Alstonia, again...

 

_{Outside Norwest metro, I stop -}

_{There is something in the air}

_{That seems vaguely familiar –}

_{I take a deep breath}

_{Ah! the smell of Chhatim flowers}

_{A deluge of Alstonia’s dream}

_{Gushes forth from yesterday}

 

_{That heavenly blossom:}

_{Hemanta’s messenger}

_{Bursting right before Pujo}

_{Adding a mystic charm}

_{To the aged neon lights,}

_{An annual fragrance}

_{As if there to welcome Maa}

 

_{I recollect that entire stretch}

_{Rashbehari Avenue to Elgin Road,}

_{Rejuvenated by the flower}

_{Even as the sweaty minibus}

_{Would chug ever so slowly}

_{The diesel fumes subjugated}

_{By the harbingers of autumn}

 

_{Chhatim’s invisible magic}

_{Spreads over a tired city}

_{Awakening tired souls;}

_{The flowers seem to whisper,}

_{Wake up –}

_{There’s lots more to do}

_{This is not enough to welcome Maa}

 

_{At Norwest station –}

_{I look around}  

_{But there is no Chhatim to be found;}

_{The mirage disappears}

_{Mahanagar has faded long ago}

_{But then, so has that boy;}

_{Yet, somehow the perfume persists}

 

_{I check the date –}

_{The symphony of Dhak and Shonkho}

_{Has begun, somewhere far away;}

_{The little boy comes back,}

_{He whispers, I smile}

_{Wake up - There’s lots more to do}

_{This is not enough to welcome Maa…}

 

_{21st October 2027}

 

_{The Chhatim (Alstonia scholaris) is the official State Tree of West Bengal. Its small, greenish-white flowers release a distinctive, heady fragrance during the autumn months, around the time Calcutta prepares to welcome Maa Durga. For many Calcuttans, the scent is inseparable from this season of anticipation and homecoming, mingling with memories of familiar streets, festive skies and the distant beat of the dhak. Sometimes, even thousands of miles away, a passing fragrance is enough to bring that world back—and make us feel, if only for a moment, that Maa is almost here.}

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