Cleared of dense jungle by the British so as to have an unhindered view around and no impediment in the lines of fire from Fort William, the maidan, Kolkata’s pride, has seen many transformation – mainly contraction from all sides – to become what it is today. The British have long gone, and while we’ve […]

According to a survey by the Delhi-based NIES (National Institute of Environment Studies), Kolkata is the least green among major cities. Here is a sample statistic: Bangalore: 8.60 per cent, National Capital Region (New Delhi): 8.49 per cent, Greater Mumbai: 6.20 per cent, Chennai: 7.50 per cent…And the corresponding figure for Calcutta is a paltry […]

There appears a certain plan that goes in West Bengal government’s efforts in making Singur THE destination as an auto-hub. It’s like a thriller, unfolding as it does with the trail getting hotter and hotter until it reaches the climax. It’s difficult not to praise the way the government is handling it, what with opposition’s […]

Yet another indication of Kolkata finally finding its bearing is manifest in KMC’s (Kolkata Municipal Corporation, or is it CMC, the Calcutta Municipal Corporation) decision to accord grading to the city’s heritage buildings. From shaming the colonial past during the heady days of 60s and 70s to conserving the magnificent edifices, Kolkata has indeed traversed […]

Business beckons [Picture source] Technorati Tags: mcdonalds, big mac, kolkata, calcutta

Football lovers of the city, rejoice. Come next IFA Shield, we may have a chance to watch Bayern Munich seniors, Oliver Kahn, Podolski and others slogging it out in the tourney. Hard luck Ballack has crossed over to Chelsea, else we’d perhaps have had him too. [Read The Telegraph story] Why the feast? One reason […]

Ok, let’s face it. Kolkata may not be what many would imagine before setting foot here. Visitors, who come here for the first time, are readily appalled by the squalor and the din everywhere. Once they dig in though, it starts feeling better bit by bit. To its credit, Kolkata perhaps is a city you […]

Is there a rescue from nightmarish waterlogging taking shape? Going by reports, there is. In fact, there ‘are’. We’ve for long heard that Kolkata’s sewerage – a prized possession from the British era – can no longer afford to bear the combined might of millions whose inevitable left-overs make way through it. Since very little […]