Sunday 26 April 2009

From Berhampur to Brahmapur!

This Blog is shaded with a few of the colourful hues of a place quite familiar to all of us. The place that had clawed itself out of the Madras Presidency of British India and made it’s presence felt in Orissa. A place called Berhampur- my Daddy’s hometown and the city where I was born. Just to annoy me, Shankar often referred to it as the ‘filthiest village in the world’. But for the Alice in me it is a wonderland. For the child in me it is a Disneyland. For the adult in me, Berhampur was, is and always will be… Paradise!’
(That is an excerpt from my first book...'Daddy')

Every month I make a trip to Berhampur to meet mummy but unlike my previous visits, which we spend mostly glued to Mummy’s bedside, this time I carried a camera along. And despite mummy’s strict orders NOT to venture out and waste precious time, I somehow managed to take a short walk and capture its quaint settings. Surprisingly, except for the name, nothing much has changed. It’s almost like the place is caught up in a time warp. Even the shops are the same- the only difference being that where once the father sat across the counter, the son now sits :-}

So let the journey begin......




Whatever 'pur' it morphs itself into, for me it will always be the richest of the 'purs'...:-}




Mua Mua on the Stall........Who is the hardest of them all? ;-}




The blouseless beauties selling Munjal. I call them 'ice apples'. But what is it called in Oriya? Taal, Taad, Taar....?!?





Some quaint and delightful signs :-}Excuse Moi.....but what eggjacktly does this mean?





Errr.....do what ;-}




So after you have thunk twice, maybe you can start the construction process right here.....hahahahaha!




Of course whatever you 'do', for 'better service' it'll have to be in a uni'que' style.....only one after one....;-}



Last but not the least Bhaai aau Bhounimaane, bhaatebher you do pleej keep ebhrything cloj to your heart....ebhen your gates....:-}

Hope you Njoyed your Brahmapur trip!

Originally posted in sulekha.com albeit in a slightly different format...:-}

22 comments:

Tasneem said...

Hey Nargis, Thanks a ton for the pictographic composition of BAM.
The rly. station looks very cute.
The signboards are a scream!

Would love to make a trip to BBSR & BAM sometime. Are there any good ORHs along the Chilika Lake (Barkul or Rambha) and in Gopalpur? Do let me know.

Unknown said...

Lovely pics, Nargis! The Rly stn looks a lot better now, name change notwithstanding.
Great caption too for all the pics.

Butttt---another typo, which I gotta point out---'..ebhen the gates' should have been 'ebhen the gets' :)

Naresh said...

Amoro Brahmapuro , reminiscence of the bygone period.

The recent remake of DON in telugu ' Billa ' enacted by action hero PRABHAS who would definitely prefer your blouseless beauties giving a run for their money vis- a - vis the skimply clad molls in the film.

And how can u offer a hardened - 'heart' mua to a love-lorn or torn person !!

Writer and photo-journalist combo !

Seetha said...

Finally I have my computer back.

OMG, what precious pictures Nargis. Makes me want to go to Berhampur/Brahmapur right now. The signs are simply hilarious, :)). I have been trying to convince my brother to accompany me to BAM and have not succeeded so far. Maybe next time I am in India I'll try again!

Omkar said...

What's so hilarious? It eez making perphect sense!

"An idle ..." - becoj the man was idle his brother had to rejort to begging.

"Think twice ..." - do what? Ans. "It".

"An ideal Spot ..." - libhingh in the USA, any spot is ideal, except the parking lot coj cop may give u a citation.

"Please be one ..." - succintly put. India eez so crowded, obher here one in the back does not mind waiting at the front person's behind.

"Please keep me ..." - ran outta place for the "D".

U see, Englis is a phunny language. Till date, I have not phigured out, why we need a "jed (z)", if we already have "jay(j)". Another mystery like does the jebra have white strips on black body or the oppojite.

Spoken seriously! No joking/phoking, in dephense of BAM. Sometimes my American phrends, look at me strange when I use this Oriya alliteration.

Yours etc.,
True Blue Berhampuria

Faiyaz said...

Nargis, your article on Bramhapur has helped me to a great extent in taking this decision.
What will I do when I get to Canada without a Job? Remain Idle ??
An idle Man is a brother to a Beggar!
Becoj Sister, Your Brother will be an idle Man who will be a brother to a Beggar!

Think twice before you do!
Moreover we need to think twice before we do! Don't we?

