Should Kolkata Become London?

Dr Ratan Bhattac...

Chairperson Post ...

A million dollar question indeed! Should we change Kolkata to make it London? What good is London and what bad is Kolkata? This is like the desire of an Indian for becoming a Sahib. The glamour that is usually associated with London is indisputable. It is the city of Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth. It is the city of Westminster Abbey. At one time the sun never sets on the British empire. At that time London had its importance globally. Today all those days are gone.

Today many more people go to New York or Washington than they go to London. Indians have become independent and yet they live in the colonial past and still London has a mesmerising effect on them. Marvell in his poems refers to the exotic Ganges, and many others refer to India as a magic land. Those days have changed. India that is free today should think in its own way. Kolkata is Kolkata, New Delhi is New Delhi. We can beautify these cities, keep them clean, and make their modernisation complete at all costs. But we should not imitate others. Do the Londoners ever think of making their city Kolkata? Never.

Kolkata has a life , it has human soul that London does not have. Read Eliot's Preludes and you will understand how dirty is London, how the spiritual emptiness is so painful ! Kolkata has its Kalighat and Dakhineswar. We have our Vivekananda. Whom did London have got? We have many similarities with London. But we should not blindly imitate Londoners.

Indians should now start thinking in terms of India. Kolkata should remain Kolkata.....and not become London overnight whatever Mamata dreams about changing the city of joy....