Inside me..: Kolkata.. The journey begins

"
Place - my house, July 2010 :

"So tomorrow at 4? Ok? Meet me at Madhyamgram Rail Station". He says.

(Really bro?? 4 at morning??? That's when my night starts!)

-"Isn't it a bit early??" I try to defend my bed-time like the captain of a drowning ship.

-"It's never too early when you photograph Kolkata". He delivers this dialog like an experienced philosopher. "Be at time if you want to catch me. Otherwise I will go alone", he adds. -"Okay, I will". I really have no other options. This is my first street shoot, and I can't miss it at any cost. So, skip the sleep. I will spend the night with a movie or something.

Kolkata, they call it 'the city of joy'; though I have never found any kind of joy in this city. People are busy, some are boring, and lazy too, streets are crowded; traffic, political processions, hawkers.. A really horrible experience for a new comer. But still, I have some weakness for this city. There is something about this city which attracts me. Sometimes, I love walking on the streets, alone. Sometimes, I seat at Bagbazar Ghat spending a few hours watching different people. And I always wonder that how people actually take some serious photographs at this places! So, when my photographer friend asked me to go for a street shoot with him, I couldn't deny.

Place - Burrabazar, kolkata, next day :

-"We will start from this area. Just follow me." he says.

-"What? From here??" we are standing at a tea stall near burrabazar. The city is waking up slowly. It feels great, but I am still wondering that how this place could be so photographic. "I thought we will visit Victoria, or at least Mallick Ghat".

-"No bro, just come with me. Those places are common. Let's feel the raw streets of our city". He gives me a dSLR (a Nikon D60) and says.

-"You have two cameras?"

-"This one is older. It was my first dSLR, now I use a Canon 60D".

With a lots of confusions and doubts in my mind, we start our journey, finally.


Morning at burrabazar, kolkata

After walking for an hour, now, I am really stunned. What an excellent experience I am having! This is place is great. The lanes are great, the people are great, the ambience is great!! I never knew that walking in this narrow lanes could be actually amazing. I have taken only two or three shots, and most of the time I am watching people, their life styles, and their happiness. Yes, they are happy! Their life style shows that they are poor, they live a tough live, some families even live on footpaths, but they are happy. They smile, they chat, they sing some creepy bollywood songs with same kind of creepy voices... They live each and every moments of their lives. This one hour walk actually changed the way I think about my life, they way I live my life.

Entering daily life - burrabazar, kolkata

Place-Esplanade Metro Station, afternoon :

My first street shoot is over. My friend has gone to meet his girlfriend, and so, I am alone again. I am just thinking about the things happened today. I, a crowd-hater, actually have fallen in love with the most crowded place of this overcrowded city. I, a person who hates dirty places, really enjoyed the walks through the narrow and dirty lanes of the most dirty place of this city. I, actually have started liking this city.

I have captured hardly 20 shots today . This was my first use of a dSLR camera. I didn't know how to use that thing. So, most of the shots are out of focus or blurred. The thing I have done today is to concentrate more on people than my camera. I have watched them closely and planned the shots for my next visit. I never realized that Street photography can be this amazing.

Though I am leaving today, because I need to, I will come again, Kolkata. I will visit your streets again to show everyone that why you are called 'the city of joy'. I will learn from you the way of living, of enjoying and of cherishing every moment of my life. Thank you dear. Thank you so much for accepting me.
"
This article is written on 4th September 2014 based on my first visit to Kolkata streets. I have added some of the photographs taken on that day. The photographs look a bit novice, but trust me, I did my best. Using a dSLR in streets without knowing a hell about it, isn't an easy thing. I have visited Kolkata a several times after this day. But, this journey was the most memorable among those. Let's have a look at the photographs-