Faiyaz said...

Should I remain Idle in Canada without a job, I would become what every other Indian aspires to be - An Indian Idle!

Tasneem said...

Lol, Faiyaz, you are just tooooo cute!!!

Nargis said...

Tas: I guess the station has changed quite a bit, right? It does look kind of cute. They also don't allow the rickshaws and autos near the parking. Railways is cleaning things up a bit. In fact Shanker goes on an inspection quite often (not for the station but for the finances...well, helps me do my 'inspection' of my home too...hehehehe)

Venu:'gets'...oh right! How could I forget? There can be no drawl phor the Oriyas. Only Texan Amreekans are allowed to do that. Berhampurias have to be curt and crisp. Like the Brits ;-}

Naresh:Righto! In fact in my other blog the caption for that pic was something in the line of your thoughts. I had indeed marveled at the mixed reactions of humans. About how no one gives a second glance at ungarbed poverty. The more the dresses are torn and tattered the more contrite our gazes become. The less the elite wears, the more lascivious the glances are.

Nargis said...

Seetha: You mean you were without your computer all these days? Now, how wierd is that ;-}Yes, you must make a trip to the hometown. If not for anything then at least to take out pictures of more such 'cute' signs. And beleive me there is no dearth of it.

Hilu: That certainly qualifies for a if-you-ask-me-a-silly-question-you-get-a-sillier answer-kind of blog! Hahahaha....Yeah, right, Englees is a phunny langbhage....and who needs a Zed or an Eff for that matter. After all we are only goody goody peoples and we never use the eff word ;-}

Faiyaz: OMG! So what so many bloggers couldn't do, ONE blog has done! I think it's a wise decision and I went through all the comments of everyone out here and I guess the message was the same. Did you get Shanker's and Mahir Bhaiya's mail?
As for 'An Indian Idle'...LOL! That's classic...:-}

Enarkay said...

Each pix is "anmol" and to be candid anything portraying Brahmapur touches the heart at its most vulnerable spot."Memories don't leave but people do" Thanks for this Grand post

arun bhatt said...

lovely intro. and great pictures.
Apart from the "Silly ladies Corner" next to Chandi Mandir one of the best signages i came across was in a chennai music shop specialising in pirated cds/ casettes: " Ask for it and you had it."

Nargis said...

NRK: Anything connected to Berhampur is definitely anmol. You are right about the memories. But with time even memories fade and that's the reason we have to preserve them :-}

Arun: There is one more sign I saw in Berhampur- 'Hole chicken sold here'. But that was some time ago when I wasn't blogging. That was a classic one. Next time you see such signs anywhere please capture them. As for those 'silly' signs....esp the pirated one...LOL!

Unknown said...

Arun, that was a grr88 caption indeed----'ask for it and you had it'. Looks like some cops have put up that slogan!!

Vinita Deshmukh said...

Such lovely pictures Nargis and so nostalgi - i loved the railway station and i hope it is in the heritage list! Hey, does anyone know whether a heritage list has been compiled by the civic authorities for Brahmapur? It would be interesting to know.

Nargis said...

Venu: LOL!

Vinita: I don't think it would qualify for a heritage as there's not much of an architecture. Neither does it stem from anything historic. Although for us Berhampurias the value will always be much more...;-} I guess it's just had a renovation of sorts. In fact every year they have it...

Tasneem said...

Nargis, you haven't yet told me about the Rest houses along Chilka.
You'd better send me some mua when I go to India next (to SBC by Prashanti Express). Haven't tasted it like in decades...wonder whether my poor old teeth will be able to sustain the 'chabana'

Nargis said...

Hi Tas....

Sorry I forgot about it...hehehe. Actually in Chilka there is a Rly Rest house but I beleive it isn't so nice. But there is a State Govt. one which Shanker says he can arrange if you want it. It is a better one and on the banks of the lake. So let me know when you are coming.

And also let me know when you want to get your teeth extracted. Will send the Brahamapur dentist Mr. Mua...Hahahahaha!

Stanley David said...

Thanks Nargis-- for providing an opportunity for peals of laughter, just reading these signs of ye olde Berhampur.....

Tasneem said...

Thnx for the offer, Nargis.

Tasneem said...

Thnx for the offer, Nargis.

Unknown said...

As far as I remember, there is a State Govt Dak Bungalow at Barkul, and a Panth Nivas at Rambha. Both are on the banks of Chilika, but the Barkul one is better.