Destination Features

To ask a native Kolkatan to write about his city isn't always the brightest of ideas. You could almost count on him to take a biased view of things. So why then was I - a Mumbaikar now, but a Kolkatan by birth and aspiration - entrusted with penning this quasi-official guide to Kolkata? I think it has something to do with the long years I have spent away from my birthplace. These days I visit the city every eight months or so for around two weeks - or any number of days my boss deems adequate! This detachment, and my NRK (Non-Resident Kolkatan) status, I'd like to believe, have armed me with an acceptable amount of journalistic objectivity to separate fondness from fact.

People aren't wrong when they say Kolkata is a city of paradoxes. The most poignant among them is its un-splendid isolation in India's tourist map. While its denizens can't stop gushing about its warmth and character, the sad fact is that the City of Joy remains low down the priority list in any tourist's travel itinerary. Its other metropolitan siblings - Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad or Bangalore - attract Indian and foreign tourists by the millions. But Kolkata languishes in what seems like a remote eastern fringe of our country's overwhelming contour. Thanks to this, the state of tourism in West Bengal has also suffered. At times I wonder if all this is some quirk of fate or a chronic flaw in governance.

Enter the dragon

For the less adventurous, there are two ways to land up in Kolkata. You could take a train to Howrah, the terminal station for almost all long-distance trains that ferry people to the city. Alternatively, you could catch a flight to the city's suburban airport in Dum Dum. There's of course the exciting option of driving down along the Bombay Road or the Delhi Road, which connect the respective cities to Kolkata. And for those with all the time in the world, there are passenger ships sailing into Calcutta Port.

Regardless of your mode of transport, remember to arrive well within 10 pm at night and after 6 am in the morning. Transport services come to a standstill between these times, and you will be left at the mercy of touts, private car operators and taxi drivers who will take you for a ride - proverbially and literally!