This is the last day of my trip to Kolkata. I’ve been visiting my parents and helping them out with a few items that they needed me to step in. I’ve had to go into central Kolkata a few times, and have had the pleasure of getting caught in traffic in the city of over 14 million.
Here are 6 images shot from the cab.
I’ve always maintained the India is the acid test for any traveller – you’ll either love it or hate it, but one thing is assured… it’ll change your perspective on life. Once you’re here, you cannot wait to leave; once you leave, you cannot wait to come back.
Even now, this still holds true.
Now – I did not grow up in Kolkata. My parents moved here in 2014. I had spent about 8 months here in 2000 during my first job, before I left India. This city has changed, and experienced the exponential growth that India has been undergoing.
Along the way, there are some things that are very Kolkata that have not, and probably will not change. The most distinctive thing about Kolkata is the number of old buildings that are crumbling. There’s an explanation to this. A lot of these buildings are disputed properties where tenants continue to pay rents from 1947, giving landlords no impetus to keep up the property. Some of them have gone so far as to be dangerous to live in; yet people still do so. Occasionally, one will hear of a building collapse – typical after someone has shut the door too hard after a domestic dispute, bringing the house down… literally!
All these images have been shot on an iPhone X and edited on Photoshop Express.
