It was hot! Everything rattled! And traffic crawled! Ahead was a sea of vehicles, each seemingly afloat on hazy waves of exhaust fumes. Gingerly I peered up out of the bus at another maze of metal – crisscrossing giant ladders lanced upwards. I was stuck in a jam on the colossal Howrah Bridge, trying to get from Kolkata to the city’s main railway station across the river Ganges. I considered getting off, walking it, but the thought of hefting my books, gave me pause… I could always catch the next local train.
The frail man next to me started mumbling, hands folded in his lap. Of course… he was reciting the verse most Hindu’s say when on the Ganges, considered one of the holiest of the Holy’s. I could do with a blessing myself – the bus felt like an oven, and now on the bridge with the vibrations and noise, it resembled my washing machine in the last spin cycle! My expression must’ve been pained, for he said in a lilting voice “I saw you looking up…don’t worry, the bridge can withstand anything!” I grinned back – better than wallowing in my home appliances! “It’s just this “jhakuni” (shuddering)”, I explained. The old button worked like a charm – use a word of Bengali, and the elderly Kolkatan, will positively beam back at you! “Even though it is 74 years old like me, the Howrah Bridge is very solid construction, all of 26,500 tons of steel!” he added, warming up to the conversation. He was a wisp of a man, predominantly expressive eyes in a smallish narrow face. He spoke his sentences deliberately, pausing for effect, like he was teaching 6th grade kids. He smiled and continued, “It has no bolts, no screws, nothing to come loose, all completely riveted in!” I nodded, deciding to play along… on a bus, in a jam, on a bridge between two banks, he had me his captive audience thrice over!
Was I surprised this conversation was taking place? No! This was Kolkata! Strangers in a bus, co-shoppers at a store, people everywhere aired their views, much as their colorful Bengal cottons air-drying across town! “You know”, he chimed, voice almost cracking in excitement, “it is a single cantilever bridge – a marvel of engineering when it was made! With the War shortages then in 1943, the steel was almost entirely made by our Tata Steel!” I smiled, picking up more the underlying melody, rather than the words. A fierce sense of pride in the achievement of his people, his culture, his city made up the strains of this endearing tune – nowhere was the sense of belonging, of an identity tied to a city, more keenly felt than in Kolkata.
Howrah bridge by night pc Arnab Datta
Most passengers who could better beat the traffic on their own had long gotten off. As the bus sputtered its way mid-bridge, a breeze from over the river gusted through, lifting our spirits. Relieved, I gazed out at the thousands walking the pedestrian zone. Kolkata’s long checkered history, with its diverse periods of amazing heights, declines and regains were reflected in monuments like this bridge. But this motley mass of humanity, spoke volumes too.
From the bent old woman scuffling along, to the turbaned man with handlebar moustaches, from that well-groomed yuppie, to the scholarly gentleman in traditional garb – all were portraits of the many faces of the city. But there was also that blurred sea of “usual folk” – vendors, laborers, workers – going about their business. Some had loads piled high on their heads, and while some hurried purposefully, another dragged his feet along the mesh – but this bridge and their stories were also enmeshed together.
For migrant workers pouring into the city by train, this Howrah Bridge was the first sight of their destination of hope – the promise of a livelihood, a break from poverty, or oftentimes worse… Like the Statue of Liberty, it was an embodiment of the aspiration of millions in search of a new life… only less illustrious perhaps! Yet contrarily, this mammoth of metal had the misty aura of romance too – innumerable romantic scenes with this bridge in the background, had thrilled generations!
“But every Goliath must meet his David!” His choice of phrase pulled my attention back to him… “You’re telling me Howrah bridge is falling down?” I half teased my gentle neighbor. “Ah! No… not any longer! It was in danger of collapsing, but they’ve taken care of it!” he replied eyes twinkling. “You see, the bridge is supported by these steel hangars, they are very critical… But thousands use this bridge daily, and the “guthka” (a mixture of tobacco, slated lime and areca nut) that many spit, is corroding the steel hangars, endangering the bridge!” I stared at him incredulously… w-what? These 26,500 tons of steel had met their Waterloo in the acidic red dribble laborers spat out at regular intervals?!! He affirmed, adding engineers had observed rivets reduced to half their width in three years. I grappled with the information…“And they’ve fixed the problem?” I prodded him further.
