The City of Joy, Kolkata/Calcutta

I owed this one to Kolkata or Calcutta from a really, really, really long time. I do not want to come out to be a critic, it's just a narration of my experience with the city, a mix of good and bad things which I noticed during my few visits and stay in the City since 2008.

The city has a slumbered calmness amidst the fast moving in fact, fast running population. I have not noticed any change since 2008 till now i.e. 2012, which is quite a lot of time, 4 years is no way less. The local/city buses still look as old as those stolen away from the time British ruled over our country. I do not know why the streets are not cleaned, as if nobody bothers about the dirt scattered all over the place. 

Another thing which I did not understand is, why 'It is called the City of Joy'?

So when you are on the Howrah bridge going towards Calcutta/Kolkata, there is a huge board which reads out aloud 'Welcome to the City of Joy'. 

I have been asking this question to all the people I have met in there. Nobody knows the real reason. But I think, it is because, people still has a fervour and zeal to fight away all the hardships thrown away to them via under-developed infrastructure of  this metropolitian city, which makes your stay here a differently enjoyable experience.

If you happen to visit Howrah railway station anytime, then you will suddenly realize what population explosion really means. If you stand at a place and not walk for a few minutes, you will end up finding yourself out of the station entrance, people will make you move, wantedly or unwantedly ;)

Now a few good things, 

I see that inflation has not hit that hard to this particular part of the country. One could easily get quite satisfying meal in much much less than what it costs in other cities like Bangalore, Ahmedabad etc. I am surprised to see Kolkata among one of the 10 most expensive cities in India: 
http://omgtoptens.com/misc/most-expensive/top-10-most-expensive-cities-of-india-2012/

Local transportation cost is also pretty low, in fact you would not feel the need of owning a vehicle.

I mean if you leave apart the expense of getting an accommodation in a decent area, everything else is quite affordable.

People are really good at guiding you with directions. The best part is that if they do not know the direction to a place, they will certainly admit it and tell you to ask someone else, instead of making you go over the wrong way. The willingness to admit that something is unknown to you, is scarce in Indian population, but you could see this here in immense quantity. 

During my last visit, this scene reminded me of  a Bollywood movie, Swadesh  :)