25 ekbalpore lane

I was

 a long time resident of 25 Ekbalpore Lane , Calcutta23 . For all those of you who have lived here let me take you on a trip down memory lane . I was not born in this building but I moved in when I was old enough to understand the sights and sounds of Calcutta . As i remember it it was a big buildiong oposite the lal masjid on Ekbalpore lane . It was also called Queens Manzil and had an imposing gate which by todays standards would have costed a small fortune . It also had small alleys (gullis ) where as kids we would play . and also a big courtyard inside the gate where as kids we would play cricket , badminton , football etc

 . More interesting than the building per se would be perhaps the nature of its inhabitants . It did in the sixties ,seventies and well into the eightities It had a number of people from various parts of india and with different languages and practising different faiths . It was indeed a melting pot of various cultures . Thus we had Hindus , Muslims , Christians , and Sikhs in the same building . we also had people from different states like Bihar , UP , Kerala , Tamil Nadu , Punjab staying in the same building . but never did we ever feel the differences among us . We would celebrate Diwali as much as we would celebrate Christmas or Id .One still remembers the mithais distributed during Diwali, the Christmas cakes and the sevai distributed during id . However in spite of all our cultural differences one factor that probably was common to all of us was the English language . I am not sure how many kids staying in other buildings during the same time were as fluent as us in the English language There are many anecdotes and stories related to our building which may have to wait for another post . We did have some very interesting persons in our building As mentioned earlier apart from the South Indians , Punjabis , Biharis and UPites we also had a fair sprinkling of Angloindians in our building . In spite of having such a diverse community we were careful enough not to land ourselves in any sort of controversy as our strict parents were always at hand .Maybe it was a sign of the times . Although there were eligible bachelors and girls from the same community in the same building it is a fact that no one married anyone else from the building . We are told that MS Subbalakshmi used to stay here or sing her songs here ( please correct me if I am wrong ) 

The floods in 1978 was a major event in the building . For probably the first time there was waterlogging for 3 consecutive days and all of us had to move to the first floor . It also saw a rare camaraderie among all of us . Irrespective of caste or creed we shared our meals and lived as one family .It also cemented a bond among us  which extends to this day  Alas the building is but a shadow of its former self . The imposing gate is still there and there are a few tenants but the old grandeur is gone .So too is the camaraderie . Whether it is a sign of the times we live in one doesnt know