Head bobbing, he said “Ah! Yes! The engineers tried many solutions, chemical paint coats, sign boards, but nothing worked. The final solution though is simple – fiber glass shields! A low cost cover that can be cleaned regularly and prevents the culprit corrosive mixture from reaching the steel!” With that, he pointed out the next one as we passed it. I checked out the contraption, and it struck me, how brilliant yet fitting it was – and so Kolkata! The problem had been a menace, the impact humongous, but they had come up with an innovative, effective, easy fix. It might appear to be a low-tech Band-Aid, but it would work, and long term!! Amazed I laughed out aloud, delighting my frail friend!
As we neared the station, I thought how all this too was reflective of life, particularly life in this vibrant city. So many came with big dreams, several of which would never materialize… yet they eked out a life, built up a brotherhood, patched up the cracks, and planted new seeds… flourishing in their own ways, striving to be happy! With a lot of steel and a touch of heart! And how beautiful was that!
Nicely captured a moment of Kolkatta. I liked the nuggets of facts and history of the Howrah bridge that is intertwined seamlessly with the narrative.
The general description of people on the bridge was meandering into a haze until the twist of pan spits corroding the rivets and then the happy ending of fiber sheets coming to the rescue almost made it sound like a thriller. An anecdote, of yours or the old man on the bus, linked to the bridge would have made the blog a bestseller 🙂
Thank you DJ, so glad you let me know your thoughts. I’m happy you enjoyed some parts of the piece. Will definitely keep your feedback in mind. Do so hope you’ll check back in again by here! Thank you!
You have written about the place with so much love and understanding…
You make me want to go around Kolkata with you!
Thank you Sonali! That would be awesome, to discover Kolkata together! I look forward to that! But meanwhile thank you for our online journeys together, your support spurs me on! Thank you!
Good show,.. Nice to read honest vivid details in intresting conversation format. God bless! and looking forward to many more…
Thank you Harish! So glad you browsed by here, and enjoyed the read. Conversations are the esssence of a city, and nowhere more than in Kolkata! Hope you will stop by again for more conversations! Thanks!
Beautiful piece.
Thank you Umesh! So glad you passed by and liked this piece. Hope you’ll continue to wander by this site… and perhaps wander to remote places of your own liking too…!! Cheers ?
It is a beautiful write up.The theme revolves around the bridge,but implicitly tells about Kolkata. The emotional contour in the last part of the essay compeld me to write. thanks again for truthfully depicting our beloved city.
Thank so much Asit! Really overwhelmed that a Kolkatan felt compelled to respond with such lovely comments!! So very happy you stopped by, and hoping you’ll continue on these journeys together..!
Good one! I am no stranger to the experience of being engaged in a conversation by a stranger in Kolkata!
Thank you Ashwin! Hopefully your conversations were as insightful into what makes Kolkata tick, for it is truly the people that make this city. So glad you stopped by! Hope you will join in further travels too! ?
You brought it to life! Good one.
Thank you so much Anjana! So glad you enjoyed! It’s the joy of sharing that brings things to life, and lent a hand here too! ? Thanks for pausing here…!
Nicely done! Calcutta, Howrah bridge, Ganges and people on both sides are all connected in a strong bond, without screws!
How true! Thank you Arpita, and it’s this connected feeling which makes Kolkata special! So glad you stopped by, Hope to stay connected! ?
You made me feel like I was on the bus with you and enjoyed evey minute…
Thank you so much Neena! So glad you were there to enjoy the ride, makes my ride all the more worth it!! Hope you’ll travel along with me still further, through the rest of our journeys! ?
What a wonderful article, my friend. As I read through it, my mind’s eye conjured up the sights and sounds of the Kolkata I last visited around 15 years ago. I remember my feeling of wonderment when I first saw the Howrah bridge, as well the feeling of trepidation as our taxi actually drove through it.
