46 p10 essays sananda chatterjee

8/8/2019 46 P10 Essays Sananda Chatterjee

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o http://calcuttans.com/palki

Boxing Day, 2009: A day out

his past Boxing Day, we ended up making a trip to Lake Whakamarino1

(pronounced Fa-ka-marino), adjacent to the small town of Tuai, in Hawkes

Bay, North Island of New Zealand.

Honestly speaking, I was looking forward to getting away from (the lack of)

stuff (!), as well as stuffy Auckland. We had been pre-warned about cell phone

reception, and so I was expecting serenity, peace and quiet, like Turangi2

perhaps, like

the blink-and-miss town centre, or like one of those tiny towns that we drive

through/pass by on SH13.

THIS, my dears, was NOTHING

like it. Almost 90km gravel road

through the Te Urewera4 National Park(picturesque but tedious) and one

airless left front car tyre later, we

reached there at 4pm Christmas Day.

Prime Maori5

land, I was told. They live

with nature, in tune with it. Of course,

mainly Maori and some mixed

population, not many Pakehas6, and no

Indians!! Gasp! What?!!! NO YOU

HEARD IT HERE FIRST... NOT ONE

LOCAL DAIRY (Mr. Patel obviously

missed a spot; hope he's listening!!).

The closest town, Wairoa7

of Hawkes

Bay, is some 55km away. Really! That

was my very first quiet life experience.

It was awesome.

Back to Boxing Day. Sayanti

(after a fair bit of convincing) and Itook mums precious picnic mats out

(which Im now being told that I folded

wrongly and have therefore ruined

T

Sananda Chatterjee


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them love you mum), and just rested

on the shores of Lake Whakamarino.

Cool breeze from the tiny lake

(glorified pond really, add some

drainage) was making me rather

sleepy on them damn mats. Lake

Whakamarino, by the way, is man-made, and so has a wall running along

the side of the lodge with perfectly

angled sides. Te Urewera surrounds it

on all sides; it is DIVINE. The water, so

cold, but delightfully calm, is borrowed

from Big Brother Lake Waikaremoana,

which is also stellar. It is truly an

enjoyable quiet, the silence being

broken only when the locals jump intothe freezing waters (twice in quick

succession as I was advised later) to

acclimatize their bodies to the

temperature, on a perfect, hot

summer day.

See, I was looking forward to

Napier8, which had been planned

originally (gah!). So, on the way to

Whakamarino, I could deal with thiswas what was constantly passing

through my head at that time. I have

to admit: in small doses, dead villages

in the middle of nowhere with

GRANDE natural beauty is Bliss. And

pleasing to your mind, body and soul.

Serene is the right word. And the NO

cell phone reception promise held

well, mostly, because although

Vodafone (and, therefore, also 2 Degrees) had coverage, Telecom didnt, and so

couldnt really text anyone else. It was whole three nights of cooking, lounging about

the lake, walking along the shores feeling the cool, MOST AWESOME breeze on your

face, mingling with the locals, and dipping your feet in the lake where theres some

evidence of a stone stairway into the lake (like a ghat9) because none of us scared

Bangali-r bachchas10

wanted to brave the freezing water!


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It was good, and to such priceless gems of astounding beauty, I dedicate my

badly written sher11

, To You, NZ:(Rough Editorial Translation)

Bade bade shayar

Hue honge ghayal

Yeh baharein dekhke

Hum toh kya cheez hainGhalib bhi jhukte sajde mein

Yeh baharein dekhke

Khuda zameen pe gar aaye kabhi

Toh woh bhi bas jaayega yaheen kaheen

Farishton ne bhi toh yeh ghar chuna

Yeh nazarein dekh ke...

Famous poets

Must have been mesmerized

By such vernal beauty

Who am IEven the poet, Ghalib, would lie prostrate

Seeing such vernal beauty

If the Almighty ever descends on earth

He will take up residence here somewhere

Even the Angels chose this abode

Witnessing such beauty

Over and Out.

Glossary of terms and names:

1. Tuai is a town in Hawkes Bay, adjacent to which is Lake Whakamarino, well-known for its diverse populations offish including large trout.

2. The town of Turangi, NZ, is situated on the banks of the Tongariro River, at the southern end of Lake Taupo. Turangiand its surrounding countryside offer hunting, fishing, mountain biking, hiking or bush walks, white water rafting,

kayaking, sightseeing and much more.

3. SH1 (State Highway 1) is the longest and most significant road in New Zealand road network, running the length ofboth main islands, and referred to officially as SH 1N in the North Island and SH 1S in the South Island. It runs

through the vicinity of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

4. Te Urewera, the remote, rugged and immense National Park, is located between the Bay of Plenty and Hawke's Bayin the North Island of New Zealand. It is home to Lake Waikaremoana and the smaller Lake Waikareiti.

5. The Mori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand.6. Pkeh is a Mori term for New Zealanders who are not of Mori blood lines, having predominantly descended

from European ancestry.

7. Wairoa, a town in New Zealand's North Island, is the northernmost town in the Hawke's Bay region, located on thenorthern shore of Hawkes Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River.

8. Napier is the main city of the Hawkes Bay region.9. ghat Embankment of a river.10. Bangali-r Bachcha children of Bengalis, or of Bengal.11. Sher short verses.

46 p10 essays sananda chatterjee

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