2023: THIS IS STILL ONE OF MY FAV POSTS :)
Thought of starting my blog with something about which I need not think much.
Calcutta, although being a metropolitan city has been looked down upon by a lot of people. When compared to Mumbai or Delhi, its obviously much less developed but its surely not a city which should bring a frown on your face. Its just negative biasness that many people have about this city.
Agreed that because of a few leaders, there have been a big hue and cry over certain issues off late which just deteriorates the image of Calcutta, but that does not give anyone a licence to generalize it as an unpreferred destination for residential and industrial purposes.
As the famous saying goes about this city, "Either you love Calcutta or you hate it, you just cannot ignore it". This very statement should ring a bell in one's mind. Now let me start with my views about this city. I have travelled a lot in India but have not found a city like Calcutta. Its unique, it runs in its own lethargic way, it has still not lost its old-city charm.
If India is considered to be a diverse land, Calcutta is the culmination of diversity. There is diversity in everything. On one hand, it is the least expensive metro city if one chooses to while on the other, it has come up with India's biggest mall (South City Mall). There are well planned places like Salt Lake and Rajarhat where the real-estate prices are at par with those in Mumbai and Bangalore and there are places which are cheaper than the cheapest areas of any of the other 5 metros. An article in Telegraph talked about how one can gradually go back in time if he just takes the route from South Kolkata to North Calcutta. To illustrate how poor and rich, both are an integral part of this self-sustainable model, I would like to talk about the transport facilities available inside Calcutta. The rail services include Locals (inside and around Calcutta), Underground Metros, the age old Trams; roadways include the very famous yellow taxis, autorickshaws, buses, mini-buses, normal rickshaws, hand-pulled rickshaws, Tanga-rides; waterways consist of small boats, Ferries. My point here is that there is a different feeling altogether when one gets to be a part of Calcutta. There is a lot one can experience in this lovely city.
There is a great beauty in simplicity. The smallest of sweet shops in Calcutta serve the best "Sondesh" in the country. The roadside tea served in "Kullad" which costs you Rs 1.50 will just make you feel "WOW" and if its evening time, you just cant afford to miss the special tea which includes ginger and cardamom, but alas costs you 50 paise more !!!!!!! Most parts of the city will give this oldish and a lazy first impression but then, you will understand the real essense of the first sentence of this para.
This city has preserved its culture which is visible in everyday life. I would just like to mention a certain aspect of culture, i.e. sports. Its a crazy city when it comes to Football and Cricket. I consider myself unlucky to have not watched any live football match in the Salt Lake Stadium. But, I have experienced Eden Gardens, live and animated to the maximum. Just imagine a full house of cricket-crazy junta in a jam-packed stadium which has the largest capacity in the entire world. To add on that, imagine Shah Rukh Khan cheering his KKR team dreassed in all black and golden. Further, imagine speakers all round the stadium which plays the KKR song "Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo Re". Scintillating !!!!!!!!!!
Ok, moving forward, lets take a look at the options for weekend masti. Being a metro, the city is full of malls, pool-bowling joints, some of the best water-parks in the country, movie multiplexes, food-joints esp those around Park Street; and if you choose not to spend more, please do not get disheartened. Just take a ferry ride in the evening, or a couple of hours in parks in front of Victoria, a tanga-ride round the same area, a visit to Dakshineswari temple, or just spend some time in City Centre. You can woo at those who spend on the routine masti stuff which you can find in any other metro. But hey, you cant win over late night party animals. The discs start late at night, after 12 and goes round till 3:30-4:00, just go there with your friends (if you dont have a gf) and have a blast.
Well people, this city is much more than I have tried to mention here. Its a typical city. You will always find people fighting for 50 paisa, some unforeseen rain causing flood and bringing the city to a standstill, some celebrity and band performances, people waiting and preparing for Dusshehra, some real HOT girl with one of those chamanest guys (which actually gives a lot of confidence to me ;)), some really irritating and money-sucking house-owners and you can always estimate India's population by standing at Howrah station.
