My Seven days of Journey to Kolkata (formerly Calcutta):

The City Calcutta, now Kolkata:

The city Kolkata is located on the east bank of the River Hooghly, a channel of the Ganges, about 154 km upstream from the Bay of Bengal that was the India’s largest City and once the capital (1772-1912) of British India. Kolkata assimilated European influences during British rule and that had created an amalgam culture the expression of which had found in the life and works of the 19^th century Bengali elite. Calcutta was a place of art and culture and the elite residents maintained a level of vitality and political awareness over passing the rest of the country. In short, Kolkata still remains an enigma to many Indians and also too many foreigners. It arouses an abiding nostalgia in the minds of many who have live there once.

During my short journey what I had seen is summarized as follows:

(i) The remnants of Calcutta of British Period:

(ii) The devastation of Calcutta after the fall of British India:

(iii) The rising trend of present Kolkata:

(a)  The Writers’ Building: The building is now acting as the secretariat building of the State Government of West Bengal in India where more than 6000 employee is working for routine works. It served originally as the office for writers of the British East India, hence the name. The historical fact recorded the building located on the northern shore of a water body locally called Lal Dighi was designed by Thomas Lyon in 1780 with an impressive façade of Neo-Renaissance style. A statue of Britannia atop the main entrance is kept in shinning. It is a witness of great political significance and memories of the Indian Independence movement.

(a)  The Eden Gardens:

It was established in the Dalhousie area of the City by British in 1864, which is the biggest cricket stadium in India and the second biggest stadium in the world, behind the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Its capacity is nearly a lakh. It is also the second largest stadium in India behind the Salt Lake Stadium. The first Test was held in 1934 and first ODI in 1987.

(a) The Hoogly Bridge:

It is a historic bridge over Hoogly River that connected the twin city Howrah and Kolkata (Calcutta). On 14 th June it was renamed as Rabindra Setu, after the name of Nobel Laureate, Rabindranath Tagore. It bears the weight of 1,000,000 pedestrians and traffic of approximately 80,000 vehicles daily. It is the 6^th longest hanging bridge in the world. It was one of the biggest achievements of British India in 1862. In 1937 the bridge was made a cantilever bridge which is one of the finest cantilever bridges in the world – left to India by the British Engineers.

The City Calcutta, now Kolkata:

The city Kolkata is located on the east bank of the River Hooghly, a channel of the Ganges, about 154 km upstream from the Bay of Bengal that was the India’s largest City and once the capital (1772-1912) of British India. Kolkata assimilated European influences during British rule and that had created an amalgam culture the expression of which had found in the life and works of the 19^th century Bengali elite. Calcutta was a place of art and culture and the elite residents maintained a level of vitality and political awareness over passing the rest of the country. In short, Kolkata still remains an enigma to many Indians and also too many foreigners. It arouses an abiding nostalgia in the minds of many who have live there once.

During my short journey what I had seen is summarized as follows:

(i) The remnants of Calcutta of British Period:

(ii) The devastation of Calcutta after the fall of British India:

(iii) The rising trend of present Kolkata:

(a) The Partition of India:

The Partition of India had deprived Kolkata half of its hinterland and burdened it with a vast refugee population. This has made Calcutta dead. Calcutta’s death has brought an Indian tragedy. Once the Bengali of Calcutta who led India, in ideas and idealism, are now dead, the name Bengali even to Indians, was a word of terror, conveying crows, cholera, corruption and what not. Its aesthetic impulses had not faded. There was an appealing sensibility in every corner of Bengali Hindu refugee.

(b) Mother Teresa & the Children of Refugees:

Mother Teresa, a noble laureate, was an Albanian Catholic nun. She was surprised on seeing the distress of the children of Hindu refugees of East Pakistan in Kolkata (Calcutta). She decided to become an Indian by changing her citizenship to live in India permanently to serve the refugee children. She founded the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata (Calcutta) in 1950. For long 45 years she served to her best to the poor, sick, orphaned and dying children of Kolkata till her death.

( C ) Programme For City Touring:

We made a programme for city touring. Accordingly one day at a price of Rs 200 per person we visited the City starting from 8am to 6pm. The tour included places like Belur Math, Dakhineshwar Kali Temple, Jain Temple, Tipu Sultan Mosque, Mother House, Nakhoda Masjid, St Cathedral Church, Jorasanko Tagore House, Indian Museum and Town Hall.

The Ruinous Economy is rising:

The economic structure of Kolkata was diminished almost to zero after the partition of Bengal in the formation of East Pakistan in 1947. The City struggled hard with problems of refugees, poverty, accommodation, drinking water and above all corruption everywhere in the midst of cry for survival. Feminine broke out to take the lives of thousands and lakhs. Struggle for existence continued till 1990. The City’s economic fortunes turned the tide as early as of 1990 after the policy of economic liberalization undertaken by India. Kolkata is a multicultural, cosmopolitan city which includes the people of India of diverse religion and culture also the cultures represented are that of the Europeans mainly of Germans, Americans and others and also that of other Asians.

The Rising Economy is fast rising:

Wooing of foreign investment was started since 19990. Kolkata is fast developing into a modern InfoTech city. The City structure is also fast changing with flyovers, gardens, newer commercial establishments, new residential complexes. Kolkata city is rapidly expanding to suburbs. The city’s Metro line is expanding fast but still now the commuter’s suffering is beyond description. I have sited few pictures of under ground Metro lines where I was also one of the travelers. People are expecting very soon the public sufferings will vanish. New Town of Rajarhat and Sector-V of Salt Lake is rapidly turning into a pro-IT town. All big multinational companies are coming to Kolkata to set up their offices. A good day of Kolkata is expected to submerse the long sufferings of the past.