I have been spending weekdays for the last two weeks in Calcutta. While I was quite apprehensive about going to this bastion of communism initially, overall it has been an interesting experience. A few impressions about the city:
- The food is amazing: roadside kathi rolls (available in such wondrous choices as double egg single chicken, single egg single chicken, single egg double chicken and various other permutations), greasy (yet cheap) Indian food at Mogambo, fish in mustard curry, aloo in mustard curry, everything in mustard curry, rosogolla at K C Das (and I am told by my maadu friends that I need to go to Tiwari to know what a samosa should be like, also need to try out phuchkas)
- The traffic drives one crazy: driving (even sitting in front of the car) is a heart-attack inducing experience. Once you navigate large cars on one fourth of the road (the other 3/4ths taken up by parked cars), you would do well to keep the horn pressed continuously to subtly let the meandering junta ahead of you know that they will be crushed unless they move. Of course the horn does not convey anything to them because its sound is drowned in the 500 other horns blaring.
- The people are fond of talking: period.
- The city moves on its own rhythm, which is difficult to understand for a commercially oriented person: e.g. at the airport, the snacks bar counter does you a favor by giving you the sandwich you want to eat. When he is present at the counter, that is. He is not interested in earning money, you see :-)
- The city loves to let its hair down: according to reliable sources, the discotheques and night clubs remain open till 6 am, at which time they serve breakfast!! Also you see a lot of women out partying and having a good time, much more than other cities. Even middle aged gents and ladies enjoy themselves listening to live rock bands.
- It still has trams plying in the middle of roads. Very British.
So far I have not been able to sample all of the city’s charms. Hope I have time to do so in the next few weeks.
2 comments:
You did try the Kathis, didnt you ? :)) SimBly too good ...
Also do try the puchkas outside the Victoria museum...
Oxford is a must visit too.. the coziest big-brand bookshop I have seen..gives you the impression that the books take precedence over customers ( just like it should be :))
Me
having read your blogger, brings back my memories as an outside visitor to the city for some time ... so as a fellow inside outsider..:) ..
- just dont miss the book stores there...oxford goes without saying..an evening in store with a cup of coffee..a perfect date!!
- chinese is heavenly cuisine there..even more so when u get the bill at the end of it
- also try the road side wadas with the tikhi chatni
- last but not the least..DONT EVEN DARE go to a medical shop owned by a bong to ask for a medicine while a CRICKET MATCH IS ON... your patient will die waiting as the shopkeeper would definitely be a statue with popping eyes and deaf ears in front of the idiot box
- oh yes and the clubs are amazing...very brit..beware ..dont go in shorts..u will be thrown out..try it!
so much so for my short but interesting experince there
by the way the night life angle was a surprise to me bcoz i thought i never saw a more dead sleeping city in the night.. may be I didnt meet the right bongs
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