Personally, I have spend some of the best times of my life here. Will always have a soft corner for Calcutta and thus, this was an attempt to show a better part of the city to those who havent ever visited this place and still dislike it !!!!!!!!
Thought of starting my blog with something about which I need not think much.
Calcutta, although being a metropolitan city has been looked down upon by a lot of people. When compared to Mumbai or Delhi, its obviously much less developed but its surely not a city which should bring a frown on your face. Its just negative biasness that many people have about this city.
Agreed that because of a few leaders, there have been a big hue and cry over certain issues off late which just deteriorates the image of Calcutta, but that does not give anyone a licence to generalize it as an unpreferred destination for residential and industrial purposes.
As the famous saying goes about this city, "Either you love Calcutta or you hate it, you just cannot ignore it". This very statement should ring a bell in one's mind. Now let me start with my views about this city. I have travelled a lot in India but have not found a city like Calcutta. Its unique, it runs in its own lethargic way, it has still not lost its old-city charm.
If India is considered to be a diverse land, Calcutta is the culmination of diversity. There is diversity in everything. On one hand, it is the least expensive metro city if one chooses to while on the other, it has come up with India's biggest mall (South City Mall). There are well planned places like Salt Lake and Rajarhat where the real-estate prices are at par with those in Mumbai and Bangalore and there are places which are cheaper than the cheapest areas of any of the other 5 metros. An article in Telegraph talked about how one can gradually go back in time if he just takes the route from South Kolkata to North Calcutta. To illustrate how poor and rich, both are an integral part of this self-sustainable model, I would like to talk about the transport facilities available inside Calcutta. The rail services include Locals (inside and around Calcutta), Underground Metros, the age old Trams; roadways include the very famous yellow taxis, autorickshaws, buses, mini-buses, normal rickshaws, hand-pulled rickshaws, Tanga-rides; waterways consist of small boats, Ferries. My point here is that there is a different feeling altogether when one gets to be a part of Calcutta. There is a lot one can experience in this lovely city.
There is a great beauty in simplicity. The smallest of sweet shops in Calcutta serve the best "Sondesh" in the country. The roadside tea served in "Kullad" which costs you Rs 1.50 will just make you feel "WOW" and if its evening time, you just cant afford to miss the special tea which includes ginger and cardamom, but alas costs you 50 paise more !!!!!!! Most parts of the city will give this oldish and a lazy first impression but then, you will understand the real essense of the first sentence of this para.
This city has preserved its culture which is visible in everyday life. I would just like to mention a certain aspect of culture, i.e. sports. Its a crazy city when it comes to Football and Cricket. I consider myself unlucky to have not watched any live football match in the Salt Lake Stadium. But, I have experienced Eden Gardens, live and animated to the maximum. Just imagine a full house of cricket-crazy junta in a jam-packed stadium which has the largest capacity in the entire world. To add on that, imagine Shah Rukh Khan cheering his KKR team dreassed in all black and golden. Further, imagine speakers all round the stadium which plays the KKR song "Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo Re". Scintillating !!!!!!!!!!
Ok, moving forward, lets take a look at the options for weekend masti. Being a metro, the city is full of malls, pool-bowling joints, some of the best water-parks in the country, movie multiplexes, food-joints esp those around Park Street; and if you choose not to spend more, please do not get disheartened. Just take a ferry ride in the evening, or a couple of hours in parks in front of Victoria, a tanga-ride round the same area, a visit to Dakshineswari temple, or just spend some time in City Centre. You can woo at those who spend on the routine masti stuff which you can find in any other metro. But hey, you cant win over late night party animals. The discs start late at night, after 12 and goes round till 3:30-4:00, just go there with your friends (if you dont have a gf) and have a blast.
Well people, this city is much more than I have tried to mention here. Its a typical city. You will always find people fighting for 50 paisa, some unforeseen rain causing flood and bringing the city to a standstill, some celebrity and band performances, people waiting and preparing for Dusshehra, some real HOT girl with one of those chamanest guys (which actually gives a lot of confidence to me ;)), some really irritating and money-sucking house-owners and you can always estimate India's population by standing at Howrah station.
