The Vacant White

Beyond closed doors with you on the other side
My helpless eyes look beyond the mute, wooden divide;
Beyond the horizon, across the blue,
Amongst a world unknown, I seek you;
In the bluish realms, perhaps on top of the clouds,
Amidst the flying songbirds, amidst the coloured shrouds;
In the deeps of the earth, within the very core,
I searched and sought you, to help ease my sore.

Yet! O yet! You remained in obscurity,
You dodged my eyes and hid from my thoughts.
I was unable to breathe but you showed me no pity.

I begged and pleaded for you to come back to me,
I shed another tear into a dark infinity.
Still you heard me not, and as the days waned,
My vacuous life in those untouched pages remained.

The Remnants of the Bygone Era of the Raj

Post –independence, the effort of the Indian government to obliterate the British era has not been completely successful. The rule of the Raj, as it is commonly referred to, is a chapter closed but its resonance is still heard. The Raj may be dead but its ghost still lingers. The remnants of the British Raj are felt more in Calcutta than in any other Indian city.
Calcutta is a product of British creation. Job Charnock’s discovery in 1690 led to Calcutta becoming the pride of the Britons who could boldly proclaim that they founded it, built it, occupied it and managed it. It later went on to become one of the imperial capitals of the British Raj.
Calcutta has grown and has been able to outstretch its wings yet an umbilical relation to its British predecessors and its colonial past undeniably binds it. What seems extraordinary is the amazing way in which Calcutta remains bound to the era of the Raj. After having been renamed KOLKATA by the present government in order to give it a distinct and individual flavor, most natives are still more accustomed to “ CALCUTTA”. The same willing ignorance is found in the case of the roads that still pay reverence to the great Britons. A Taxi driver in the city will be familiar with Camac Street rather than Abanindranath Tagore Road and Russel Street rather than Anandilal Poddar Street. In most cases the old British names linger and provide Calcutta with an identity and a history. Auckland Square, Bentinck street, Wellesley Square and Clive Street, named after British Governor Generals are a few of the examples. 
The Bengali has endeavored to build homes and expand business and culture all over the face of the city; little realizing that the authentic home that he has tried to create is standing on a street that is reminiscent and remnant of the British past. The contribution of the British in the field of architecture has also been immense and extraordinary. The grand, glorious palace houses reflect their colonial antecedents the most. Built in times of great flourish, in imitation of the British palaces, these gracious buildings brood over both the past and the present. Although their shine and shimmer has dimmed and their walls have surrendered to the destructive powers of time, yet the dignity of these mansions triumphs over the decay and they exist and live on as a beautiful reminder of the past.
One of the most beautiful of all the reminders is the Victoria Memorial, built by the Indians themselves in reverence to their empress Queen Victoria. This formed indeed the architectural climax of the British Raj in India. The palace of white marble with its green fringes, designed in the Renaissance style, remains forever an asset and Calcutta’s own. The Victoria Memorial proudly proclaims the British antiquity and the British heritage.
One of the hallmarks of a distinguished gentleman is membership to some club or the other. Urban man takes pride in declaring his many memberships and his very active social life. The gentlemen of Calcutta are not unlike these. The Club Culture that Calcutta prides in is in fact a borrowed tradition. London was known as the most clubbable place in the world and Calcutta like its English counterpart was determined to join the league. The very many activities of the British led to the start of this heritage. Thus was established various institutions in the city which tried to bridge a gap between the rulers and the ruled. The clubs in Calcutta still exist; club life is alive and kicking. Although the clubs have shed some of the rigid regulations of the colonial past and have attained a definition of its own, the culture and the purpose still remain.
The British have given to the city much more than this. They have not created in Calcutta a facsimile, but have provided Calcutta with an identity of its own. Calcutta has retained the contributions of its predecessors and has created a home for its natives. It is a curious blend of the old and the new, the crude and the urbane. It is a hybrid city. Calcutta with open arms has accepted and given space to all those who have inhabited it and yet has retained its uniqueness. Thus Calcutta stands, proud and beautiful as a semblance of all that was and all that is…. proclaiming of its future and whispering of its past.