Coal-ka-ta
This capital city of West Bengal, is beyond doubt the most populous city of the world! A nightmare to travel within. If one Cadell Road in Mumbai was not enough to be one way at odd hours of the day, Kolkata has several hundreds of em'. Enough to confuse me and I can proudly confess that I lost my way.
This reminds me of what some wise man once said, "Did you ever walk into a room and forget why you walked in? I think that's how dogs spend their lives. " I guess, in the city of Kolkata, I can say the same for the poor tourists who are taken for a ride by the cabbies. A distance of merely 100m which can be covered on foot within 5 min, takes a good hour long in a cab if the road is one-way in the wrong direction.
"The city of joy", as they call it, seemed to be full of friendly people all around. However, while most were willing to help, but very few able. I won't say the place is full of nicest of people on the planet, but the people whom I really enjoyed interacting there were the non-bengalis (sorry guys). I dunno if it was destined to be that way, but nonetheless, they were.
The tram took me a good century back down the memory lane (I didn't experience that in Mumbai, but have been hearing and reading a lot about it from the privileged lot of people who did get to be a part of the history way back in the 60's) and the Metro took me a good decade ahead. Worth every penny... ahem..... or rather shall I say paisa, that I spent there. The maintenance and upkeep is just remarkable.
Somethings which have an indelible impact on me are
The stay at the Park was one of the finest ever, supposedly the best five star hotel in the city but left a lot to be desired in terms of peace and tranquility, due to the on going renovation. So also the rooms lacked basics, which I considered of utmost importance, like sound proofing and vanity counter in the bath. Come on guys, five star deluxe is it?
Lindsay Street is a scary little street which reminds me of the Mirchi Gallie or Zaveri Bazaar, Bhuleshwar and the likes in Mumbai. Dingy place with tiny shops selling every lifestyle and clothing accessories that you can think about. Bought my pairs of essentials from there. Memorable hunting ground. Especially so past the 8pm mark.
The city is always bustling with people at the Malls and the Multiplexes. Dunno where so many people come from or where do they stay. This ain't the floating population, nor are the locals. No car parking space even with a capacity of 1400 cars for a mall. Thats' huge traffic and I must say big business. The City Center sure was rocking. But better still was the Forum, for the crowd of course... did you think I went shopping in a mall in Kolkata? Please... last place to look out for .. and go shopping is a Mall. 22 Camac street brought back the feeling of the High Street at Lower Parel, the only difference being the building at Camac Street is much much more impressive with the grand metal entrance.
Marwaris? I guess they are the only truly national race in India. You keep a finger on the map of India and you find this community trading something in that part of the country. Woah. Thus worth a special mention here. They are spread all over the city. Can't miss them in this city can you. Two distinct ways of dressing, both of which can be easily noticed and both of them unique in their own way.
A drive on the Howrah Bridge and the Vidya Sagar Setu. Great fun. Cherish every moment I spent driving past by. A feeling best experienced. Can not be shared.
The premier show of Bow Barracks Forever, with the movie crew, actors, director, producers et al, was made all the more memorable with live performace by the lady Utthup. Hats off to that lady. What a voice! Wow. Got to see the new budding sen-sation close and upfront, wasn't Sen tho' - a Pal. Some unnecessary raunchy scenes made that movie a bit difficult to digest. Otherwise it was worth the time spent.
Good acquaintances, great people, caring-sharing attitude, that's what makes the city so special, and probably makes people refer to as the city of joy. I don't know whether I would return to this city, but sure would love to be there on a leisure trip for a couple of days (no more, no less).
This reminds me of what some wise man once said, "Did you ever walk into a room and forget why you walked in? I think that's how dogs spend their lives. " I guess, in the city of Kolkata, I can say the same for the poor tourists who are taken for a ride by the cabbies. A distance of merely 100m which can be covered on foot within 5 min, takes a good hour long in a cab if the road is one-way in the wrong direction.
"The city of joy", as they call it, seemed to be full of friendly people all around. However, while most were willing to help, but very few able. I won't say the place is full of nicest of people on the planet, but the people whom I really enjoyed interacting there were the non-bengalis (sorry guys). I dunno if it was destined to be that way, but nonetheless, they were.
