This is the worst summer in Kolkata. Till last year Kolkata was used to very humid summers, temparature barely crossing 38degree. This time the humidity was low and temperature crossed 40 in he beginning of April. The May sky was as clear as the November sky, not a speck of cloud to be seen anywhere. In Kolkata people died of heat stroke, which is not a very common occurrence here.
Relief came last night, in the form of a belated nor'wester. The ambience cooled down (I didn't need a fan last night). My friends from the campus collected tons of mangoes from the trees inside. That reminded me of a scene from the film Pather Panchali, a scene that Bibhuti Bhushan made immortal in his novel by the same name (the film is an adaptation of the novel). Now, that in turn reminds me that just a day before was Ray's birthday. He is affectionately remembered as Orient Longman, a title given by his friends for his tall stature. As is the usual, the TV channels started showing the films that show on every 2nd May since time immemorial. But the movies I would love to watch are never shown. My wishlist includes
1. Shatranj ki Khiladi2. Devi (I have seen this one)
3. PatherPanchali (This one I have seen for some 10-12 times)
4. Aparajito (I loved the novel more, though)
5. Sukumar Ray (Documentary)
P.S. The change in temperature was not costless. It claimed at least 12 lives.
