Calcutta (now Kolkatta) has been called the "Dying City" for years now, but has always managed to prove the cynics wrong by springing back :-)

Most people tend to focus more on the dirt and grime of the city, and forget to scratch the surface. Calcutta is the city of tradition and culture, of the bhadralok and the passionate, through completely theoretical, heated political debates, of load-sheddings and poverty, of the metro all blended together to form "The City of Joy".

Calcutta (I can never really get myself to spelling it Kolkotta), is among the few cities in India, where the propagation of the finer arts is encouraged in the family. Most people will have taken music lessons for at least one musical instrument (the most common being the harmonium) and will be able to tell you about the finer nuances of Rabindra Sangeet.

The highlights of the Calcutta which I remember (I have not been to Calcutta for more that 18 years now), are Flury's, with its scrumptious array of pastries, cakes and sandwiches; Paragon - the toy shop from where I got my first balsa wood glider; Hobbies Center, where I had my first cone of choco-mint ice cream (and remains among my favourite flavours :-); Mithai which used to make heavenly sandesh and mishti dahi; the daabwallah in the vegetable market from whom I would average a tender coconut a day; the maidan, the Victoria Memorial, the Hoogly, the Indian Museum, the electric trams, etc. etc.

This remains a city which I love. A lot would have changed but I am pretty much sure I would still love it.

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