Kolkata vs. other major cities in India

Bhaswaran

Thank you for sharing all your warm experiencs for my mother city. Athithi (visitor) are like God for us and there is no better presentation for us than seeing them happy and fulfilling with their visit.

Welcome you again and again to Kolkata

capt_mahajan

More than any other major city in India, Kolkata grows on you.

tnog

I <heart> Cal!


I was there during Durga Puja a few years back.

The people and culture are awesome,
Certainly some of the best food in India,
The architecture, especially its art-deco stylings is grand...

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"...seek and learn to recognize who and what, in the midst of the inferno, are not inferno, then make them endure, give them space."


~Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities

shashank.aggarwal

I am a trypical north Indian, and I dont like Kolkatta a lot..there are lot of reason but I will not go into themm..

But there is omething about this city that stands out..City of Joy..i feel that its the city with a Character..there is lot to this city that actually meets you eye...

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Travelogue - Around India
Random Reviews

ycl1688

the coffee house i mentioned is right off hidusthan building and
mission row intersection, it used to be named indian coffee house.

anyways having read the warmth stories of calcutta.

hope the spirit of calcutta lives around the world,
as the saying goes you can take a person out of a place,
but you cannot take a place out of a person.

correction. i believe the intersection is between hidusthan building and central avenue.

Thoughtcrimes

Evidently this warm hospitality has been evident in the city's culture for some time. As mentioned, I am currently reading the lengthy tome "Calcutta" by Geoffrey Moorhouse (1971). A sample quote:

"Still if you wander up College Street even today, you'll find `the biggest second-hand book market in the world, shop after shop of literature for perhaps half a mile. And the bookseller will be well content with your company long after he has realized he is not going to make a sale. He is part of a climate that is as inseparable from Calcutta as the monsoon."

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"I hate know-it-alls. Nobody even knows ten percent of it all." - Thomas Sowell

jyotirmoy

You can spend hours browsing the wide variety of second hand books on College Street and drop in at Puntiram's for fabulous snacks & sweets or go to the Coffee House where the young crowd gathers.

wonderwomanusa

Well, I did once untangle a pigeon from a plastic bag in Union Square in San Francisco, while 50 persons watched. <sigh>

robotvoice

exactly, even though some do care, here it is a source of perverse entertainment to observe someone acting compassionately.

Milamber

Kolkata is the first place I'll be setting foot on Indian soil. Am arriving in early September. Is good to hear some positive reports of the city and most importantly its people.

I'll be doing a 1 month Tefl course and then depending on how I feel may very well stay for a couple of weeks in October for some or all of Kali Duga.

91 days to go till I leave!

Jon

cmdunn1972

My family (husband and 2 year old child) just got back from Kolkata. (We are Americans.) My husband travels there a lot on business, but for my son and I this was our first trip to India. We also spent some time in Delhi.

For my husband, traveling to a place for business and travel with family are two different experiences. When you bring a child along, it opens up a whole new dimension of the culture you are experiencing. In Kolkata, my husband and I were delighted at the friendliness of Bengalis towards children! I think my son is disappointed that he doesn't get the same attention here in the US. Also, when you travel with children, you slow down more. My husband, though he'd been to Kolkata about 20 times in the last 2 years, first noticed how tropical and green it is in parts of the city only on this trip. Yes, there are palm trees growing in Kolkata!

Upon coming home, I have tried to explain how special Kolkata is by using analogies that my American associates understand. Delhi is like New York. It's urban, modern, and sophisticated. However, people there are more rough and less likely to help their neighbor. Kolkata is like a smaller, midwestern city. It's not as sophisticated or modern, but people will go out of their way to help you. (I admit it's not a perfect analogy, and I know I'm unfairly characterizing NYC, but it's the best I could come up with considering my audience.)

I should add that throughout my stay, I never once encountered any sexual harassment or "Eve-teasing".

Comparatively, I think Delhi gets so many visitors simply based on being the capital that perhaps they take tourism for granted and forget the benefit of hospitality.

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Colleen

Visit my Kolkata travel blog!

wp7713

It's a city of contradictions. It's a city of very stark contrasts.

I've hated being there and I've loved being there.

Grantaustralia

It is a very special place. Yes there are many aspects of the city that are confronting but the people are so genuine. We met a lovely family on the train from Varanasi to Kolkata who invited us into their home whilst we were there and have maintained correspondence since.
It is a city I feel very comfortable in. I feel very guilty to be going back to India again in September and not being able to make time to visit again.
I guess that gives me an excuse for another trip next year!

ycl1688

cmdunn1972,

glad to know you like kolkata.

you are comparing delhi to ny, that is exactly what i feel
about those two cities.

anyways kolkata has its uniqueness, some americans (you are not included) have the feeling of
india as a whole, as ghetto and nothing else. as a country of
200 languages, yet not knowing much about english language rules.

Only after outsourcing become a common place in india did they
realize how english language has been so common in india. i realized how innocent united states has been to other third world
country.

just my thought. no offense to anyone, this is reality.

cmdunn1972

Thanks for your kind words.

I have found that there are two kinds of Americans. There are those who are appreciate India's rich tapestry of culture and those who do not. For me, I have come to understand that India must have a very strong culture to be able to absorb and incorporate what it has come in contact with throughout its history, yet it still maintains its Indian soul. (From that perspective, Indians and Americans have much in common.)

The US has been sheltered, it's true. However, I think some of us are learning, or at least are willing to learn.