My first experience with a live band was in 1967 at Mad House in Park Hotel (Swinging ’60s at Trincas, May 10). The band playing was The Hurricanes. After six months, another band called The Flintstones came along. In my opinion, they are the best band to play on Park Street. Their rendition of “There’s a kind of hush”, “I’m not your stepping stone”, “Happy together” and “The letter” were almost as good as originals. They also played lots of Beatles.

Fans consisted of 90 per cent Anglo-Indians. There used to be only 4-5 Bengis (the Anglo-Indian term for bheto Bengalis like myself). After a year, Flintstones moved to the ground floor of Trincas, which was only as big as the floor of Mad House. The fans followed the band, making Trincas nearly burst at the seams. There was a lot of pushing, shoving and nudging on the floor. There were also fantastic dancers like Don, David and Linda, the added attraction at Flintstones’ live gigs.

After a few months at Trincas, Claton Saunders and Rhett May left the band for Australia. Noel Martin (rhythm guitar, vocals) joined and Eddie took over as the lead singer. The band became more mature and musically superb. The Bengi fans included Gautam Chatterjee, who was also playing there with another band, The Urge.

Trincas was like a shrine of rock ’n’ roll. In 1967-74, I saw bands from all over India, like The Combustibles, The Savages, The Lightnings, The Playboys, The Trojans, Fentones, The Spartans, Je Liners, Raja Andrews as well as our very own Cavaliers, Psychedelics, The Urge and Black Cactus in Trincas, but nobody could match the magic of The Flintstones. They reigned till 1972.

After 1972, the band’s popularity and also that of other live bands waned because of two reasons: anglo-Indians were leaving Calcutta and the popularity of the first discotheque in Calcutta, In & Out in Park Hotel. For a cover charge of merely Rs 10, patrons could hear DJs play the celestial music of Jethro Tull, ELP, Yes and Grateful Dead. These records were hardly heard in Calcutta then. No one would any longer pay to hear the cover versions.

Gautam Banerjee,
Deshpran Sasmal Road

Kudos for the report “People stop racing buses”, May 19. When buses plying on different routes start racing each other for more passengers, mishaps are inevitable. One such mishap, only a month before the reported incident, claimed 20 people as a private bus plunged into Bagjola Canal. But the mishap seems to have had little effect on the administration. Without a crackdown by the police, buses will continue to flout road rules.

B.N. Bose,
Dum Dum

Misbehaviour by bus conductors is common in Calcutta. I’ve been subjected to such behaviour numerous times. But pushing a physically challenged passenger off a moving bus is unpardonable (People punish bus bully, May 22).

The administration has failed miserably to control unruly bus drivers and conductors. But people should desist from taking law into their own hands. Mob violence cannot be tolerated in a civilised society.

P.B. Saha,
Arlington, Texas, US

Mob justice

Apropos the report “Youth seeks water, gets death”, May 17, it is shocking that a youth suffering from tuberculosis was killed by a group of youths after he asked a homemaker for a glass of water. The police should arrest the youths and the homemaker who “mistook” the ailing youth for a thief in broad daylight.

Prahlad Agarwala,
Majdia, Nadia

Apropos the report “Axe on pedestrian bridges”, May 16, I have no doubt that the mini flyovers will soon leave pedestrians at the mercy of speeding cars. Having had some experience of driving in New York and the German autobahn, I find that car drivers in Calcutta have scant respect for pedestrians. All our traffic laws are also geared to appease the car drivers.

The footbridges, once abandoned, will be a haven for anti-socials. They are not used because climbing up the stairs is exhausting. Not many of us, especially senior citizens, are physically capable of doing so. I would like to suggest that the authorities build escalators for the footbridges. To bring down the project cost, only escalators for climbing up can be installed.

Kalyan Kumar Ghose,
Bangur Avenue

Clarification

In “Pocket Pinch”, June 8, my statement has been misrepresented. This has caused me embarrassment. Asked if inflation had affected me, I said it had. I used to take taxis frequently but I no longer do so. I would also go clubbing a lot but now I have cut down on that.

I mentioned that I do the grocery shopping for my family. My father gives me money at the beginning of the week and I do the marketing. I am aware of the prices of rice, lentils, potatoes, etc. Doesn’t this mean contributing to the family? Maybe not in cash, but definitely in kind.

I have been working for a few years, so gradually my standard of living has gone up. If I’m not wrong, most people in my age group whose parents are still working don’t really “contribute to the family income”. I do my bit to help in running the household, and that is definitely contributing to the family.

The quote attributed to me makes me sound like a carefree teenager. I am a schoolteacher and have responsibilities. If my students read this, it will have an adverse influence on them. Who will take responsibility for that?

Madhurima Mukhopadhyay,
Batanagar

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