I have been to Kolkata for couple of days business trip in this week. It was just couple of hours job on both the days so I had ample time to get around the vicinity of my hotel. Except for couple of transit stops I never had an opportunity to stay in Kolkata. Not only for the first time I got to see the city, It happened to be my farthest east trip in India and elsewhere.
The yellow taxis, trams, kali mandir, Howrah bridge(now called Rabindra setu) etc,. are my imaginations of the once most populous city in India, the city of Joy, Kolkata. The moment I got of the new spacious airport, I got a prepaid taxi to the city. The service was good and it seemed that there are no hefty charges for prepaid taxies. The moment I got out of airport, My expectations of a metropolitan city got withered away due to it uncleanliness. Dirt and garbage everywhere upset me. Kolkata deserves more. It should have been much cleaner and tidy. I wonder what Kolkata municipal corporation is up to. The prime ministers Swacch Bharath campaign should get a booster in Kolkata. But, the picture doesn’t seem rosy as the current TMC govt. in West Bengal is brushing against the centre every now and then. Unless serious steps to keep city are taken as a mission mode, cleanliness and Kolkata will be two distant words.
To me, it looked like Kolkata has a special love for steel. Steel blocks/frames were all along road side which are meant for flyovers. Steel is the most extensively used material in civil constructions here. Unlike a conventional flyover with concrete beams and pillars, majority of the flyovers use steel instead of concrete. May be this part of the country uses steel extensively due to number of steel plants nearby or due to the inheritance in legacy of the iconic Howrah bridge. I am no civil engineering expert and I don’t know pros and cons of it. But it was new to me that an entire massive flyover structure is built with steel.
Good thing about Kolkata is that almost every road has a pavement for pedestrians. The city values its pedestrians. Commute is easy due to their presence. Though commutable, they were never clean. Almost every few meters of footpath has a street food joint. They occupy the path leaving few feet. They cook there, serve there, eat there sleep there. It is one of the most thriving business in Kolkata. It is surprising that how they survive with a competitor every few meters.
I went to kali mandir and since it was a working day, there wasn’t much rush. People wearing dhotis try to act as hosts to devotees and make special arrangements if hired. I had an argument with one of them who tried to take me for granted. It looked like the complete temple complex is hijacked by an organized group to extract money from devotees. Though we are in queue, dhotiwalas bring in their customers and make them stand in a small queue ahead of us. The priest gives a blessing and asked for money showing few notes in hand. A helper at coconut breaking place did the same. Everywhere nearby looked like extortion. Temple isn’t clean either.
However, in general, people in Kolkata are extremely friendly and helpful. I had interactions with complete strangers and never had a bad experience. I hired a taxi from Kali mandir to see Howrah bridge and then to hotel. The driver, with my consent, took me to the new suspension bridge and then a round about to the Howrah bridge and finally to hotel. In between, he acted as a guide to show various locations and landmarks of the city. The view of the bridge from banks of Hooghly river is breathtaking. The massive steel structure stands as a testimony to the skill of engineers. While roaming around one more interesting fact I found is that the roads where trams are plying are bit uneven and tough to maintain. Unlike other cities, A new layer of asphalt cannot be laid due to tram tracks.
Food in Kolkata has to be tasted than to describe. Wide varieties of food, right from rolls, sandwiches, samosas etc., available on every corner of the street. Most interesting is the matka chai. Though I am not an everyday tea drinker, that particular tea served in earthen cup is one of the best teas I have tasted in recent times.
Road based public transport mostly depends on private buses and yellow taxis. Govt. controlled public transport is limited to few JNNURM buses. I haven’t had a chance to ride through the India’s first and oldest metro rail system. Yellow taxis are easily available at any part of the city and with fair tariffs. Surprisingly, pull carts are still in Kolkata and it is one of the system which I didn’t like. It always made me feel sorry for pullers and in a way I felt it like exploitation of labour. I wish govt. should have helped them to replace their carts with auto rickshaws.
I wish I could see a cleaner Kolkata for its good next time as it was my only regret.