Romance and the City...

Kolkata is truly a fascinating place...and who would say that more than the young lovers of the city! The city has always been a great place for romance...there is a place for all types of lovers at every nook and corner of the beautiful city. Be it a park or a movie hall, a restaurant or a cafeteria...a boat ride along the Ganges...the crowded shopping malls or just a long drive along the quite highways...there are so many options to choose from.

Nandan:
Located on one of the most busy streets of the city, this is originally a movie hall. It is also one of the most prestigious cultural complexes of Kolkata. But, in more cases than one, Nandan serves much more than just a movie theater. The lush greenery and marble paved pathways among which it stands attracts more people than just movie goers. So, we would often find college students sitting cozy under the trees and around the walls of Nandan. You can also see a lot of typically "intellectual" couples walking around with cloth bags on their shoulders and sipping black tea. But, to top it all, Nandan serves as an ultimate place for college goers who have just slipped into the world of romance...

Victoria Memorial:
Besides being a museum and a great tourist attraction, Victoria Memorial has also always been a great place for young college couples. A minimal entry fee and in return they get cool shady seats under the big trees. Sitting on the lush green carpet around the grounds of this place and whispering loving words in each others' ears can really be a great attraction for young lovers.

Restaurants:
Sitting over a candle light dinner is quite an archaic yet elegant way of expressing love. So, in every restaurant of Kolkata, you will always find a lot of couples leaning over a plate of noodles or pasta. Starting from the big ones like Oh! Calcutta and Mainland China to the comparatively smaller ones like BBQ, Peiping or Magnolia, these are usually the places for love-luncheons and dinners. 14th Feb in these places can be a nightmare as the loving angels do not leave a single place for anyone!

Hangouts:
Kolkata also specializes in a number of hangout places. These places are very popular among college goers, especially large groups...out of which sweet couples come out. You might often find a girl and a boy a part of a big crowd today...and sitting away, alone and together at a cozy corner tomorrow...Such hangouts include Haldirams, Coffee Pie, CCD, Barista, Flurys and not to forget "Hangout" in City Center! People eat very less here...sometimes sharing just a single chat or samosa plate...but the time spent is enormous and a great deal worthwhile!

Coffee House:
Another popular hangout, the oldest among the cafes of the city, Coffee House definitely deserves special mention. With scattered chairs around small square tables, this place has a charm in its antiquity. The second floor of Coffee House in College Street is specially dedicated to young love birds. Hand in hand, eye in eye...you can spend hours at this place. Kolkata has witnessed a lot of love (not to forget a lot of break ups as well) over a cup of infusion (strong black coffee) at this warm place.

Parks:
There are a lot of parks in the city as well where you can find college lovers flocking, especially during the end of the month (when pocket money seems to lessen down and cafes and movies become a perfect no-no). Citizen's Park on AJC Bose Rd, Millennium Park by the Ganges or the Central Park in Salt Lake...Love cannot flourish better than under the wide blue sky above and with lush greenery around!

Ganges:
The River Ganga remains an eternal place for romantic souls in Kolkata. A boat ride along the breezy river or just snatching at each others' jhal-muri along the banks can be a memorable experience. Ice creams, phuchkas, bhelpuris...the ingredients found along the banks of the river are just appropriate to spice up your love life for the evening...

With all the places mentioned, there still remains the highways (Eastern By-pass or Rajarhat Road) where lovers with cars go for lovely long drives. The nooks and corners still remain...way-side tea-stalls, art galleries...even the libraries...lovers flock everywhere...love happens everywhere in the city! Behind Victoria, along Kolkata's Race Course...the streets are silent and charming in their own way...a wonderful place for budding lovers to express and feel...
With the cool breeze tugging at your carefully set hair...and the nip in the air tickling you beneath your sweat-shirts...evening walks hand-in-hand can really be a major part of your love lives...

Raindrops on Roses...

It's wonderful that the rains are here now. After days and days of heat and humidity, the rains seem to be a perfect bliss to everyone...it's not only the rains, not only waters and not only the water logging...it is also about the cool north wind, the clustering nimbus clouds in the sky...gray against a bright blue...it's about a refreshing smell with the green leaves turning greener and roses redder...

Everything gives a feeling of wetness...starting from the clothes in the clothes-line to the towels in the towel stand...the clothes that are hung on the roof for drying often come back wetter than ever at the end of the day...window sills and railings always have rain water dripping...lone crows perching on the street lamps...feathered sparrows all hoch poch with the water...dogs running around for a shelter...It's lovely to have a sky full of dark clouds in the morning...rustling breeze swishing through the trees and drizzling rain forming a delicate net outside the windows. It's lovely when schools declare a "rainy day"...it's even lovelier to rush for the school bus before the rain catches you, your bag stuffed with raincoats and umbrellas...and, it's heavenly to return home late wading through the water logged streets at the end of the day!

It's heavenly to come home and be pampered by your mother with plates full of sizzling fries and hot cups of bournvita or steaming coffee...

The rain follows its own sweet rhythm and goes on pattering...the clouds go on grumbling...what does it matter! We are at home now...tucked under the warm sheets, it's a divine feeling to hear the pittar-patter raindrops at your window sill...the frogs still croaking and the insects buzzing away...

The cool rain outside makes the homes warmer and cozier...the notes and the melody of the rain are lovelier than the loveliest music ever composed...and it takes you to some distant dreamland...while, Kolkata continues to bathe...bathe in the loveliest music of nature...