Kolkata

If we go by history, the city of Calcutta, which served as a base for the British for ages, was initially a cluster of three villages of Bengal-Sutanati, Govindpur and Kolikata. Needless to say, most of the initial development of this place as a lavish hub of major industries and posh colonies was done by them. Quite like Bombay, people dared not step into the huge world of the British here. Today, it is again special but in a slightly different way.

It is mentioned in the same breath with the likes of Delhi and Mumbai, but nowadays the 'Kolkata' has a sad story to tell. It tells us about the change in government about three decades ago, which has gradually made it cease to live up to its earlier reputation. Depleting economy and work culture has stagnated the growth, what with the lack of industries ensuring that the city has not much developed over these thirty years. Falling victim to pot-holes on the road during monsoons are as common as having eggs during breafast; century-old trams are more than a menace, as it totally disrupts the traffic, which is a famous, non-solvable problem. That is because roads in Kolkata cover only 2% of the area of the city as compared to 25-30% in other cities - and as such you will find extremely narrow, dingy and dirty roads proudly serving as major thoroughfares. Old British-age artistic structures are a treat to watch, but you are not sure when they would actually collapse and fall on you head. And the people? Well, they have a sense of pride over the 'preservation of heritage' such as this. Kolkata does not attract the elites or the youth anymore. In this magnificent place the worker-class rule the roost, so do not try to get into any trouble with them. Dharnas and hunger strikes keep on taking place throughout the year to make it a menace for the rare workaholics. And yet, we find loads and loads of references to this amazing place by numerous people as being a city to fall in love with.

It is because of the minute aspect of our lives called culture, the emotions attached to this and the love and righteousness of people. The magnificence of a place is defined by its people, and even though there is a definite lack of economically related progress here, public here has ensured that its heart is as pure as Gold. Plus the fact that this city remains the proud 'Cultural capital of India' by far would make the common man value this region as no other. It is a pity to realise that there are Lata Mangeshkars and M.F.Hussains hidden in every nook and corner of those dingy streets, with their economic background ensuring they never get the platform to give vent to the talent to make it useful. You would find the best of portrait-makers begging people in major fairs in the city to show their abilities at peanuts. Yes, there is a stampede here and the shun of arts in our money-making corporate world has ensured that there is no place for them. But they are proud of this-again! No matter what the gravity of situation is - they would never stop pursuing their passion for they believe arts leads to spirituality. Don't you think that this is actually a refreshing change from the world we live in? When you realise this, primitive factors like lack of economic improvement do not matter much.

I, myself as a person would definitely love to be a part of this culture, as well as ensure that I do my bit for the missing factors. It is an irony, but God-willing, it is going to change for the better soon.