I recently visited Kolkata . Those who have not visited kolkata may have a picture of a great city with colonial buildings and some may have visions of a land where all people are equal after all this state was ruled by communist government for quite a long time .
On a positive sense the land where i set foot is the place where great men like Netaji Subash Chandra Bose , Rabindranath Tagore , Mother Theresa lived . That makes this place truly great . And though i have interacted with a few bengalis they were quite unassuming , very friendly .
But all this doesnt make up for the state of Kolkata city . I wouldnt even call it a metro by any chance . Post independance while other cities grew inspite of corrupt politicians this city never grew . From the pan chewing prepaid taxi counter at the airport with the smoggy look of the roads the city gave more the look of a underdeveloped place . Even Tier 2 cities have better hotels and the red tape is so bad that when i asked for an autorickshaw for a 2 km ride it seems first kilometre you have to go by one auto , get down and catch another auto as apparently they have "permits " . Consumer is not the king in this city .
In my former visits i had visited the Victoria memorial which is a nice colonial building in Kolkata . But other than that even the posh areas are nowhere near even tier 2 cities . The food compared to many parts of india is quite different as their cooking medium is different. None of my friends liked the food there but i being the foodie who believes everything should be eaten at least once tried it . And i tried it in Oh Calcutta the best place to try bengali food . For me , yes the food was very different but tasty especially the prawn served in coconut shell and the fish hilsa in mustard gravy .Just a point to note that Oh Calcutta is pretty expensive (meal for two 2500 Rs ) .
The return journey also scared me . Being used to airports like bus stations i was surprised to get an sms asking me to be at airport 3 hours prior . I called my colleagues who told me apparently that this airport had only two counters and always there is a long queue in the morning . Yes the rich and the poor in the same queue the communist way of making people equal . And the greatest moment was when waiting at the boarding gate there was a movement near me . Mind you , this was near the boarding gate after the security checks . Through sleepy eyes i looked and there was a cat in the airport . I didnt know whether to smile or think about the frustration Netaji must have had in seeing the city and the airport named after him .
On a positive sense the land where i set foot is the place where great men like Netaji Subash Chandra Bose , Rabindranath Tagore , Mother Theresa lived . That makes this place truly great . And though i have interacted with a few bengalis they were quite unassuming , very friendly .
But all this doesnt make up for the state of Kolkata city . I wouldnt even call it a metro by any chance . Post independance while other cities grew inspite of corrupt politicians this city never grew . From the pan chewing prepaid taxi counter at the airport with the smoggy look of the roads the city gave more the look of a underdeveloped place . Even Tier 2 cities have better hotels and the red tape is so bad that when i asked for an autorickshaw for a 2 km ride it seems first kilometre you have to go by one auto , get down and catch another auto as apparently they have "permits " . Consumer is not the king in this city .
In my former visits i had visited the Victoria memorial which is a nice colonial building in Kolkata . But other than that even the posh areas are nowhere near even tier 2 cities . The food compared to many parts of india is quite different as their cooking medium is different. None of my friends liked the food there but i being the foodie who believes everything should be eaten at least once tried it . And i tried it in Oh Calcutta the best place to try bengali food . For me , yes the food was very different but tasty especially the prawn served in coconut shell and the fish hilsa in mustard gravy .Just a point to note that Oh Calcutta is pretty expensive (meal for two 2500 Rs ) .
The return journey also scared me . Being used to airports like bus stations i was surprised to get an sms asking me to be at airport 3 hours prior . I called my colleagues who told me apparently that this airport had only two counters and always there is a long queue in the morning . Yes the rich and the poor in the same queue the communist way of making people equal . And the greatest moment was when waiting at the boarding gate there was a movement near me . Mind you , this was near the boarding gate after the security checks . Through sleepy eyes i looked and there was a cat in the airport . I didnt know whether to smile or think about the frustration Netaji must have had in seeing the city and the airport named after him .
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