The City of Joy

Calcutta aka Kolkata, always makes me feel nostalgic not only because of the fact that it’s my hometown but it has an irresistible appeal and magic in itself. Sometime it’s indeed makes me proud that I was born in a city that, over the years has given birth to some of the all-time great world-famous personalities like; Rabindranath Tagore, Subhas Bose, Satyajit Ray, Sourav Ganguly and several others. But beside that I also agree with many of my friends who often complain about the city’s innumerable problems, dingy-smoky-polluted-traffic etc.; but still it makes you fall in love with the city. Once the center of all sorts of educational and cultural activities, Calcutta had undergone many political crisis and economic stagnation after India’s independence; but for the last 5-6 years, it has slowly started changing. Whenever I’ve compared Calcutta with the other major cities of India, I’ve always felt that it still remains the finest amalgamation of old-traditions along with every possible amenities of a furnished modern-day metro.

The slow-paced lifestyle of the city can make you bit annoyed at times but for any adventure-lover, Calcutta is always a sheer joy. The age-old Howrah-Bridge still carries the British legacy. Some of the places in Calcutta that holds a great amount of historic-values are: BBD Bagh, GPO, The Reserve Bank, The Raj Bhabhan, famous Eden Garden, Esplanade, Fort William and last but not the least, the one and only Victoria Memorial (a splendid work of marble-architecture). Till late-evening you will find the pair of lovers hanging out in this famous place. National Library is another jewel in Kolkata’s cultural kaleidoscope. If you wanna chill-out with your friends & mates with peg of wine/beer, then Park Street is the place for you my friends. Like many of the places in Bombay, this place too never slips.

Although there is a belief that Bengalese only loves culture & agriculture, I can’t agree with it totally. Though the city has been marked over the years as the ‘city of bandhs’ due to the political-tactics of left-rules for the past 3 decades, today I do feel beleaguered to visit the IT-hubs of Calcutta besides seeing the uncountable shopping malls that gives a hard-run for cities like Delhi or Mumbai. But before wrapping it up I must say that one quality which sets this city apart from the rest is the spirit of the Kolkatans. In spite of several problems, they will politely greet you by asking ‘valo achen to?’ (Are you fine?)
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