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!

The Spectacles Called Durga Puja

Durga Puja represents a perfect example of transformation of local festivals into high profile festivals for touristic consumption. Although, the spectacles, as Kaleidoscope is observing since time immemorial is yet to gain touristic attention compared to what even the monotonous evening prayer gets at Varanasi.

Constructed space and spectators in AE (1) block of Salt Lake 2012

There may be two major positions, first, urban festivals gives boom to the city economy as we all see a rise in the consumption habit of Kolkatans. Second, and more importantly there is an element of ethnic pride and we can argue that the puja reinforces the content and meaning of collective identification.

Shibmandir's Puja at South Kolkata. It is classic mix if tradition and modern going hand in hand. The ritualistic part is controlled by the Temple committee and the decorations, etc. by a separate committee.

One must remember Urban spectacles are produced - in the sense of Henri Lefebvre and always include the process of commodification, hence, we see this

Gates with advertisement is one of the most important source of revenue - taken at Ekdalia Evergreen pandal 2012

Competition between different Puja pandals are now sponsored (taken from website)

Aestheticisation: 

The aestheticisation of every day life comes alive a few months before the actual commencement of the puja. Kaleidoscope is no exception. He accompanies the queen to several "good", aesthetically charming stores to buy materials of aestheticisation. It costs huge... but Kaleidoscope and the Queen finds it a pleasureful pursuit to buy clothes in this once in a year indulgence of consumerist selves. 

People taking snaps... one of the major pursuits of the Puja event is to look beautiful, capture them and preserve them.

The construction of spaces for consumption:

The Puja opens up the possibilities for the creative construction and transformation of a space. Most of the big puja pandals starts organising themselves immediately after one puja gets over. Within in a few months, the open space selected for the puja observes a great transformation. There are use of symbols, and material objects that signifies the transformation and makes the consumption possible.

Mudiyali Club 2012: constructed by the Zari and other glittering materials used for the decorating the idol.

Shibmandir 2012: the theme was DNA and human cloning

Hand pulled rickshaw has been aesthetically used by the Kashba Bosepukur Puja PandalL the entire construction is made by Pine wood.

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Part of the Kashba-Bosepukur Pandal

The essences:

There are almost ritualistic restrictions in experimentations with materials of the idol. There are several experimentations with the forms, but the materials i.e. mud covered straw and bamboo structure with paints. 

A typical "ek-challa" idol, taken at Saltlake AE (1) block 2012

Worshiping of "Bhanga thakur" is done by the Brahmin Professionals: Taken at Saltlake, BJ block Puja 2012

Spectatorship: 

The space that is created in the name of the Puja is lived and relived by the spectators. It reminds kaleidoscope that of Lefebvre's "third space." Each year, with ever increasing energy the space for the puja which constitutes a mix of tradition and experimentations with tradition is lived by the spectators - all with new clothing, aesthetic looks and energies to find a space in over crowded spaces.

Long queue of Pandal hoppers outside the FD block pandal, Salt Lake 2012

Spectators of the Puja at Ekdalia Evergreen 2012

There are late night pandal hopping, eating, spending money in commuting, making plans for spending money with dear and near ones... and so on... the space is relived and consumed as a whole. 

Concerns:

Kaleidoscope and the queen are hopping pandals for last several years. They ritually visit to the thematic pandals and also the pandals with little or no change. They, like many others make plans, fight over plans, save money, spend the savings without regrets, eat, drink, spend days without regular tasks. They feel that the entire city becomes art gallery. Yet, the touristic attention towards Durga Puja is much less. The consumption is still restricted to the Kolkatan's, who in turn gives their savings to the business houses. Apart from the domestic consumers, the city does not earn much concrete stuffs from the outside. There is a huge potential of making festival tourism that can circle around the great transformation of the space. Kaleidoscope and Queen discussed and debated the issue. They worked with The Boss, to make sense of the festival, transformation and consumption. They might write something out of their experience... however, Kolkata till date fails to utilise the tourism potential of urban space transformation.

This article has been referred to by ANGELICA MARINESCU in an article entitled "ETHNICITY AND RELIGIOUS SYNCRETISM: CELEBRATING DURGĀ PŪJĀ IN THE SUNDARBANS OF INDIA" Roman Journal of Sociology (2014): http://journalofsociology.ro/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Full-text.pdf

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.