Kolkata... at the crack of the dawn

On August 24, three hundred and thirty-five years ago, British East India Company merchant Job Charnock landed in the Sutanuti area of the northern part of present-day Calcutta contributing to its historical expansion. The Statesman revisits the area.

- SUDIPTA BASU

tatesman takes you through a nascent city from even before its meteoric rise as a colonial capital. As an interesting montage of events, handpicked and captured in the camera of a leading television news channel, depicting a typical day in the life of Kolkata, unfolds every time on the small screen, our mind experiences an emotional high remembering the expanse, legacy, dream and delight that is Kolkata.

From the traditional 'ghats' along the riverside to the glistening corridors of Salt Lake Sector V, the age-old rituals still followed religiously in the old feudal mansions of North Kolkata to the fast lane of fashion, films and frolicking, this dynamic city marks the parallel habitat of the old and the new, the picturesque remains of the old world charm and the intoxicating infrastructure of modern day India.

One often marvels at the fast-changing skyline of the city against the deep blue backdrop of the sky and contemplates a nostalgic journey down the lane of history, from the neon-lit urban landscape of today's to the gas-lit avenues of the yesteryear's, from the present cacophony of roaring whiteliners and reckless autorickshaws to the by-gone peacefulness of thumping palanquins and elegant horse carriages.

However, in order to separate the old from the new and appreciate the delicate nuances of colonial Calcutta, much of which is in front of our eyes yet obscure due to negligence, abrupt modern modifications or absence of information about, one requires the heart of a history enthusiast and eyes of a super sleuth.

Let us explore the sands of time and retrace the footsteps, forgotten but faintly visible on the traffic-troubled roads of the city and come across mementos from some known yet unfound realms of the Bengal capital, on the occasion of Job Charnock's 335th anniversary of embarking on the banks of Hooghly at the village market of Sutanuti.