressed his inability to do so. Finally had to settle for 500 grams for 150rs.
Taking tea and the receipt
The process of taking tea is to first make payment, take the receipt which has a number on it. One foil of the receipt is handed to the person who is putting tea in a wrapping. At one go not less than 10 to 15 foils go to him. These foils are put on the tea-putting wrapping table by the cashier who puts cash in a tray. Arrangement is fine as the foils put at the last minute are taken later and those buried under are taken first. No fault at this stage. My number was probably 708 and by the time i could hear the counting it was somewhere at 650. In between i came across a large number of instances where the number was read and the person concerned had not come to collect tea. Some leaving with one wrapping and some with five to seven different tea wrappings, all determined by the budget they had. I was told that tea began from 200 to 300rs a kg to touching all the way to 5000rs a kg were available here and in other tea centres.
As my turn came i came across an instance where an old man who had a receipt was told to pay 30rs extra as the quantity mentioned and the amount he paid had a disparity. The cash was handed to the cashier with no receipt whatsoever. And herein given the large number of transactions, there would be a repeat of such instances where receipt won't be handed and that would not be appropriate for those reporting for work there. Second given the big boxes in which tea had been preserved it took no extra effort for the men who were putting tea leaves in different wrappings quite familiar with which box had which flavour.
Given the insurmountable nature of transactions and the weighing machine nearby, there won't be a dearth of little hits and misses here and there. When the business is big and the customers seeking services no less there is bound to be malfunctioning to a degree. Here the owners need to lay stress to their staff that howsoever the big trade may be the staff has to be vigilant to adhere to procedures.Against this the Dhruba Tea Centre in Rasbehari Avenue had no crowd pressure whenever i visited. The rationale for this was only locals procured tea from here and in LalBazar there was a big bunch of outsiders placing tea orders.
As i left the tea centre i noticed a large number of staff members being served readymade tea made mandatory by the number of hours they were on foot and the number of orders they had to cater to. A strict arrangement where any customer who is asked to pay extra for the extra filling his wrapping has should be handed a receipt for the same. That would do a world of good to the entire tea centre.
College Street and roundabout
College Street and roundabout
As for College Street, the place i resided for 10 days in 2011, the eating joints before one comes to college square are: new college sweets, kumar's canteen and bastana cabin. In the vicinity are plumbing & sanitary, engineers & suppliers . As for New College Sweets, the name could be gained after putting a query like: "Tumhar dookan Naam Ki?"
The board showing direction to bankim chandra library has a tea shop inside the lane.
On Surya Sen street, Mouchak restaurant which serves kachodi (4 to 5rs a piece) is among the finest in the city. Next to this is a weighing machine "try your weight & fortune". Few shops away is Puti Ram sweets. There is College Square Sarbajanin Durgotsab Committee bus stop. Besides there is choose & pick store at 18, College Street.
Coming to "try your weight & fortune" machine, it is broadly an attempt to broadly define the weight that one has gained/aimed over the years leading to a fortune that others fear. Weight is all about the will to wilt under pressure and those with weighty exterior lose no time to weigh options on whom to apply the barber scissor. Days have turned to months, months to years and all along one has heard about the repeated failing in taking up the reading assignment sum. Probably other eating joints in the area would amplify messages like: "Eat here, beat fear", "Eat what you cherish, take on the plate all visible dish".
As i left Mouchak restaurant coming on the back of a repeated odyssey to the same, it would be desirable for those visiting Kolkata to get in line with what the eating joint offers and aims. Misti Doi is a must and so are other sweets that come for less than 5rs a piece thereby promissing all-season buzz.
Hopping on to a tram belgatchia/shyambazar - B.B.D. Bag / Esplanade, the route shown is belgatchiashyambazar coolutola/hedua bowbazar PO/wellington esplanade /BBD Bag (fare ranges between 4 and 6rs).
Butter toast from SS Hogg Market
Butter toast from SS Hogg Market
Last year one had the opportunity to have butter toast from SS Hogg Market. During those days i was staying in Central Guest House near Chittaranjan Avenue and fighting all conceivable battles against bedbugs. Down with fever and body ache, i could hardly locate any toast vendor in the vicinity in the morning. The search in October 2011 led me all the way to SS Hogg Market.
In SS Hogg Market there is a Soni Tea Shop where the display board conveys among other things desserts which are not hard to decipher.
soni tea shop, ss hogg market
kheer 1 pc (12), half (6), butter toast 1 pc (4), plain toast 2 per piece, laddu 3, pantua 5, balu shahi 3. For jalebi, imarti no price given.
Opposite the tea shop is ss hogg market of Calcutta Municipal Corporation developed by Martin Burn Ltd. In vicinity are:
- cafe abdullah
- multi medicine
- bengal traditional hand embroidery & ancient cultural cutwork
- mastan hotel
- najnag lottery
- bangkok blues
- UP Bihar restaurant
- mughal garden (probably a restaurant)
Friday, October 26, 2012
Ever since i returned to the national capital with symptoms of cold and other enduring battles the best way forward is to take a strong dose of turmeric which tones down the options of others to dismiss you as maverick.
Time and Timely advice handed by people who seasonally get wise are all about increasing the resistance level as the attempts you made to resist those who wanted to decide your fate are no less . Probably the upper berth travelling in a train coach with ice cream serving that night increased the probability of a cold sight.
Here it is prudent to write about attempts made to get railway reservation and railway travelling which will have an enduring fashion.
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