Hustle bustle on the streets, shouting by hawkers at the corner of the road, Buses, Trams, hackneyed rickshaws, the yellow Ambassador Taxis coupled with the timely Metro… warm faces, happy faces, intellectual faces, artistic faces; familiar faces… it’s a trip down the Kolkata lane!
Been travelling quite a bit during my higher educational tenure and work time… Hyderabad to Pune to Mumbai to Delhi to Gurgaon… probably another few more to add on to the list. But coming back every time to Kolkata gives a wonderful feeling, surely because it being the hometown. Pune tops my chart of a favorite place but Kolkata remains a close near only losing out only on the career opportunity front. Hope the people responsible for the talent siphoning are rendering their concerned listening ears. Kolkata has its own charm, more because of the kind hearted warm people and the cultural trigger. The city of Joy has changed a lot during the last 4 years; it’s got a lot better than before compared to the big cities in India. Only that the pace of life is slow if business is concerned or as they call laid-back.
Staying few months in Delhi didn’t quite land me up with very good experiences. To start it up, the PG aunty of Vasant Kunj tops it with her unruly, cynic like and business-minded behavior. We unanimously dislike her. Only the place seems to be better than other viable available options in that city. Next in line is the super arrogant crowd especially in the DTC buses. They are indeed a treat on Delhi roads. Thirdly the auto drivers, who never go by the meter, pass comments without any reason and think themselves the king of the roads. The roads are well made but I find them very dimly lit. All this probably makes the Rajdhani the hub of show, non-safety and arrogance. It’s good to have a car in Delhi only if you get decent parking space or are safe from being towed. You’ll not find such instances in Kolkata. One wont find good made roads, there is unorganized traffic but surely people are more than willing to help; living is damn cheap (one still gets flavored warm tea at Rs 1.50p, an auto ride of 5kms at Rs. 5 and Bus travel at Rs.6), city is well lit up and has preserved its natural beauty…
Visit Kolkata during the Durga Puja one is sure to get surprised with the artistic vent. The familiar sweets like rosogollas, sandesh, mishti doi are all time favorites. The ‘golgappas’ or ‘pani puris’ known as ‘fuchkas’ taste the best here. Nothing like the Bengal handloom cotton saris or other variety of saris that is available. One won’t find a mud house, a pond or a river flowing past very often in big cities, but you’ll find one in Kolkata. It is the land of communism, of sage and spirituality, of intellectuality and culture. Bengal smells traditional in modern times.
Though the city doesn’t have the best of the worlds, but it lives on its uniqueness and still survives in the hearts of all the Bengalis worldwide…
