Mon amour

I was ambling through the fair, sniffing and inhaling the festive mood,enjoying the fragrance of all sorts of perfumes, the rustlings of saris, cargos, jackets and jeans.
Suddenly, she caught my attention.Svelte,Bright,Sober,Timid
but Intelligent amongst the Dark, Dreadful amazons,Vociferous coquettes,Willy Sirens..all at one place,in one cluster.
Immediately I felt attracted to Her and as if in a state of trance I moved towards her. I felt an intense urge of having Her in the complete possession of mine. In fact My proximity with her increased that passion. Others in that group also tried to draw my attention but that made no impact on me. Finally I started bidding for Her, raising a notch higher with each 'call'. At the end, through a sort of re-enactment of 'Slave Trade' of the medieval era, She was finally handed over to me. Carefully, with utmost tenderness I took her in my arm.
An urge of exploring her beauty made me mad and gently holding her in my arm I started snaking through the crowd and headed towards my desolate home. After entering into my house I closed the door behind me. Now, She solely belonged to me and only two of us were there---away from the prying eyes.
As I started to explore her treasure, She, who hitherto remained silent, started talking in a soft voice. She said that all along She knew that she is beautiful and different from others yet, as it happens with all beautiful things in this world, she had already been rifled,vandalised and molested. So,even after knowing all these things if I still feel attracted to her then only we can have a beautiful evening. I comforted her and told her that without any qualm and ennui, she is beautiful and attractive to me with all her present entity,with her violated treasures. With Truce established and any doubt and misgivings shoved aside, She yielded and I started unfolding her treasures.
I started leafing through the pages of the book,briefly thinking, wondering and reminiscing about the reactions,affections and attachments of the persons who had handled this second hand book. This is a book which holds the History of men and women, most of whom had made their final journey, after inhabiting, caring and tending and doing their bits for the place...Of trees, flowers and fruits..common and rare... many of which had already yielded to the greed of men and clinging to the slender thread of law before extinction,Of birds and animals, which had to meet with the same fate as that of the trees. She holds all these treasures, meticulously explored and chronicled by her author Mr.Kushal Mookherjee. In fact,The book,"Birds and Trees of Tolly" is the book about a club with a history of more than hundred years,the book about a club which is one of the best twenty clubs of the world--an epitome of heritage inherited by us.
The main club building was constructed by Mr.Richard Johnson in 1781 and set up an Indigo plantation.Later on it became the residence of Prince Golum Mohammad, son of vanquished Lion of Mysore.....Tipu Sultan. In 1880 Sir William Cruickshank, secretary and Treasurer of Bengal Bank, predecessor of State Bank Of India purchased the building and the adjoining estate, renovated the building and established the club in the February of 1885. Perhaps it was the destiny which wielded its charm so that Cruickshank, while riding in a misty morning lost his dog and subsequently discovered the building. Thereafter different renowned captains of the Industry and Society of the then India took much interest in tending and decorating the place with affection and imported and planted scores of different beautiful trees from different parts of the World ...Trees blooming exotic flowers,Trees bearing delicious fruits,Trees having thick foliage and bearing fruits edible to birds and having medicinal values had been planted and tended .Although flowers, one type or other are always there in any time of the year,the actual riot of colours starts during the spring time. Flowering trees vying with each other in this showing-off season---flame of the forest...Palash with flamboyant Red Krishnachura and Pink Mohor..Mauve Jarul..'The Queen of the flowers' with bright yellow Radha chura,the Pink 'Biliti' Siris with White fragrant Champa..to name only a few of the fashion parade participants. Flowers brought butterflies and bees, fruits brought exotic birds,thick
foliage sheltered birds and different animals,mammals and reptiles, water bodies hold fishes, scores of different types of frogs,little Cormorants, Herons, Kingfishers of different types,Water Hens and Jacanas.
Through out the year the club area witnesses a very busy
'Bird Life'.In the summer, some of them are going away to the cooler regions and again in
the Winter and Spring seasons,Seasonal Migratory Visitors pay their visits to this place
religiously, in every year.Some of the varieties of birds stay in the garden through out the year.Perhaps the last few flocks of Green Pigeons of the city only can fly fearlessly over
the garden area. Adding dash of different hues and strains of different tunes there are Swifts,colourful Orioles,Copper smiths,Robins and Drongos,Doves,Bulbuls and Mynas. Wagtails,constantly nod their heads, acknowledging the arrival of harbinger of winter in the city,Bee eaters making occasional forays to catch bees and insects in the mid air. Drongos,patiently waiting for few moments,before picking up another bout of the day, Woodpeckers,fully draped in wedding attire tapping different trees for finding insects hiding in the hollow of the tree under the bark,Stately Hoopoes, mostly in pairs,pick their foods from lawns and shrubs,elegantly,till they get concerned,for some reason or other,un-furl their crown feathers and flt for a safer place.Rustlings of leaves and chattering of group of birds will definitely denote the presence of Jungle -Babblers,always moving in groups and good number of which are inhabiting the Club Area.
Mammals and Reptiles,like Civet Cats,Jackals,Squirrels
and Mongoose along with innumerable varieties of Frogs and Snakes,mainly of Rat snake
and Keel Back variety are permanent residents of foliage,shrubs and water bodies of the club area.Lizards and Tucktoos adorn the walls of old building,hiding in the crevices in day time and coming out for food at the night. As many of the trees ,such as Buddhas Coconut tree,Yellow Silk cotton tree, Easter Tree and the likes and some types of Birds too ,briefly described in the book were not known to me and they had truly enriched my knowledge But to have a full grasp on them I had to take the help of Internet Searching.
After going through the book,resting my hand on the both of my palms,I kept sitting on the chair but my mind raced past to a place,far away from me,in the part of a Paradise, hither to whose existence was not in my perception and knowledge. I felt ashamed and stunned.I had crossed Shashmal Avenue umpteen times,I knew that there is a Club with the name of a Tolly Club. But,only a recent invitation by Samik to attend the reception of his marriage ceremony, held on the lawn of the Club gave me the first feel of the rich heritage and since then I had been looking for this book,which, at last I could acquire in a Local Book fair.
Night slipped away.With the advent of day-break,birds in
their nests in an old Spanish cherry tree,known as Bakul in local parlance,started chirping
and twittering as a mark of their wake up call. A solitary Robin(Doyel) sitting on the topmost branch,started blowing whistles,demarcating its territory.
But my mind was getting weighed with so many anxieties.
How long these mute,beautiful, gentle giants will be able to thawrt and ward-off the menacing,threatening axe ready to be wielded by the clandestine wood-merchants or the
chirping,twittering and singing of those exotic Birds will be able to stall the pellets from
the Guns ready to be fired to bring them down for delicate dinner dishes.The greed of human beings does not have any limit. Only Ray of Hope is emanating from this Book....
Once documented and well circulated,these trees and Birds will definitely attract the eyes
and attention of more number of Nature lovers.In that way they are bound to get a long
lease of life.
With my heart felt thanks to Mr.Kushal Mookherjee and a
longing to go to this 'Piece Of Paradise',still surviving in concrete jungle of this city,
I closed the Book softly before going to sleep.