Kolkata, the city that hovers between many sobriquets; amongst which “The City Of Joy” being the most popular, can truly be described as a fascinating and enigmatic metropolis bustling with activity, where age old traditions merge seamlessly with modern systems, where heritage exists alongside the uber modern and where every experience can have an endearingly hypnotic effect on a visitor.
Even before the first rays of the sun can announce a new dawn, a visitor to the many bathing “ghats” along the shores of the Ganges, sipping on a steaming clay-cup of “masala-chai”will be awe-struck by how the people of a city can so well blend the new with the old. Far away from modern gyms, people can be seen exercising the age-old traditional way, bathing in the river waters and offering their humble prayers to the revered Sun God. All this with a nonchalance towards the hustle and bustle of children boarding school buses, people rushing to work and a host of a myriad of activities.
As the clock ticks away, the city merges into the glitz and shine of a modern city where a Mercedes vies for right of passage with an Audi or a Honda with a Hyundai. Come evening and the revel spots are reverberating with life.This Epic City is a wonderful, beautiful experience in itself with its high culture, its music and films, its festivals, its people, its street side food, sweets, cuisine, its urban rhythms and, above all, its rooted acceptance of a multicultural existence. It is in fact a city of daily festivals of human life!!