Life in Bidhan Nagar
I had been living in Bidhan Nagar for some time and I felt that I should write an article about Bidhan Nagar in return of gratitude. For any human being, mother is important as only through a mother a child comes into this world. Likewise, a place or a city also influences a human being’s life. A city or a town is as sacred as mother. I live far from my mother, but as of now West Bengal is my mother. Next to mother, a state or a city actually acts as a foster mother. Not only in my case, but that’s the truth in every human being’s life. When I was Jharkhand, Jharkhand was like my foster mother-if not my actual mother. Every human being should love his land and the very land in turn becomes his best friend, companion and soul mate. All materialistic desires are overcome by becoming a friend of land.
Since it is winter, the weather in Salt Lake a.k.a Bidhan Nagar is very chill and even a guy like me who likes chill weather wears sweaters, mufflers. The area is entirely residential place and a sort of high-class posh area. Most of the houses are independent houses similar to my house in Chennai and people seem to be from well to-do backgrounds. I had a few problems, but the best way to tackle problems is to be pro-active and non-reactive. Every place I have seen had problems but I prefer to ignore them, else I would be laughing inside. When I came here for the first time, I felt impressed as the area was a bit isolated, silent and peaceful. It was quite far away from the hustles and bustles of city traffic. The roads were well maintained and were without bumps. Rickshaws were still popular and I find one almost every 5 minutes with a passenger. I always take a stroll in the roads during the weekends and evening.
During such strolls, I have observed quite a lot of things. The township was indeed well planned. It was quite near to the airport. City Center and shopping malls were quite near and conveniently approachable. The Taxi drivers couldn’t understand much English, but their meters spoke the truth. Sometimes, I do get a printed bill. It impressed me a lot. I suggest my readers not to take autos as drivers cheat a lot!
There were many other things which impressed me! No one throws garbage on the roads! All trashes are collected by a person who comes in a three-wheeled cart in the morning. The total fee every month for this service is Rs.50/-. People don’t litter the streets and majority of them follow a high degree of cleanliness. People of Bidhan Nagar are indeed living life the way Dr.Roy dreamt.
There were two types of markets in Bidhan Nagar. One is the modern CK market in CK block and another one is Kestapur market. There are also other markets, but I visit these two only. CK is actually the name of block like CK block, AK block, AL block. CK Market has got almost all things except vegetables, fruits, fishes and mutton etc. CK Market has got lots of shops, grocery shops, stationary shops, hair dressers, sweet stalls, shoe-sellers and other commercial stores. Kestapur market is entirely opposite in nature. I would rather call it a fish market as there are more fish stalls than vegetables. I have been there many times and I have taken many photos.
I always wondered what Kestapur actually meant. Later, I found out that it was actually ‘Krishnapur’ but in Bengali it is pronounced as Kestapur. As I walked along the bazaars, I could observe a lot of people busy purchasing various commodities, vegetables, fishes etc. The prices were cheap in my opinion. Fishes were caught during the morning hours and some of them were still alive. I was a bit surprised as I remember reading in my school that fishes die soon once taken out of water. I saw a few of them jumping on the ground. A couple of hits on the head by the fishermen/fish-seller silenced them permanently and then they were packed in plastics to be sold. Their souls were granted ‘moksham’ and they left this materialistic world.
Next to the fish shop was a mutton stall. I could observe various other fish dealers each proclaiming their products to be the best. I had a thought of purchasing some fishes for my pups but I changed my mind. The weather was still chill even when sun was out. I went around and took a few photos. Kestapur market had a beauty of its own.
There are browsing centers, banks nearby but the only problem is that there aren’t any good hotels near my house in Bidhan Nagar. I had a few problems during my initial days, before I learnt to accustom. Life teaches a few things in a hard way. I find that there are lots of medium-sized playgrounds, park in every block. During weekends, lots of youngsters and IT professionals play Cricket and it is a great pleasure to watch the game. Mostly during the weekends, playgrounds are filled with kids, boys of all ages and the entire atmosphere is filled with a lot of energy. It’s also fun to watch cricket played by kids. Everything has got its own taste in life.
Good luck to Salt Lake.
-Krishna Kumar.S
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