Astrologers ,Palace Hotel and a lost world

Their pictures are everywhere. Vernacular newspapers devote prime pages in advertising their skills. They appear daily on exclusive slots in local Television channels. Leading jewellery shops have them on their panels .They are visible on people’s fingers, in armlets, in necklaces and other parts of the body. They are Kolkata’s band of astrologers and soothsayers. Some of them are millionaires and fixing an appointment with them is not easy. The waiting period can stretch for weeks .It can be worse than seeing a popular medical specialist. One of my ex-colleagues visited a popular astrologer who charged a healthy sum for each question. She had paid for three questions. She realised over a period of time that all the replies were fake. However that did not deter her from trying other astrologers. One of the officials of a local bank I visit, displays over ten rings on his fingers. The stones adorning the rings have all been prescribed by astrologers to ward of various evils and ill omen. I wonder how he manages to carry on other essential activities including eating his daily meals. Astrologers conduct daily shows on television channels where people can talk to them live over the phone. Hundreds call them seeking solutions for all sorts of problems. In spite of periodic attempts by scientific and rationalists associations to educate people to adopt a more rational approach to living the astrologers are an ever growing and prosperous tribe and keep thriving by creating more confusion in already confused minds.



Like family physicians we have family astrologers who usually are pretty powerful with steady group of followers. Shyambabu was one such person who lived in a dingy lodge in Sealdah which was strangely called Palace Hotel. In times when cab rides used to cost as low as 60paise but a princely sum for those times ,Shyambabu always rode cabs as a demonstration of his social status. He lived in a single room in the lodge his entire working life. A bachelor who had come to Calcutta during partition of Bengal , he made a living by practising astrology. He was a family acquaintance and we used to visit him quite often and he also made it a point to come and meet us at our place once in a while. His room was full of French perfumes gifted to him by rich clients. He had special masseurs who rubbed his body with oil before his daily bath and with Cuticura talcum powder after bath. As kids our attraction was to try the 777 eau de cologne on his dressing table .He invariably ordered rasagolla, toast and omelette for us served by the two faithful attendants of the lodge Nirmal and Paresh who were part of the magical world of Palace Hotel. Rich business families used to take him to their homes for consultation. Shyambabu used to scribble some numbers on his notepad every morning. He could accurately predict the number of persons who would come to see him every day. It was uncanny that the numbers always tallied. His numerous prophecies were legendary in our family circles. We were too small to understand the gravity of such things. For us the charm of visiting Palace Hotel with its mysterious rooms, visitors and boarders was a much greater attraction .Shyam Babu was not a professional like todays soothsayers. He never quoted any price for consultation. Since he was a family friend he was more likely an elderly advisor to our families than an astrologer. In his last days he remained completely confined in his room in the lodge and did not allow any visitors inside.We were told that he was attacked by evil spirits and he did not want other people to be affected by the spirits. The two faithful attendants were with him till his last days.


Now whenever I travel over the Sealdah flyover which was constructed later I am reminded of those dreamlike days . I am not sure whether the lodge still exists though Google does show its existence.