You can take a man out of Kolkata, but you cannot take Kolkata out of the man. And so it was that I returned to the city after having moved out in 2000 to greener pastures in Mumbai. The visit was well-timed: the Durga Pujas are round the corner, and the city is decked up for the occasion. A good time too, to take stock of the changes that have taken place in and around Kolkata.
In the late nineties, there was considerable hype building up around a possible industrial revival in Bengal, with Kolkata as its hub. The state?s communist government was tom-tomming the fact that the city was playing host to a major Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)-led Indo-British Partnership Summit. Other business jamborees followed. A few years and a new chief minister later, not much has changed. But what is perceptible this time round, slowdown notwithstanding, is an undercurrent of the feel-good factor. Clearly with the festive season as the excuse, new superstores, restaurants and bookshops are doing brisk business. There?s hardly any space at the popular music store in the upscale Park Street area.
The racks are stashed with new releases and the queues at the counter are long. Is this the city where nothing moves? The city where dreams have died? Perhaps not. The Kolkatans stride is unmistakably purposeful these days.
The city presents interesting contradictions. Most residents agree that industrial revival has not taken place in the state, and there?s hardly any new project or activity to talk about on that front. And yet, the trading and services sectors are doing well, and generating dollops of cash. A friend running a garments store says business is good: his store?s pre-Puja discount sale is a sellout. Cheaper car financing schemes have prompted Kolkatans to buy cars.
All the latest models can now be seen alongside the familiar Ambassador, which, despite the growing competition, still remains the only taxicab model. But this car boom has arguably added to the city?s dreaded traffic problems. Despite several new traffic control lights and one-way signs, cars still move at snail?s pace in the city?s narrow streets. Corporate houses are vying for the pandal-hoppers attention in advance, putting forward their own spot the best pandal schemes, even by way of SMS contests. The Asian Paints Sharad Samman, once the sole Puja pandal contest, has grown in stature, but has competition.
A spanking new flyover has come up, Mumbai-style, in the heart of south Kolkata, while work on another huge one is on at frenetic pace. A neighbour?s son says his employer, a leading US insurer, sees good business prospects in Kolkata. Given the depressed state of the stockmarket and the eastern region?s propensity to save, insurance companies see a sizeable chunk of such savings coming their way. Kolkata may have lost out in the software stakes to the southern cities, he says, but there?s still enough money to be made in the insurance and banking sectors.
Some old residential neighbourhoods are virtually nrecognisable, with ubiquitous stores peddling the latest trends. Blank hoardings are rare. The state government is also making the right noises. It?s just announced a major cost-cutting initiative, curtailing long-distance calls, use of air-conditioners, refreshments and outstation travel for the babus in Writers Building. These moves have been welcomed, albeit with some skepticism, since one never knows how babudom will react to these reforms.
But it?s not all feel-good, though. There?s still a deep sense of disappointment that no major industrial projects are coming through. Besides, Bengal is still a no-no as far as investments from the rest of India go: not a single bid was made for the fourth cellular operator slot for the state. Two new luxury hotels have come up, but no one is quite sure where occupancy of that magnitude is going to come from. The Dunlop factory at Sahaganj is still closed, although the Dunlop management and factory workers have already signed a memorandum of understanding to resume work at Ambattur, Tamilnadu. But what?s important is, despite these drawbacks, there is a sense of optimism in Kolkata these days. And that?s a good enough starting point for recovery.