Day 7: Kolkata – The Beautiful Side Of Chaos

0 Posted by - March 22, 2014 - Administration, Business, Culture, History, Rearview Mirror, Religion

Large Blog ImageKOLKATA

West Bengal

From packed streets and grim slums to the dynamic new-town suburbs, Kolkata is truly a celebration of life in all its vitality and chaos. Deemed as the intellectual and cultural capital of the country, with a tradition of informal discussions on current issues over a ‘bhaar’ of tea at an ‘adda’.  Kolkata also has a rich heritage in the fields of dance, poetry, art, music, film and theatre.

Kolkata’s many dramatic colonial buildings, form an interesting background for adventures and misadventures in this dynamic and inviting city. It also boasts of some of the finest restaurants in India that compel one to give in to the citywide passion for sweets.

On the 7th day of our journey we spent time in Kolkata meeting people from all walks of society, to try and understand the multitude of contradictions that make Kolkata work and not work!

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Now for the facts:

Kolkata, although a crowded metro and state capital, has a population of just around 44,96,694 people. Making it a much smaller city than say, Mumbai and Delhi.

Bengali is the primary language spoken here, whether you are a Bengali or not. English is another popular language, reflecting the educated “bhadralok” of the city and state. If you don’t speak either, along with Hindi, you’re going to find it tough around these parts!

Bengali food is the mainstay of the cuisine here. But historically, Kolkata is also well known for its Chinese food, served up in the tiny and legendary home-restaurants of Tangda or the local “China Town”. Bengal is also known for its iconic sweet yoghurt (Mishti Doi) and its Bengali sweets like Sandesh, Rossogulla and Kheer Kadam!

Bengalis, not surprisingly are the largest group of people in Kolkata. Marwaris and Biharis make up the larger minorities in the city. And interestingly, besides the well known Chinese population here, you’ll also find Tamilians, Nepalis, Odias, Telugus, Assamese, Gujaratis, Anglo-Indians, Armenians, Greeks, Tibetans, Maharashtrians, Konkanis, Malayalees, Punjabis, and even Parsis here.

Victoria Memorial, Raj Bhavan, Flury’s, Howrah Bridge, Tangda, Park Street. In case you have more info and places you’d like to recommend for visitors, please let us know using the comment box below, and we will publish it with due credit to you.

First Impressions

We visited popular tourist spots like the Victoria Memorial. We met different people, and visited Raj Bhawan (the Governor’s house), and also ate at the famous Flury’s. We met with Faud Halim who is the spokesperson of CPI-M to try and understand the Left movement in India and its current status. We also met the Police Commissioner to understand issues of governance and security.

We have to point out, that the traffic in Kolkata is totally chaotic!

 

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