MUSINGS
Missing the Maidan
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The Kolkata Book Fair will no more be held at the Maidan. Will it ever be the same again, asks NEHA PRASAD.
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PARTH SANYAL
THE dust will settle on the Maidan this year.
No more will throngs of enthusiasts raise it to pollute the environs. No more will the grass wilt under the footsteps of heaving humanity. No more noise, no more crowds. No more fairs.
In response to a Public Interest Litigation, the State government has banned fairs from being held on the Maidan from April 14, 2004. The State PWD has been instructed to ensure that the area is cleaned, beautified and freed from the clutches of criminals. Lexpo, the Book Fair and the Handicrafts Fair have all been banished to the permanent ground opposite Science City, in Salt Lake, as they constituted an environmental hazard to the atmosphere in and around Victoria Memorial.
In fact, the last Maidan Book Fair has just concluded in the city. And with the downing of shutters on the ticket stalls this year, has come many a conflicting emotion. The vibrancy was still there, the mood upbeat. People were hearteningly supportive of the move. As should be the case, most of us value our environment over sentimental attachment. But there were also some of us poetic mad men, who wandered around, one last time, with nostalgia constricting our throats (along with the dust!)
The Book Fair is something of an institution for us Kolkatans. Annual visits amount to a literary pilgrimage, undertaken by the innumerable worshippers of the written word in the city. So, as one can well imagine, there were sundry horrified exclamations at the realisation of the havoc our favourite mela was wreaking. Despair and ignominy cut the ardent frequenter to the quick. No one was completely ignorant of the chaos and clutter caused by the famed Boi Mela. It was evident every year (and loudly and lengthily complained about). Common sense, logic, intellect, reason and calculation, all hurtled towards the sole conclusion — the Maidan must be cleared.
And so, these 8.5 acres of land, so dear to so many Kolkatans, will be afforested, landscaped and protected. But will it ever be the same Maidan for us, bereft, as it will be, of the colour and variety of the melas?
So much of our planet has been ravaged by us, that it is imperative that we take every measure to control our own insanity. We must be grateful to Subhas Dutta for the role he played in bringing this to the notice of the powers that be. And we must be thankful that such prompt and stringent action has been taken. But the mind is not without its emotions, and these stir up poignant memories of the fairs in familiar surroundings.
The chill, dry air and shuffling feet once again raised the dust to the inevitable eye-stinging, choking levels this year. But then, the average Kolkatan never had eyes for anything but the fascinating wares spread out amidst the scraggy grass. The crowds were extensive, the mess was offensive — empty soft drink cartons, paper plates, plastic packets and bottle were strewn around in insensitive disarray. How many times did one hear the indignant, stentorian tones of some elderly lady or gentleman exclaiming, "No civic sense!" But hardly anything could detract from the anticipation, excitement and hustle-bustle of these fairs. They were so integral to the city, to the Maidan. Quite in the centre of the city, the Maidan was so easily accessible to school and college students. After school hours, bunking periods, or even in between classes, time could always be made for the fairs. Winter was incomplete without them. Now, the very thought of travelling to Salt Lake...
Will it ever be the same again? Kolkata seems to be losing a lot of its traditions, mostly due to our own pigheadedness when it comes to environmental issues. Now we have lost the Maidan melas in the bargain. One wonders whether next year, the Book Fair will give us the same intoxicating pleasure in its new abode. Will the books read different? Will the leather smell of Lexpo be different next year? Will that particular warm contentment, that distinct sizzle in the air, still be there? The Earth is to be protected at all costs, but this change will deal a harsh blow to the peaceful security that tradition has to offer. The old, familiar face of the Maidan will be missed.
Perhaps it will miss us too.
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