Shanu Lahiri and Rashbehari Avenue

 

The road is Rashbehari Avenue and the writer is Shanu Lahiri. Painter Shanu likens the avenue to a central fish bone. Perhaps an extension of her ouvre to cats. A bare bone fish bone with its fine capillary bones is perhaps all that remains when Lahiri’s much beloved cat has fed on the flesh. The head falls at an angle with the round lifeless eye perhaps witness to the goings on at the avenue. The spine lies linear with the tail again at an angle. The head points at Kasba and the tail at the Rashbehari gurdwara. And between these two points is a rich tapestry of Calcutta’s cultural elite addresses.

Rashbehari Avenue starts from Gariahat four-point crossing and proceeds westwards to meet Lansdowne Road and stretches beyond to Lake Market. The road is defined by the central tramroad which is on an elevated track of green grass. Though trams have ceased to run on it, the tracks remain as a divider of east and west bound traffic.

Lahiri had been asked to deliver a lecture at poet Buddhadev Basu’s 90^th birth anniversary and she thought of this unusual tribute to the author with who she shared an address. Buddhadeva Bose lived at 202 Rashbehari Avenue while Shanu at 117. And that was the bond between the two that Lahiri visualized through her sketch and fullscape sheet writings.

She describes the avenue with the trams trundling on the tracks even as the Howrah and Dalhousie bound buses competed with each other. But Lahiri walked the stretch. At night, the road took on a different aura. “Belphul chai, belphul” hawked the vendor even as the painter walked past. She met so many of her friends, acquaintances .. The red letter boxes and the domkol boxes would be jutting out of the green grass. It was the 50s Calcutta,, she wrote about.

As she picked up her son from Gariahat and waited to board a tram, she met magician PC Sorcar. Her son stared in awe. Pianist V Balasara too was spotted.

Returning to the subject of her lecture, Buddhadeva Basu and Prativa Basu’s house was a meeting spot for all budding poets. Basu was particularly indulgent towards them. However, Shanu and Buddhadeva shared a common peeve, that of renaming Calcutta’s streets. So much of history is associated with these names, she wrote. How can one simply rename these old streets.

Fortunately, Rashbehari Avenue was never renamed. And Shanu Lahiri proceeded to locate the famous and their abodes. Right on the floor above of Buddhadeva Bose’s flat lived poet Amit Datta. His daughter Sarbari Datta was the first to design haute coutre for men. Education minister Triguna Sen also resided here. Linguist Suniti Chattapadhyay too lived here, today his house has the Fabindia store. Writer couple Naren Deb and Radharani Devi lived here with their daughter Nabanita. As did former chief minister Jyoti Basu, the champion of the downtrodden. His house bore the political slogan by the Opposition: Opore bhara, niche bhara, majh khane thaken sarba hara

Academy of Fine Art’s D Ghosh was also spotted. At the book store Jigyansa, she met Shibnarayan Ray, Pulin Sen, Debabrata Biswas . Nearby music maestro Ustad Ali Akbar Khan with his family lived beside Hindustan Mart. The Dover Lane Music Conference was a huge pull factor. He would sit in a broken chair at Hemen babu’s sitar shop where all his students would also come. Stalwarts like Vilayat Khan, Allarakha, Zakir Hussain, Ravi Shankar would come for an adda with Ali Akbar Khan. Lahiri also talks of the Kuttys, Govindan and Thankamani.

Violonist VG Jog would live near Triangular Park. Rabindra sangeet singer Ashoktaru as well as light expert Tapas Sen had lived here.

Satyajit Ray too crops up as he spent some time near Triangular Park before moving to Lake Temple Road. Ranconteur RP Gupta, sculptor Debi Prosad Raychaudhuri had his studio here.

She also talks of Pahari Sanyal and Sachin Dev Burman too. Apparently, Barman would sing Mono dile na Badhu while walking Rashbehari Avenue. She also talks of Radhu r Chayer Dokan and its buttered and sugar sprinkled toast. Poet Bishnu De would walk from Lake Market to catch a tram, he would live on Prince Golam Mohammed Road. Her lecture was a veritable list of Calcutta’s who’s who, who lived on Rashbehari, Shambhu Mitra, Tripti Mitra, Suchitra Mitra, Chanchal Chattopadhyay, Partha and Kalyani Ghosh of Thema fame .,

Dakshini of Subho Guha Takhurata and Rabitirtha of Suchitra Mitra were also in the neighbourhood. Her co-artist Karuna Saha and her photographer husband Sambhu Saha, who had taken most of Rabindranath’s photos were also here.

She returns to her own abode where her illustrious brothers Kamal and Nirad Maumdar also lived.

Shanu Lahiri brings alive what was then the fifties of Rashbehari Avenue for those who would care to listen and read her. This creation of hers, visual and writing is on display at Galerie 88 which celebrates here with Anonymous

 

 

It is this avenue that has captured the artist’s