Terraces and Beyond – Kolkata

And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” ~ Roald Dahl

The terrace or the Chaad as it is called in Bengali has a special designation in my long list of nostalgia. Specially, terraces in Kolkata. From exchanging gossip to plain peeping, I have always found something interesting to do on terraces. I find them fascinating. I love zooming in and out while tracking people from a distance or peep into terrace incidents. I am bewildered by the innumerable wires and cables trailing into different houses and amazed by the mossy dampness on the terrace walls that give birth to textures and colors that I so painstakingly try to trace out on my art canvases at home.

I have spent my childhood in Kolkata. And I have spent practically all my waking hours on terraces! The terrace has been a silent partner in all my childhood crimes. I witnessed so many Para or neighborhood romances bloom here (not to mention my own romance), got drenched in the first monsoon showers or hid under the mossy water-tanks to avoid my parents’ wrath when I was the most ‘WANTED’! I also made some of my best friends here amidst innocent and not so innocent chit-chats or addas as it is famously called in Bengali! The fresh breeze on the terrace and the clear blue skies have helped me mug up my chemistry and algebra formulas or lines from my school drama. It has also witnessed me enacting my pretend ones! I have walked bare-feet on the precarious rails, searched for the special stars, prayed for rains or the sunshine, depending upon the need of that hour. I have hid treasures and secrets at various corners or behind targeted pots and plants.

The terrace or my Bengali Chaad has been one of my best friends. And this is my tribute to it’s beauty!

Unblogging it all… Ishita

Title: A Mossy Kind of Art

Sunset behind the attic room

Even the water pipes seem regal against the sunset

The different brands of satellite dishes fighting out for their territories against the backdrop of the sunset

The cable wires – dangerous, but artistically veining out

The lonesome water-container – an artistic prop in the lonely terrace

The moss on the water-tank… my kind of art and textures

The sudden blue tap in the water tank – the beautiful contrast against the randomly textured water tank

The faint evidence of the monsoon shower; Photo Courtesy – my brother

The attic room, the elevator room and the satellite dishes

The staircase window

The distant city horizon at the last hour

And soon the night shall set in

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