Its winter in Kolkata....

Part I

Yes, the weather is 15 Deg C…its chilly for me—though my friend may argue, “Its pleasant for me”,but to me, “Its fucking cold!!”

But I love winter—I love this weather, which is always better than the scorching summer, when you sweat more than what you drink—you always crave for the breeze in your sweats, infinite supply of watermelon & you ask for more…n alas…the heat!!!

Winter always reminds me the Christmas—celebrating Christmas followed by New Year in this chilly weather. Alcohols are not a must for me, in this festive time, as it is to many…but yes, food. Give me roasts..n I will show you how to eat them—abundant vegetables to accompany with…followed by luscious cakes & gateaus.

I missed the winter of Kolkata in 2010, but I am fortunate enough to witness the January of 2011. Its 2 a.m. …but its pretty chilly. I am just sitting in the terrace, in my shorts n tees, trying to memorise those lovely winters, when I was in school-especially, when there were a number of fairs which used to hold in Maidan—an open field, located quite close to the most happening place of the city. Food Festivals, Industrial Trade Fair followed by Book Fair [this being my favourite..] & winter has so many cherished memories…eating out, going out for boose with friends…or simply walking along Park Street..seeing people, seeing things..n so many many…

I remember the last time pretty well…it was December 25^th, 2007—the last time, I celebrated Christmas with friends. After my usual celebration at home, I went out with a couple of friends to Park Street—the place generally the kolkatans throng during any festive occasion [yes, people need a reason to drink & be merry…].The roads were pretty much congested & at any given time, crowd was three-four times more than the four-wheelers & two-wheelers around the road. Utathya, Samrat, my best friend & I—we three headed towards the good old Olypub [I will talk about this sometime later]. The room was smoky and smelly[it being of pure alcohol…!!]. After positioning ourselves in a corner seat, we ordered our drinks & if I can vaguely remember, we three had vodka—I had it on the rocks[that’s so typical of me…]. We didn’t seem to enjoy much since it was pretty much crowded. No sooner did we finish our drinks, than we moved out & started searching for fuel i.e. food. There it was, the global famed & notorious “KFC”, its first outlet in the city & unfortunately I never been to that place before..

After finding a cosy place for ourselves, we ordered a bucket of fried chicken, with French fries & soft drinks. But f*** me, those fried chicken are simply pieces of sh**. To loathe KFC can be next to an act of blasphemy by a godfearing mortal…but I couldn’t help !! I bet, [& still I bet], I can make better fried chicken than KFC will make it over years & years….

This is for the time being, but I think I will write more on this…..[To be continued...]