You have a wonderful gift of making places come alive. Your stories do indeed beckon you to the places you write about. This one was somehow just that bit more emotionally appealing.
Thank you Monaz, so very happy you enjoyed and re-lived your experiences of this city! And the similar feelings of the bridge! There is indeed a connection with a place one has visited, and the emotional appeal help us color up the picture the words had started! Thank you for the compliment, would love someday to visit with you, for your delight is palpable too!! 🙂
A lovely vivid description. Felt as if I was with you in the bus and listening to the conversation between you and the old man! I could feel the spirit of Calcutta in every way. Very well written!
Thank you so much Vibha! So happy you liked it, and felt in the heart of the conversation! And if you were, it being Kolkata, I’m sure you’d have also piped in, feeling in every way the spirit of Kolkata!! 🙂 Thank you! 🙂
Beautiful! It takes a special eye to see beyond the dirt and grime of our great cities.
Thank you Varsha! So glad you stopped by to read this. Yes, it’s unfortunate so much wealth is hidden behind grime… yet much would be missed it one didn’t look beyond. Hope you can visit Kol some day too! Cheers! 🙂
Beautifully written… a real gem! The words bring to life the bus journey which you have described. I almost felt like I was sitting right behind you and eavesdropping on the conversation! Kolkata has long been on my bucket list.. reading your blog makes me want to go there right away! Very well written…
Thank you so much Anjali! If I can inspire you to visit Kolkata, which has anyway been on your bucket list for long, it’ll make me feel fulfilled! 🙂 For sure, nothing satisfies more than helping nudge a dream to fruition! Go there right away…!! 🙂
Made me feel that I was in the bus with you – You’ve caught the spirit just right!
Thank you so much Rinku! I am delighted you feel I’ve been able to capture the spirit. I wish you were in the bus with me, for our joint conversation would have been even more entertaining! Thanks, and lets keep riding together! 🙂
Once again, beautifully written and highly evocative of many of the “flavors” that make Kolkata what she is. Striking up a conversation with a learned Bengali is not only a source of delight but also a way to learn so much about this city that we take for granted. The great Howrah Bridge is one of the icons of this city. I remember when we were kids and would be coming to grandma’s home during our vacation, our parents would point out the bridge to us just before the long-distance train would chug into the station. After loading ourselves and our suitcases into a black and yellow ambassador car taxi, the first leg of the journey involved crossing the magnificent Howrah Bridge and craning our necks to see the holy Ganges flowing majestically below. To me, this long hanging bridge was one of the wonders of the world. Later, for six years, I went across that bridge twice a week when I taught in Midnapore College. Each weekend that bridge returned me to my loved ones. Glad to hear the bridge has been protected from the “guthka” spit of pedestrians who walk across it. May it continue to hang in splendor as it has for so many decades, and thank you for bringing back innumerable happy memories.
Thank you so much Aloka! So happy to have evoked the feelings of what Howrah Bridge meant to you personally! For each of us have our own memories and feelings of it, and the collage we build up through exchanges like this, is a delicacy that can vie with any Bengali sweet!! Thank you, and please do visit again (“Abaar aesho” as they say it in Bengal) 🙂
Beautifully painted!
In last century to common Indians outside Bengal, Howrah bridge was synonymous to “Kalkatta” . You have wonderfully described the spirit of the city using its own very symbol. Well what can I say, while I lived and then left the city many decades back, I too feel “completely riveted to this city although there is really no nuts or screws “, except those memories of beautiful sunsets and those chants from the river bank which was also resonated in your tale through the voice of your elderly co passenger in the bus!
Happy journey distantbeckons!
Thank you so much!! So very happy you enjoyed this piece! If this so lyrically evoked your own memories of the beautiful sunsets and river banks of a city you’re riveted to, that’s the best compliment for me! Please stop by again!
