We lived in Kolkata and the east for almost three years. I know the city reasonably well. Therefore, watching the recent fire on TV was painful.
"On March 23 2010, in Kolkata, the blaze that swept through three floors of a 150-year-old multi-storeyed building here claimed at least 16 lives with fire brigade personnel recovering 10 charred bodies from the sixth floor of the ill-fated structure late tonight, officials said...
..."It's not possible to say whether they were male or female. They were charred beyond recognition," they said..."
B S Mardhekar (बा.सी.मर्ढेकर) wrote
"...
पहा विचारुनि त्यांना कसली
मैथुनांत रे असते झिंग;
दाखवितिल ते भोंक रिकामें
जिथें असावें मांसल लिंग.
..."
[Poem no 56 from 'Kanhee Kavita' (कांही कविता)]
(Ask them what high
exists in copulation;
they will show an empty hole
where once was a fleshy penis)