Personally, I have spend some of the best times of my life here. Will always have a soft corner for Calcutta and thus, this was an attempt to show a better part of the city to those who havent ever visited this place and still dislike it !!!!!!!!
Well Rahul..nice to see ur blog...nd wat a post to strt with..the city of JOY..KOLKATA..or rather I can proudly say my kolkata...Watevr u said is absolutly correct..ppl tend to form an image of kolkata just by news dey hear or the way d politicians behave dere...bt let me say u have to live in kolkata to feel it...to feel its beauty... d city of Tagore,Netaji,Vivekanand,Satyajit Ray, Amartya Sen,our own Mihtunda,our own DADA..d city of ppl like u nd me...city which has ppl who r always dere to help u..if u r in a prob ppl will forget dere job nd will help u...city where ppl still njoy ADDA sessions, ppl still fight for 50p..ppl have dere own way of protesting..CHOLBE NA CHOLBE NA..d list is endless...U have to live in d city to feel it... Kolkata rocks!!!
ReplyDeleteReally a nice blog...I never knew you can so well. A few lines like 'There is a great beauty in simplicity' or 'this city is much more than I have tried to mention here' conveys a lot more than what words can just express. Overall, a good blog to read...continue writing [:)]
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised with the topic u chose for ur first blog... Kolkata lives in ur heart.... but am mesmerized by the beautiful way in which u hv described it....
ReplyDeletemust say..an extremely well written blog... it gives me all the reasons to visit ur city and experience its simplicity.... keep writing :)
@ Vivek - Well said - u need to live here to feel it :)
ReplyDelete@ Gaurav - Will surely continue writing, thanx for encouraging.
@ Penning thoughts - Thanx !!!!! Do visit "My City" sometime, will guide you from wherever I am.
Now, thts what I call Calcutta.. purely described with no biasness... i seriously think ppl shud giv it a reading before making any preconceived notions about the city. good work, Rahul... very nice description of "our kolkata".. :)
ReplyDeleteCouldnt have agreed to you in a better way as far as my small experience of 18 yrs with Kolkata goes..Starting from the 'Misti Doi' to 'Tewari Samosa'.....from 'Howrah Bridge to New Hooghly Bridge'...from a 'Boat ride in JT' to 'Tanga Ride near Victoria'....from 'Tantra' to 'Underground'....from 'New Market' to 'South City Mall'...from 'Flurys' to 'Some Place Else'....Kolkata simply rocks !! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat an entry -- you hit the ball-park with the first entry...my commendations and welcome again to blogosphere...knowing you as i do for many years and knowing also your pre (and then post)-sentiments about the city since you came and then left it the post did not come as a big surprise...what is however striking about the post is its attention to particular details (which can only come from lived experience)and the generosity of embrace of the city as the city too embraces you...nostalgia, memory, mourning are all states of mind which inevitably grip you in this city ---lest we not forget -- silting of Ganges, the shifting of the capital of British India, partition Bengal and droves of people and staging of protests...a history which burdens the city and gives the sadly beautiful quality...maybe you will address these matters in your future posts
ReplyDeletegr8 one dada... felt like i was reading myself. I agree calcutta has got a lot of negative press sometimes justified, but calcutta is an awesome place. The kind of colors it offers will put a rainbow to shame. I stayed there for two years and i loved many thing there hated some but in all had a gr8 time. I have experienced all the good things that uve written abt in ur blog. In all Calcutta Rocks!!! Where else can u find rabindra sangeet go hand in hand with bass guitar?
ReplyDeleteKi Thik bollam to dada?
Money sucking house owners ! Lol! Agreed , I also had some of the best times in my life in Kolkata. They city has its own charm and disgust. It’s all about how, where and with whom you spend your time in the city matters. How did you forget the special chowmein we get in the markets, rosgollas. You can go back in time only in Kolkata!
ReplyDeleteIts all still so fresh ...thanks Deepak !
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