Deities of a different order

If you have ever sat your ample butt on the front seat of an auto rickshaw in Kolkata, you would know how it feels like swinging half a cheek in the air. I was thinking of how dramatically I was hanging by a thread from life as I rode listening to Kumar Sanu singing through his nostrils “Priyotoma mone rekho”. 

The auto driver was singing along. Tiny black sound boxes were making good music too. I was impressed with the interior décor of the tiny automobile. Stickers with hearts pierced with arrows on the front glass. The ledge along the windshield had plastic floral creepers. Bright red hibiscus peeked from the artificial shrub. Red gossamer cloths laced with golden tinsel were tied to the rear view mirror handles. The roof had imprints of Mithun da and Amitabh Bachhan lined up for attention. As the auto crossed Bagha Jatin, the driver stopped and did a brisk pennam (an act of touching your hands to your forehead as a mark of respect). I looked around for temples but found none. I couldn’t contain my curiosity.

“Dada kake pronaam korlen?”
(Who did you offer your regards to?)

I am sure the genuine interest must have touched my face and hence his core, for he replied:

“Oi je Bidyasagar, tarpore Bibekananda, statue dekhlen na? Ami thakur pronam kori na, eder kori. Kora uchit kina apni bolun? Aaj abar Guru Purnima kina.”

(Oh, that Vidyasagar, then Vivekananda, didn’t you notice the statues? I don’t bow before gods, I bow before these men. You tell me, should I not? Today is Guru Purnima too.)

So if you are in the city and ever pass the stretch of Raja S C Mullick Road, you must notice the sculptures along the boulevard or whatever remains of it. They are nothing life-size or impressive, but homely busts of two men from an era we have almost forgotten. I have passed them often without so much of an attention to them. Never cared to look to see if the likeness was commendable or if the humble tribute made any sense to pedestrians nearby. With my auto-driver friend greeting the busts with such reverence, I was rather shamed by my own indifference.

But the good thing is, I followed suit and did a baby salute to these stoned men of yore.

You never stop learning, do you?

Courtesy: Internet