Sunday, December 24, 2006

GOOD OLD KOLKATA...............


Dusty roads, potholed streets, pollution, crowded footpaths, bandhs, rosogollas, warm hearted people, cultural sphere, adaptible people......that's Good Old Kolkata.

Once the capital city of India, today it ranks among the last few in terms of its growth and glory. No wonder why Kolkatans still fall back to its rich heritage and glory of the past - the city has somehow frozen in time - the time of the Raj.

The city still holds the cultural scene in the form of classical performances, theatres but what has happened to the industry - jute, manufacturing? The Manchester of India is a graveyard. Economy is in shambles, trade unionism rules, IT industry is a hogwash with big infrastructures with not enough good work, polittical parties donot work together for growth rather fight over their own egoisms at the cost of industrial growths. The créme of Bengal - the talented, qualified youth have mostly left in despair - Kolkata is ruled by few hard-core Marwaris with very less sense of the future or attachment to the city.

As Kolkatans dont we have a duty to give back to our beautiful old city by being more conscious of keeping the surrounding clean and beautiful? Being more politically active by revolting against the wrongs of bandhs and strikes which parallises growth? To get unified and be back to our roots and work for a better future for Bengal - a region with the biggest wealth - its heritage, 'golden' soil, river? What more can you ask for to develop a state? We only need some positive, aggresive, rooted Bengalis to turn the wind to its positive direction.

Are their any out there?

1 comment:

Somnath Mitra said...

I was borned in Kolkata, however spent all my life till date outside Kolkata, baring anual visit there.Kolkata is a metropolitan, and is marching towards cosmopolitan. Very well located with sea port & airport. We need to make the place a more cosmopolitan.