Kolkata to the city’s main railway station across the river Ganges. I considered getting off, walking it, but the thought of hefting my books, gave me pause… I could always catch the next local train. 
withstand anything!” I grinned back – better than wallowing in my home appliances! “It’s just this “jhakuni” (shuddering)”, I explained. The old button worked like a charm – use a word of Bengali, and the elderly Kolkatan, will positively beam back at you! “Even though it is 74 years old like me, the Howrah Bridge is very solid construction, all of 26,500 tons of steel!” he added, warming up to the conversation. He was a wisp of a man, predominantly expressive eyes in a smallish narrow face. He spoke his sentences deliberately, pausing for effect, like he was teaching 6th grade kids. He smiled and continued, “It has no bolts, no screws, nothing to come loose, all completely riveted in!” I nodded, deciding to play along… on a bus, in a jam, on a bridge between two banks, he had me his captive audience thrice over! 
From the bent old woman scuffling along, to the turbaned man with handlebar moustaches, from that well-groomed yuppie, to the scholarly gentleman in traditional garb – all were portraits of the many faces of the city. But there was also that blurred sea of “usual folk” – vendors, laborers, workers – going about their business. Some had loads piled high on their heads, and while some hurried purposefully, 
another dragged his feet along the mesh – but this bridge and their stories were also enmeshed together.
aura of romance too – innumerable romantic scenes with this bridge in the background, had thrilled generations!
how brilliant yet fitting it was – and so Kolkata! The problem had been a menace, the impact humongous, but they had come up with an innovative, effective, easy fix. It might appear to be a low-tech Band-Aid, but it would work, and long term!! Amazed I laughed out aloud, delighting my frail friend! 
Nicely captured a moment of Kolkatta. I liked the nuggets of facts and history of the Howrah bridge that is intertwined seamlessly with the narrative.
The general description of people on the bridge was meandering into a haze until the twist of pan spits corroding the rivets and then the happy ending of fiber sheets coming to the rescue almost made it sound like a thriller. An anecdote, of yours or the old man on the bus, linked to the bridge would have made the blog a bestseller 🙂
Thank you DJ, so glad you let me know your thoughts. I’m happy you enjoyed some parts of the piece. Will definitely keep your feedback in mind. Do so hope you’ll check back in again by here! Thank you!
You have written about the place with so much love and understanding…
You make me want to go around Kolkata with you!
Thank you Sonali! That would be awesome, to discover Kolkata together! I look forward to that! But meanwhile thank you for our online journeys together, your support spurs me on! Thank you!
Good show,.. Nice to read honest vivid details in intresting conversation format. God bless! and looking forward to many more…
Thank you Harish! So glad you browsed by here, and enjoyed the read. Conversations are the esssence of a city, and nowhere more than in Kolkata! Hope you will stop by again for more conversations! Thanks!
Beautiful piece.
Thank you Umesh! So glad you passed by and liked this piece. Hope you’ll continue to wander by this site… and perhaps wander to remote places of your own liking too…!! Cheers ?
It is a beautiful write up.The theme revolves around the bridge,but implicitly tells about Kolkata. The emotional contour in the last part of the essay compeld me to write. thanks again for truthfully depicting our beloved city.
Thank so much Asit! Really overwhelmed that a Kolkatan felt compelled to respond with such lovely comments!! So very happy you stopped by, and hoping you’ll continue on these journeys together..!
Good one! I am no stranger to the experience of being engaged in a conversation by a stranger in Kolkata!
Thank you Ashwin! Hopefully your conversations were as insightful into what makes Kolkata tick, for it is truly the people that make this city. So glad you stopped by! Hope you will join in further travels too! ?
You brought it to life! Good one.
Thank you so much Anjana! So glad you enjoyed! It’s the joy of sharing that brings things to life, and lent a hand here too! ? Thanks for pausing here…!
Nicely done! Calcutta, Howrah bridge, Ganges and people on both sides are all connected in a strong bond, without screws!
How true! Thank you Arpita, and it’s this connected feeling which makes Kolkata special! So glad you stopped by, Hope to stay connected! ?
You made me feel like I was on the bus with you and enjoyed evey minute…
Thank you so much Neena! So glad you were there to enjoy the ride, makes my ride all the more worth it!! Hope you’ll travel along with me still further, through the rest of our journeys! ?
