Notes About The Poem
April 19, 2026
"Your City" Premiere Poetry Contest
placed Seventh
My City Kolkata
My Kolkata was Shamsul Huda Road, Tanning area, Shiva Temple,
Lansdowne Park. My hallowed celebration was
month-long festival in the neighbourhood -
sometimes the open-air play like Madhusudan story,
sometimes the pastoral songs by Nirmalendu Choudhury.
From far watched prestigious Modern School, and the line-up of cars at lunch,
waited at Beckbagan stop to Jadavpur University, for Number forty-five bus.
Sometimes walked to Lady Brabourne College to save the bus-fare,
spent hours at Gol Park Library, among books which marvelled me.
Sometimes travelled to National Library at Alipore for some fictitious reason,
chatting at 8B bus-stop, those friends are lost to me now,
don't find them on Facebook, never dared to step in Jadavpur Coffee-House.
Moved far away, Kolkata has changed.
British Council was not too far, experienced Shakespeare and Dickens there.
And New Market was on the way, spent hours and hours with no purchase,
having the bus-fare was enough. Once entered Victoria Memorial Museum,
did we bunk classes? Don't remember.
Muktaangan Theatre? My Teacher-aunt was so fond of!
Kolkata has changed fast! A little slow…would be better!
The smell of earth hasn't changed…the petrichor!
So exhilarating was getting drenched while returning from college!
Wet saree, didn't even know what a make-up was,
water dripping off from braids of hair !
The petrichor gets me back to the soil,
to the same place, which once I left!
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