The advantages of traveling without a plan is either you get to explore places at a leisurely pace or be spontaneous and enjoy the unpredictability of your trip. My wife and I have been traveling on planned holidays with preset itineraries that unfold at a frenetic pace. Every tourist spot and every popular landmark including museums, sanctuaries, parks, shopping centers, and heritage buildings have to be covered as part of the trip. Over time, such planned trips have only left us bored and bereft of adventure.
So, when we decided to visit Kolkata (as a layover en route Jamshedpur to attend our best friend’s wedding), we decided to ditch our travel agent and explore the City of Joy on our own (please don’t hate us dear travel agents). Only flights and homestays were pre-booked. As for the rest, we decided to follow the internet and plan this trip at our own pace. For all we knew, we might visit a lot of places or just end up lazing at a coffee shop chit-chatting or reading books.
On our very first day in Kolkata, we sadly did neither. Our Airbnb home turned out to be so far from the main city that we had nowhere to go. It was swanky with Swedish interiors and provided a great view from the glass walls along with brilliant amenities, but it wasn’t in the best location a tourist would have asked for. There were so many questions that stared at us now - where do we go for lunch, which place do we visit (or not visit), should we get an Uber or look for the yellow taxi, which coffee shop could we go to, or should we just go to sleep?
Momentarily disillusioned, we revisited the purpose behind the trip. The idea was to make it unpredictable and leisurely, and most importantly, spend quality time with each other instead of running from one destination to the other. We had to be open to possibilities though. Things could go wrong or right - we had to simply accept it. One thing I greatly admire about my wife as a travel companion is that she is unbelievably open-minded when it comes to traveling - we could do anything we wanted, however, and whenever, there were no pre-requisites or must-do’s. This gave us certain flexibility and freedom that let our trip unfold on its own.
With this profound realization, we set out to the nearest restaurant for a simple meal of dal and rice followed by some Bengali sweets (yummm). The warm, crispy and chewy Chenna Toast - a delectable sugary preparation made from cottage cheese topped with cardamom and pistachios - lifted our spirits instantly.
We spent the next two days exploring Kolkata at our own pace. Neither of us felt compelled to visit all the places as if to tick them off a checklist. We’d mutually decide where to go next, and only if both of us felt like it. And despite this luxurious pace, we managed to cover Victoria Memorial, Jorasanko (Tagore’s birth home), two of the newest deli’s at Park Street, boating at Princep Ghat, Eco Park, Biswa Bangla, and some arcade games at City Centre Mall! We proudly concluded that our trip to Kolkata was terrific and we left for Jamshedpur to join the wedding which was a fantastic affair with lots of dancing and food!
While the lack of a plan worked wonders for us and we cherished every bit of time spent together, the downside that we couldn’t foresee back in Kolkata was that we might have missed out on something important. Classic FOMO, isn’t it?! Sometime post the wedding and before our return to Kolkata for our flight back home, I realized that during our time at Park Street, we had completely missed out on the legendary Oxford Bookstore - one of the most iconic book shops of Kolkata. Oops!
Now, I have a thing for bookstores, especially considering how many of them are shutting down thanks to online businesses. I feel it’s my moral responsibility to visit every bookstore and buy a book from each one only to save their businesses. Being an ardent lover of physical touch-and-feel books that have a powerful impact on your mind (and memory) that e-books don’t, and someone with emotional relationships with bookstores, I simply had to - had to visit the Oxford Bookstore. (The second had to is not a typo, it’s for emphasis)
A brief note on my emotional relationships with bookstores, if I am allowed to digress a bit. I spent my early childhood buying mostly comics from A.H. Wheeler & Co., the brand of bookshops across several Indian railway stations. Every family journey began with the ritual of buying a comic or a magazine from this store before the train arrived! My high school days were deeply connected with Ashok Book Centre in Vijayawada, a bookshop that provided all my textbooks, workbooks, and a part of my current literary collection. I feel proud that this book store will be completing 40 years in 2021. When I had moved to Mumbai in 2009, I roamed the footpaths of Churchgate station almost every weekend to buy original titles from the many book-sellers that lined up there. And now in Hyderabad, I am deeply connected to M. R. Book Centre in Begumpet (I have discovered such gems there), the Sunday book bazaar in Abids, and the Crossword right next to my workplace where I go almost 2-3 times every week whenever work gets stressful.
A quick Google search about Oxford Bookstore at Park Street, Kolkata, revealed that it was established in 1920 (although the official website of Oxford says 1921 but the actual store & Wikipedia page mention 1920). Which means it was going to be 100-year-old in 2020. How could I have missed this? How? You can only imagine my dear reader how terrible I felt about this. But, I wasn’t going to give up.
