I have left Kolkata in 2005 to cater first to my academic commitments and then to my professional commitments. During this time I have stayed in Delhi for 2 years, been to Mumbai about 3 times for a month or so, spent six weeks in Pune and currently staying in Bangalore for the past 3 years. However, the rate of modernisation that I have witnessed in all the cities above has been quite a few notches above my sweet little hometown, Kolkata. I would say that on current basis, Kolkata is still 3 years behind Mumbai and Delhi in terms of being state-of-the-art.
The trams, Victoria Memorial, New Market, Jorasanko Thakurbari (the residence of the Tagores), Monument (Shahid Minar), Coffee House, Presidency College, hand-pulled rickshaws, Durga Puja in “bonedi” (traditional orthodox Bengali families, especially in the northern areas of the city) households like the Sovabazar Rajbari, and the streets in the northern and central parts of the city may not be the most tech-savvy sights to behold, but they fill you with a sense of charm and aura. Five star hotels like the Oberoi Grand, the General Post Office (GPO) and the St Pauls Cathedral with traditional oriental architecture still stand tall in the heart of the city. Whenever you walk through the streets of Shyambazar, Hatibagan, Baghbazar, Bowbazar, Sealdah, Bidhan Sarani and adjoining areas you would not get a feeling that you are in the 3rd largest metro-city in India.
It is not that there are no malls, flyovers or pubs in Kolkata, but when you step into Kolkata, you get a feeling of the old British-India in most things you observe. The southern and eastern parts of the city has been quite developed for the past decade or so, with multiple flyovers, Forum, South City and City Centre Malls, 5 star hotels like ITC Sonar and The Park, a software city (Sector V in SaltLake), the various expressways like Kona and Belghoria, and the IIM Joka campus, but I get a feeling that the charm of the city still lies in its heritage and roots.
It is still the cultural capital of India with its appreciation for Rabindra Sangeet (Tagore Songs) and Indian Classical music, and you would feel it if you happen to stay there around “Pochishe Boishakh” (Tagore’s birthday, typically on the 8th of May). However, I must say that in spite of having stayed in all “modern” and “developed” 21st century metro cities in India, I still love Kolkata which is rich with its cultural and architectural heritage, and crave to get back there. Long live Heritage Kolkata.
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