What shocks and startles @ Kolkota:

• Ideology – Kali and Karl Marx still harmonically coexist with their armours and arguments.
• Time – No matter on road or at office, every Bengali has and takes time, likes discussing and debating random subjects of interest, making them fairly intelligent and socially responsible.  But however late one reaches office, do they religiously leave at sharp 04:00 in the evening.

• Traffic – Noone beep, honk, or hoot in unending traffic. And the traffic rules can change every 2 hours. If you don’t want to follow rules, create one of your own. Park your car banging the next one in front to make people say ‘Aamar Obbhesh Hoe Gaeche’!
• Street – Selling cotton apparels or leather items, Making Laddu or Roti, Nail cutting, tooth picking-plucking, hair cutting, to astrology, to doctors health check up...all on road. Everyone has a space and everyone finds their space. It’s thus a city of inclusiveness - a city of joy. From red street to park street, its a celebration of absolute democrazy !
• Chai – Have one ounce two rupee Chai in Mutki, and see people having Jilebi, Chai & Cigarette @ 05:45am. Also Chai with Paan full mouth. Only the Chai gets sipped in and the Paan gets spit out.
• Women – Faces are round and beautiful with assets (clad in Jamdani cotton or Dhakaai silk sarees) to correspond and turn around. Features confident to look at you even when you don’t look at them. Call girls (@ night @ Park Street) even are interestingly so.
• Good names – ‘what is your good name’? (as if we also own a bad name).  If it’s a boy... Motka, Bhombol, Or Thobla. And if girls….its Tia, Tuktuki, Mishti, Or Khuku. Well…. the popular pet names in Bengal gives an option to choose either. The good or the bad.  
• Cleanliness – Let litter and loiter on roads, let beg or hug on roads, let cockroaches and encroachers rule the Kali @ Kalighat, or the New Market for their living, but be sacrosanct dipping oneself at the dirtiest ever Ganga in the early mornings or evenings.

• Transport – Find four wheelers (especially Jaguar and Audi) exceed two wheelers on road with yellow Ambassador as the city lifeline; alongside the Tram, Metro, and the man pulled Rickshaws’ to co travel on the Sarani. Expect the unexpected from the ‘No Refusal’ taxis to return the exact balance as per the meter. And Kilometres long city ride @ at 5 rupees in Tram.
• Food – On street or off street, find people in BMW, Audi, Nano and Rickshaws’ having the same. And among cusines of Chaats, Macher Jhol, Sandesh, Roshogulla, Chom Chom, Darbesh; find Bongs take immense pride in their large selection of delectable mishti.
• Water – It seems for months the city is underwater and every year for the last 200 years the authorities are taken by surprise by this !

• Vintage Mansions - Being a city of palatial palaces, find them retained vintage status (with zero maintenance) by the mindsets of Nouveau Riche Bengali Babu’s who still aspires cultivation of English etiquette, manners and customs. Also find the botched Didi whitewashing the city with white and blue once overshadowed by the redness of red.  

Kolkota on the whole provides a perfect mix of the cacophony of the new age metro with a culture that is reminiscent of yesteryear's British Raj bridged by the Howrah. Feel the invincible presence of the immortal ideologies of Tagore, Paramahams, Vivekanand, Bose, Aurobindo, Mother Teresa... .. and so more. One may be in this city to get transported to enjoy the finer things in life, be it literature or films, music, or cuisines. Live with and enjoy with the lively and lovely people who loves to say ‘Aikhane Ei Shob Cholte Thaake’ !

Love it or hate it, one definitely won't forget this city on the Hooghly.

© RISHIKESH KB