I quickly discussed with my wife if we can somehow pay the bookstore a visit before we leave for Hyderabad. Considering the purpose of this trip was not to visit places as if on a checklist and not to rush through, it was difficult to expect her to say yes. But knowing how much of a bookstore lover I am, she agreed to my delightful surprise. And we came up with this plan -
Feb 17, 9 p.m - Our train from Jamshedpur arrives at Kolkata
Feb 17, 9.10 p.m - Check-in to the pre-booked hotel near Howrah
Feb 18, 10 a.m - Check out and head straight to Park Street with our luggage
Feb 18, 10.30 a.m - Reach Oxford Bookstore and spend a good 1 ½ hours there
Feb 18, 12 p.m - Leave for the airport
Feb 18, 1 p.m - Check-in to our return flight that departs at 2.30 p.m
From having no plans and no preset itineraries to having one with tight timelines, our trip was turning out to be quite the contrary. Yet, I was feeling elated!
But, who said planned trips couldn’t go wrong? Our train from Jamshedpur got delayed by an hour. The hotel near Howrah turned out to be wrongly marked on Google Maps and the actual destination was so dingy, we had to cancel our booking. But, thankfully we booked another hotel just ten minutes away from Park Street. Imagine my thrill! I thought a hotel closer to Park Street meant we’d spend more time at the bookstore.
Ironically, when we left for Park Street the next morning at 10 a.m, we realized we had to reach the hotel back by 11.45 p.m in order to check-out our luggage and leave for the airport on time. And to my utter horror, Oxford Bookstore doesn’t open until 11.00 a.m!
So, we settle in a coffee-shop diagonally opposite to the bookstore and decide to kill time with coffee. At 10.55 a.m, we call for the check. By the time it arrives and I pay by card so the waiter has to get a card machine and clear the check, it’s 11.10 a.m. The clock starts ticking in my head, we have only 35 minutes more. We step out and walk down the footpath, and yet another shock awaits me. Park Street has one-way traffic regulations based on timings. In the evenings, the traffic moves from Chowringhee to Park Street whereas, in the mornings, it’s the opposite. Now, to get back to the hotel, we’d have to take a taxi from another lane or go all the way around, which means, we have to call for a taxi at least by 11.30 a.m. That leaves us with just 20 minutes!
As we reach Oxford Bookstore, a glorious red sign greets us and I notice the text ‘Established 1920 Kolkata’ right under its logo. We’re entering a legendary bookstore that completes a century of existence! I feel goosebumps! And yet, I wonder how would twenty minutes be enough? How could I traverse the journey from 2020 to 1920 in just 20 minutes? Suddenly, time feels precious and expensive. Every minute is valuable. I wonder if there is a God who controls time that I could pray to. In India, we have a God for everything - a God for rain, a God for Sun, moon, and the nine planets; a God who creates, another who destroys, and yet another who sustains. Is there a God for time? A God who can turn the clock backwards? There is no time to even question this anymore.
A doorman greets us as we enter the bookshop. I take a deep breath as I scan the several rows and stacks of books, immaculately lined up across wooden shelves. The lighting is ambient, just right for a reader to explore - not too bright, not too dark. The first shelf that I come across displays several titles on the culture, heritage, history, cuisines, and festivals of Calcutta. Had it been my first day in Kolkata, I’d feel tempted to pick up something but with barely an hour or two before I leave the city, I don’t want to read something celebratory about it only to regret not having spent enough time here.
The next shelf houses Translations of the most popular Bengali writers - more than a century of memorable stories, novels, poetry, and plays. At that moment, I knew I’d invariably pick up something from this shelf because none of these books are easily available online or in other bookstores. I move ahead making a mental mark of this shelf and explore other genres including History, New Age, International Writers, Indian Writers, Plays & Poetry, and Children’s section. There are some interesting discoveries I make, but most of the titles are well known.
Since the store opened just ten minutes ago, the floor is still being cleaned in a corner. The staff is busy setting up some of the misplaced books from last night. I see a manager’s cabin at the far end. I feel tempted to walk in and meet the manager. I want to ask him a lot of questions. How did Oxford manage to survive for 100 years? How was it back in 1920? Did Tagore visit this store? Which other writers have been here? Are they organizing a centenary celebration? Do they feel threatened by online businesses? Is the story from 1970s about Oxford being used to share hidden messages in its books during the Naxalite rising true?
Interviewing the manager is obviously off the plan due to lack of time. The clock in my head ticks faster now and I still need to pick a book. My wife has already picked one (along with a cute bookmark for me). I walk back to the Translations shelf and after a few minutes of confusion followed by hesitation, because I want the book I buy from here to be memorable, I pick up ‘Rereading Tagore’ by Amiya Dev.
At the billing counter, the cashier hands us complimentary bookmarks - black and red in color with the letters Oxford neatly labeled on them - that I gladly accept, knowing they’ll be part of my proud collection henceforth.
We step out of the bookstore and hassle to get a cab because of the one-way. We reach the hotel later than expected and by the time we check-out and proceed to the airport, we’re delayed by 15 min as per plan. Thanks to web check-in service, we’re assured we won’t miss our flight. Once we complete the boarding at the airport and settle near the departure gate, I sigh with relief.
The joy of exploring Kolkata - first without a plan, and later with a plan that tossed with time - leaves us with so many memories! I quietly add yet another bookstore to my list of most loved/emotionally connected bookshops. Maybe I should someday organize a trip across the most memorable book shops in the world. (Tripoto, are you listening? If you are, please add Shakespeare & Company from Paris to the list.)