What a wonderful article, my friend. As I read through it, my mind’s eye conjured up the sights and sounds of the Kolkata I last visited around 15 years ago. I remember my feeling of wonderment when I first saw the Howrah bridge, as well the feeling of trepidation as our taxi actually drove through it.
You have a wonderful gift of making places come alive. Your stories do indeed beckon you to the places you write about. This one was somehow just that bit more emotionally appealing.
Thank you Monaz, so very happy you enjoyed and re-lived your experiences of this city! And the similar feelings of the bridge! There is indeed a connection with a place one has visited, and the emotional appeal help us color up the picture the words had started! Thank you for the compliment, would love someday to visit with you, for your delight is palpable too!! 🙂
A lovely vivid description. Felt as if I was with you in the bus and listening to the conversation between you and the old man! I could feel the spirit of Calcutta in every way. Very well written!
Thank you so much Vibha! So happy you liked it, and felt in the heart of the conversation! And if you were, it being Kolkata, I’m sure you’d have also piped in, feeling in every way the spirit of Kolkata!! 🙂 Thank you! 🙂
Beautiful! It takes a special eye to see beyond the dirt and grime of our great cities.
Thank you Varsha! So glad you stopped by to read this. Yes, it’s unfortunate so much wealth is hidden behind grime… yet much would be missed it one didn’t look beyond. Hope you can visit Kol some day too! Cheers! 🙂
Beautifully written… a real gem! The words bring to life the bus journey which you have described. I almost felt like I was sitting right behind you and eavesdropping on the conversation! Kolkata has long been on my bucket list.. reading your blog makes me want to go there right away! Very well written…
Thank you so much Anjali! If I can inspire you to visit Kolkata, which has anyway been on your bucket list for long, it’ll make me feel fulfilled! 🙂 For sure, nothing satisfies more than helping nudge a dream to fruition! Go there right away…!! 🙂
Made me feel that I was in the bus with you – You’ve caught the spirit just right!
Thank you so much Rinku! I am delighted you feel I’ve been able to capture the spirit. I wish you were in the bus with me, for our joint conversation would have been even more entertaining! Thanks, and lets keep riding together! 🙂
Once again, beautifully written and highly evocative of many of the “flavors” that make Kolkata what she is. Striking up a conversation with a learned Bengali is not only a source of delight but also a way to learn so much about this city that we take for granted. The great Howrah Bridge is one of the icons of this city. I remember when we were kids and would be coming to grandma’s home during our vacation, our parents would point out the bridge to us just before the long-distance train would chug into the station. After loading ourselves and our suitcases into a black and yellow ambassador car taxi, the first leg of the journey involved crossing the magnificent Howrah Bridge and craning our necks to see the holy Ganges flowing majestically below. To me, this long hanging bridge was one of the wonders of the world. Later, for six years, I went across that bridge twice a week when I taught in Midnapore College. Each weekend that bridge returned me to my loved ones. Glad to hear the bridge has been protected from the “guthka” spit of pedestrians who walk across it. May it continue to hang in splendor as it has for so many decades, and thank you for bringing back innumerable happy memories.
Thank you so much Aloka! So happy to have evoked the feelings of what Howrah Bridge meant to you personally! For each of us have our own memories and feelings of it, and the collage we build up through exchanges like this, is a delicacy that can vie with any Bengali sweet!! Thank you, and please do visit again (“Abaar aesho” as they say it in Bengal) 🙂
Beautifully painted!
In last century to common Indians outside Bengal, Howrah bridge was synonymous to “Kalkatta” . You have wonderfully described the spirit of the city using its own very symbol. Well what can I say, while I lived and then left the city many decades back, I too feel “completely riveted to this city although there is really no nuts or screws “, except those memories of beautiful sunsets and those chants from the river bank which was also resonated in your tale through the voice of your elderly co passenger in the bus!
Happy journey distantbeckons!
Thank you so much!! So very happy you enjoyed this piece! If this so lyrically evoked your own memories of the beautiful sunsets and river banks of a city you’re riveted to, that’s the best compliment for me! Please stop by again!