Anarchy in the designed Newtown landscapes

Since Kaleidoscope's arrival in his new workplace destination where everything seems to be too perfect. When he first found his college has a landscaping he thought it will soon become anarchic without proper maintenance. He was wrong. It is maintained every once in a while. So does other lawns. Although he has seen lawn being eaten by ghosts of past as cows once in a while come to have crunchy food in lawns (click here). However, the neatly designed place often sees transformation as the past 'infiltrates' within the present build-in neat and clean design of the place.

While the the 'last canal' got a makeover on both of its banks, Kaleidoscope thought it must be one of the last trails of the past (click here). The canal side lanes are getting paved and it might get 'beautified' like it has in some other parts of the city. The convocation center bound canal not only got 'lawned' banks but also have an installation of an artificial boat - quite heterotopic but it remains. However, the canal which passes through Kaleidoscope's college - also one of the only refuge of natural unkempt touch that the college has, remains to be the same. With an exception of the pavement of the lanes beside the canal the rest of the place remains unaltered.

As the lane is paved, Kaleidoscope now avails the lane instead of broad street which passes through the Central shopping plaza decked with flex and late capital consumerist advertisements.

The canal side lane happens to be an interesting contrast to the rest of the designed and neatly bound city.

• It is a space where he has spotted people quietly sharing a drink or two along with cheap side dish - a makeshift picnic arrangement. Indeed, his species is yet to forget the most coveted space for picnic, as many prehistoric sites are indeed picnic spots for many. 
• It is also a space for some of the workers (as there are many construction workers continuously building the city) to take some rest taking refuge under shed in scorching midday sun.
• Usually in the afternoon Kaleidoscope spots a few couples casually walking, holding each other's hands and looking at the trees, shed and the water which passes through the canal. 
• Casual short-cut takers - yes by those who cannot afford to have a car and walk through. You can understand the lane belongs to the past the organically connected folks.

Kaleidoscope does not wonder when he sees disjuncture between the inhabitants of the builtin apartments in the cityscape and the little past of all that is left. The past belong to the people at the bottom - those of the rooted. No wonder the canal carries waste of the haves and is quietly resourceful for the havenots. Kaleidoscope smiles - no wonder power is situational.

Pic: the paved canal road which Kaleidoscope uses everyday.

New Town and return of the repressed: Memories and Classy Country roads

Kaleidoscope in his new workplace often finds himself wondering and questioning his existence. He knows it happens primarily because of the settings of a build-in city in a freshly transformed environment, designed to comfort urban needs! Well Kaleidoscope is neither urban, nor in need to satisfy his needs out of the built-in environment. He knows this place is no different from other build in cities around the country. He could have been in Noida and feel the same. Therefore, he sometimes, roams around with some other souls who perhaps wonders in a different way with different sets of questions in mind.


Memories on a random day:
So, on such a random day Kaleidoscope met with a person selling green coconut. It was quite a discussion. He could remember a large water body near the New Town bus stand surrounded by grasslands, a graveyard nearby where children used to be buried and a famous banyan tree where several people have committed suicide for unknown reasons over the years. He could recall how fearful was it to people to roam around these places even in broad day light. People could listen to calls from the tree - calls of familiar voices - in Bengali its Nishi Daak - reminded by one of Kaleidoscope's fellow wondering souls. Well, the discussion was brief, continued until Kaleidoscope decided not to consume the entire part of the soft coconut taken out of the green coconut. The seller's his eyes could cross Kaleidoscope's body and focus towards the horizon - perhaps because memories stay at the horizon. Good old days also stay at the horizon. However, the repressed returns in a variety of forms. Sometimes a well kempt boulevard is "infested" by the grassland or the lawn is occupied by outsiders doing mundane proletariat things.

Often the seeds of memories come back quite unexpectedly as repressed returns

The lawn- Bourgeois lawn and others' evening encroachments another moment of return of the repressed.

Country roads:
As one of Kaleidosocope's fellow wondering souls says there has been real country roads nearby. Yes there were, but now there is a microbrewery nearby with the same name. it offers quality food and wonderful range of beers. Kaleidoscope sometimes goes there to drink a few mugs! No matter how hypocritical it may sound, Kaleidoscope too has urban needs to satisfy. While Kaleidoscope could roam around centres and periphery of this "built in" space, the memories as the coconut seller revisits, tend to disappear. The new space does not consider even the names of the places which used to exist when there was real country roads!

Building up the Jungle: places and transformations

The tempo of work continues even after twilight 

Kaleidoscope is now living in Post Belghoria Expressway era.

The archaeaology of expressway:

The inception began before Kaleidoscope even born. The place which is now speedy expressway was a huge pile of soil, covered with lusty green grass surrounded by trees. It was the place for Kaleidoscope to play around with friends, in his early childhood. Later he went for morning walks and evening walks. Watching birds had been larger than life experience. Expressway, which now completely engulfs the lusty green field is black and white, speedy and enhances the quality of life of kaleidoscope (?).

The newer Jungle:

Since, the place around the expressway is now well connected to the airport (only 3 mins of bus ride), dunlop (6 mins of bus ride), and NH 6  and NH 2 (15 mins of bus ride), there are urban jungles coming up. The places where Kaleidoscope used to play around... large water bodies and wetlands that housed several wetland birds are now filled up by large scale earth moving equipments. There is a sudden replacement of the greenery, birds, fishes and several other material beings. Much plausibly memories, attachments to the place where Kaleidoscope thought he belonged is also getting replaced rapidly.