KOLKATA

       It's officially Kolkata now, but that's not all that's changed. Power cuts no longer happen test matches are less frequent now that the Prince of Kolkata leads, and the MB-EB derbyis unfavourably compared to Liverpool vs everton. The city has esxpanded unbelievably, mush to the detriment of the ecology of the surrounding wetlands. Traffic patterns have become mind-bogglng.The malls resemble the glitzier bits of Mumbai. The Metro has graduated from being a sometimes-useful curiosity to the backbone of commuting.Much as I love the city, it has truly filthy weather ten months of the year. The monsoons are an acquired taste, with rain flooding the streets for days on end. If you are an antropology major doing a thesis on religious festivals, go there during the autumanal Pujas by all means, If you're doing Tother Teresa and poverty a la Lapierre and Grass, go there whenever. But winter is an unqualifiedly pleasant season.

The weather is wonderful, full-sleeves and light woollens in the evenings last longer. There are plenty of places to visit and things to do.Someday the nascent Bangal rock movement will throw up a group named 'One-way Street'. Calcutta's culture revolves around loitering on street corners because traffic is usually stationary and you don't need to look both ways before crossing. Most streets are one-way. Not the same one-way 24/7, mind, but switching morning to evening in perfectly, insanely, logical fashion. So the shortest legal distance between any two points in the city is different on different days/weeks. Take a cab, or catch the train from the nearest station. The cabs will perforce follow peculiar routes and attempt to cheat if ther discover the passenger is not local. But it still isn't expensive because distances are small.

       Calcutta is a classic European city that way-small, with clusters around a heavily built up centre. Much of the action is 'off man-street' and the alleys are simply too narrow and crowded to be fun on anything motorised.The city wakes early, with the first trams heading for Armenian Ghat at 4.30 ro 5 a.m. Get off the tram at Armenian Ghat and keep waling until you hit the Hanuman Mandir a quarter-mile down, under the shadow of the Old Howarah Bridge. At dawn, Mullick Ghat is a riot of flower seller. This is the wholesale flower market whichfar exceeds Covent Garden for atmospherics. There are sadhus, wrestlers, flower-dealears and rubber-neckers galore. It's an incredible experience to sit here and watch the ferries come in through the wispy morning mist, like smoke on the river. It' an even more transcendental experience to cross over and share a chillum with the Pujari at the tranquil little Shiv Mandir on the Howrah side.

       ...more