Calcutta - Mumbai - Delhi - Calcutta

Sitting in a waterlogged Calcutta, I ruminate at how my world has almost come full circle in the last one month. Almost a month ago, I left Calcutta wondering when I would be visiting this place again. I thought it would only be in November when I would come back for a friend’s wedding…but then, life has funny ways of it own.

My company’s induction programme was held in Mumbai and we were treated like royalty throughout our week’s stay. This treatment would only continue once we reached Delhi, the city where I was sent as a part of an 11-member team for ‘circle familiarization’.

The Delhi experience was both, fun and educational. We went through the various business units and the various processes that are in place. Evenings would either be spent reading a book or watching a movie on a friend’s laptop or just chilling out at the malls at sector 18 in Noida.

Perhaps the best part about being at Noida was the fact that we were hanging around in a group. Although it had barely been a week since all 11 of us had met each other, the fact that we all came from similar educational backgrounds and with the same set of fears, jitters and expectations at the beginning of a career helped us to bond.

Coming back to Calcutta was unexpected and fun. I must admit that I was slightly disappointed that I would be back in my ‘comfort zone’ and hence, would be receiving my doses of “worldly learning” in limited amounts. However, home is still…well, home. No matter how much you crib or complain, there’s always a little child who smiles at memories of a city he’s grown up in.

And the recent downpour just gives you a ‘picture-perfect’ opportunity to realize why you like this city.

Waterlogged AJC Bose Road. This is right under the flyover that connects the Race Course to Park Circus. By the way, at the time of taking this pic, I'm standing ON the green railing that you see. The water to the right is knee-deep.

"Rain rain, come again..." A man enjoys an impromptu swim on his way home.

"Row, row your boat...err...car!!"
The car actually floated idly with every wave of water that was displaced by the buses passing by.

I thought I was the only one mad enough to take my cell phone out and take pictures of the city as it was on Tuesday morning. Turns out I was wrong. The gentleman seated in the rickshaw was doing the same, unknown to the poor rickshaw-walla who was carrying the heavy load.