The tram took me a good century back down the memory lane (I didn't experience that in Mumbai, but have been hearing and reading a lot about it from the privileged lot of people who did get to be a part of the history way back in the 60's) and the Metro took me a good decade ahead. Worth every penny... ahem..... or rather shall I say paisa, that I spent there. The maintenance and upkeep is just remarkable.
Somethings which have an indelible impact on me are
- Shoe polish by the roadside - a Bihari in his traditional Bangladeshi lungi, who ensured that my shoes sparkled, put in his heart and soul, blood and sweat for a mere 10 bucks. That's bread and butter for him tho'. Now I guess I shall feel cheated for all my money in Mumbai by those shoe-shine lads at the railway station. The sheen lasted for the entire week. The poor guy didn't realise he is killing his own business. I guess he needs to learn a lesson or two or better still watch out for some Chinese who might soon take over his business, by doing a shoddy job at one fifth the price. Also, I wonder why one never finds the locals shining the shoes. Hard to find a Maharashtrian do that in Mumbai.
- Bar-b-q and Peter Cat. Restaurants. Old. Rustic. Good food. Poor ambience. Good crowd. Cheap. I like it. Prefer it over the thakela coffee outlets.
- Park Street - for all the happening food and drink outlets, so also for the touts and peddlers of all sorts. Aisa kya hai jo park street mein nahi milta? You ask for it and you shall have it in minutes. Well for the moment, I am talking about books and memorabilia, don't get any ideas. (I didn't find any medicines here, wine shops open pretty early tho')
- K. C. Das, the Rasgulla factory. Naah, its a signature restaurant. Serves only mithai and chenna sweets, along with the Kachori (they were jeera puris according to me) and samosas with sweeeeeeeeet chutney. For a moment I thought I was lost in Gujarat.
- Victoria - magnificent structure, wonder what's there within - museum huh?. Need to see that on my next trip.
The stay at the Park was one of the finest ever, supposedly the best five star hotel in the city but left a lot to be desired in terms of peace and tranquility, due to the on going renovation. So also the rooms lacked basics, which I considered of utmost importance, like sound proofing and vanity counter in the bath. Come on guys, five star deluxe is it?
Lindsay Street is a scary little street which reminds me of the Mirchi Gallie or Zaveri Bazaar, Bhuleshwar and the likes in Mumbai. Dingy place with tiny shops selling every lifestyle and clothing accessories that you can think about. Bought my pairs of essentials from there. Memorable hunting ground. Especially so past the 8pm mark.
The city is always bustling with people at the Malls and the Multiplexes. Dunno where so many people come from or where do they stay. This ain't the floating population, nor are the locals. No car parking space even with a capacity of 1400 cars for a mall. Thats' huge traffic and I must say big business. The City Center sure was rocking. But better still was the Forum, for the crowd of course... did you think I went shopping in a mall in Kolkata? Please... last place to look out for .. and go shopping is a Mall. 22 Camac street brought back the feeling of the High Street at Lower Parel, the only difference being the building at Camac Street is much much more impressive with the grand metal entrance.
Marwaris? I guess they are the only truly national race in India. You keep a finger on the map of India and you find this community trading something in that part of the country. Woah. Thus worth a special mention here. They are spread all over the city. Can't miss them in this city can you. Two distinct ways of dressing, both of which can be easily noticed and both of them unique in their own way.
A drive on the Howrah Bridge and the Vidya Sagar Setu. Great fun. Cherish every moment I spent driving past by. A feeling best experienced. Can not be shared.
The premier show of Bow Barracks Forever, with the movie crew, actors, director, producers et al, was made all the more memorable with live performace by the lady Utthup. Hats off to that lady. What a voice! Wow. Got to see the new budding sen-sation close and upfront, wasn't Sen tho' - a Pal. Some unnecessary raunchy scenes made that movie a bit difficult to digest. Otherwise it was worth the time spent.
Good acquaintances, great people, caring-sharing attitude, that's what makes the city so special, and probably makes people refer to as the city of joy. I don't know whether I would return to this city, but sure would love to be there on a leisure trip for a couple of days (no more, no less).
posted by Aniket | 6:27 pm
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