in Kolkata, a photo from West Bengal, East

Photographer's Note

Year and month are uncertain - I was once or twice in that great city during the hot season and I guess this was not taken during the winter. Since my first visit there end of the 70s, Calcutta (now, Kolkata) lies in my heart, it touched me deeply when I lost myself on purpose in the small and crowded alleys between the Esplanade and Howrah Bridge.

Incredible confusion in the traffic, incredible masses of people, incredible grand architecture ; contrarily to many other places in India, I was never "Eve teased" there, although I was so often alone in the crowd at night, for festivals like the Durga puja ; felt safe, walking early morning after all-night concerts before the first tram, felt the vibrations in concert halls and had a sort of revelation hearing the great Pt. Nikhil Banerjee not long before he passed away, even a long moment pure musical extasy that I'll never forget (thought I would die !) with the late Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar and his rudra veena... Enough of that for the moment !
***************

About the photo : this is only one of the great Ť Belle Epoque ť buildings along the magnificent Esplanade (Maydan) in Kolkata I guess it has changed of aspect nowadays, but actually I liked those daring colours, which are also the colours of the ubiquitous taxis. And the not-so-well maintained aspect of some of those buildings had also its charm, IMO (*)

Calcutta had been the capital of India under British rule till 1911 and the megalopolis has many such old and grand, monumental buildings, sometimes ornated with allegoric figures like the ones around the square Ť BBD Bagh ť, where many government buildings are situated (plus the GPO and the siege of many banks among others). Those allegoric statues, some of them representing young, naked ladies, look a bit surprising and incongruous in India and the ensemble dwarfs the passers by, small silhouettes briskly heading towards their businesses and rarely raising their heads to look at those huge constructions dating from a long gone era.

(*)NB : IMO, if a place is too neat, it will look dull, whereas a chaotic place is more vivid and interesting thats my taste anyway :)).

kvananthnaag, siolaw, Partha_c, riclopes, sayan, achakladar, giorgimer oznaczył to zdjęcie jeko użyteczne

Critiques | Translate

sidstakes (772) 2007-05-23 0:33 [Comment]

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kvananthnaag (487) 2007-05-23 1:15

Very good composition! I like the yellow color of the buildings and the styling of the outside - windows etc. The busyness below also adds to the quality of the photo, of course wit hthe yellow taxi in the midst. TFS. Hope you'll be in our city Hyderabad sometime too :)

alagarcia (252) 2007-05-23 3:02

nice composition,I like the colores and the light making deep shadows.It could be somewhere in Europe if not the old car and a lot of adds on the collonade-this makes India-full photo:)
regards
Alicja

siolaw (38294) 2007-05-23 3:47

Salut Catherine,
J aime bien cette série des années 80! un bon cadrage sur cet immeuble et la rue de Kolkata... j aime bien la dominante jaune que l on retrouve sur le taxi, deux passants, et des affiches sur les colonnes ... bele lumiere chaude et details bien nets!
Amicalement
Laurent

Partha_c (2029) 2007-05-23 6:43

Caherine, Salute you. The shot taken at Esplanade, Chowringee Road (now known as JwawharLala Nehru Road).Things had drastically changed since last four decades when you stepped on to this city. But the vibe still continues. I was amazed, charmed and touched by your sweet expression of the nostalgic memories of Calcutta (now Kolkata). This is the city where I was born, I got my education. This is the city which is close to my heart as ever. A city of all oddities. It is a thrill to get lost in powerless lanes and bylanes of conjested Kolkata. Incredible to see that you still remember sitar maestro Nikhil Banerjee, Durgapuja, Rudraveena. Still remember the peaceful, undisturbed walk among the heterogenous traffic. I feel proud that you perceived the real pulse of the city. God bless you.
Partha

riclopes (35577) 2007-05-24 4:11

That's why I feel so attracted by the countries of the third world, Cath... ;-) This is another great shot. Your images may not have an excellent quality, but they sure have an incredible atmosphere and your informative notes are very good. As you say in the end, this is not neat at all and that's attractive. The architecture is impressive, the colors and lighting are wonderful. Love your composition and that yellow taxi passing by. Everything here seems very,very old, but I think it could be an image from last week...
Ricardo

sayan (2617) 2007-05-25 4:05

Hi Cath,

Its really wonderful! I am amazed that you enjoyed so much in Calcutta (now it is Kolkata)! I envy you because you have heared Pt Nikhil Banerjee live in concert, I was not able to heared him live, because I was just a child then whose taste for Indian Classical Music did not grow at that time! It is really wonderful to read your note, it is really beautiful to learn that you have enjoyed my city a lot and probably the things you mentioned are the things that we are proud of. Enough of other things, let me come to the compo now. It really is great. I know very much how hard it is to take a photograph of a building like this from the opposite side of road with a huge traffic in between. You have done a nice job here. I like the awesome colour. The colour of the taxi parked in front and the building are almost same. I think you have seen those completely yellow or black and yellow taxis in Kolkata, now there is only one coloure in the taxies and that is yellow with a thick navy blue line in the middle part.

with best regards,

Sayan

Angshu (56760) 2007-05-27 8:09

Hello Cath
I get to see my city through your eyes in different light..and that's the beauty. Kolkata, to me is the most beautiful city in India, both outside & inside. The outside part, the sheen is of course highly debatable, but I doubt anybody can rival the inside beauty of the city, the people, the culture. Wonder why no traffic in you picture? The ocher yellow is overbearing & the taxi also matches the theme. This is once again wonderful Cath!
Best Regards
Angshu

achakladar (786) 2007-05-28 7:33

Calcutta was once known as the "city of Palaces", this was offcourse before the decay had set in, now there is a resurgence and an effort to look after the old colonial architecture. Your frame captures it brilliantly. Thank you !

giorgimer (35017) 2007-08-18 15:19

Hi Cath,

wonderful view, very nice colors and atmosphere.
Well done!

Gio

holmertz (102672) 2008-05-30 7:46

Hello Catherine,
I just discovered this old picture by coincidence. I was so glad to see this view, since Calcutta has been one of my favourite cities for decades. When I first arrived there in 1972 my only ideas of the city was from the documentary made by Louis Malle, where Calcutta was described as hell on earth. I was a bit nervous but realized immediately what a friendly, dynamic city it was. I'm convinced that Calcutta by night is probably much safer than Brussels or Stockholm.
Have a nice weekend,
Gert