Calcutta jumble

Calcutta is a city vibrant, sometimes harsh and jarring, alive, passionate, troubling and beautiful. I read an article that anyone who has ever been here has her own Calcutta. How true! What is the jumble of sights and sounds that make up mine?

Of course I have to visit at least a few of usual tourist jaunts ...

Victoria Memorial ... I wander about for a couple of hours caught up in the fascinating story of the Indian independence movement.

Marble Palace ... a mansion built by Raja Rajendro Mullick Bahadur in 1835, a man with way more money than taste.

Botanical Gardens on the bank of the Hooghly River ... not exactly the upscale gardens I expected. Nonetheless Anna and I enjoy the walk, looking at the famous 200 year old banyan tree, claimed to have the second-largest canopy in the world.

Park Street cemetery! How interesting to wander amongst the memorials, picturing the harshness of life in Calcutta's colonial past. It was a tough place for the British to live ... if they lived, they became filthy rich ... but chances are dysentary, typhoid, or drugs would get them first and often at such a young age.

And they're off ... Anna and I pass by the Royal Calcutta Turf Club ... how can we resist going to the horse races on a lovely Sunday afternoon! In we wander, pick up our race books and join the queue to place our bets. I went for broke and bet RS50 each on three horses ... GO ATHYMIA!! Yeah ... he wins! Back to the queue to collect my winnings ... hmmm, that won't exactly pay for my trip!

Obviously there are the forts, the palaces, the museums ... the typical tourist chatter. But instead ... what has become so much a part of India today but call centers. How will they differ from the US centers? With that in mind, I start talking to Martin and David, who know someone, who knows someone. My first choice was the HSBC fraud offices, but security prevails and I get a big no. More conversations, and finally I get a phone call with Wizard ... and even more days and back-n-forth's later, an appointment to come visit their center. Wizard is a small center, providing outbound calls for mostly US telecom companies. They have maybe 40-50 employees and offices on the third floor of a Park Street office building. Park Street is considered the posher side of town, but we would probably consider it a bit run-down.

The employees work the night shift (obviously), starting at 10 pm ... with only a skeletal crew otherwise. Bummer I was there during the day and did not get to see the hub-bub. Since their work is mostly outbound, they have none of the many inbound challenges. Sidharth, the owner, set up his company about 18 months ago and it was obvious he took great pride in his success to date. He tries to incorporate western management techniques wherever he can and was even considering paying his employee's every two weeks (unheard of), instead of the usually monthly Indian practice. We talked for a couple of hours about so many business and Indian issues. Truly a fascinating Indian visit ... and so different from the usual tourist drivel.

And now for something funky and uniquely Indian ... the evening boat cruise down the Hooghly! What a kick in the pants! All the Indians are out for their Saturday evening fun, dressed up and ready to party. It's only a short hour cruise while the sun sets ... gorgeous ... there's a band, dancing, kareoke, singing competitions ... they make the most of every minute. Sort of a 70's Saturday Night Fever flashback!

My Calcutta ... I will remember you always! And with a fond farewell, it's time to start my trip west to Mumbai.