Calcutta vs Bangalore- "Amra-Ora" Issues

I visited Bangalore for a week in mid-February. I heard many things about Bangalore- with many friends, relatives and batchmates settled there, that's inevitable. I really liked the place during my trip. Had some memories of the place from a childhood visit, and then some more memories from a trip there some years back. But this time, had much more extensive travel around the city at different days and times of the week, so got a good flavor of the place. Inevitably, some comparisons came in to mind with my very own and much loved city- Kolkata.

Modern version of both cities had a shared ancestory in the unlikely architecture of a mud fort (by Kempe Gowda in Bangalore in 1537 and Fort William in Calcutta by the East India Company in 1702). Both cities were home to military cantonment during the British period. Calcutta had its first electricity in 1899, Bangalore in 1906. Calcutta was known as the "City of Palaces" and Bangalore as the "Garden City".

Cut to present. Calcutta is a classic example of urban mismanagement. Some of the cancers which are eating in to the city's foundations are unplanned and unregulated growth, populist but utterly ineffective urban governance, migration of an unmanageable number of people from a huge rural hinterland in search of a better life, lack of civic sense of a part of the population, "unbridled democratic expressions" of political parties, possibly the world's most chaotic transportation system (one day I counted 27 different varieties of public buses in terms of shape, size, make, color scheme, transport agency, ownership, operatorship- it is virtually a free-for-all) and an overall falling standard of excellence in almost all spheres of life. The time-tested architecture standards and building rules seem to have conveniently changed/made flexible in the last decade and half, resulting in structures that should not be there or at least be built differently. This unregulated real-estate boom is coupled with three more visual pollution parameters- hoardings of all sizes in front of any public or private or heritage building, slums right beside main thoroughfares and encroachers at every conceivable place; making Kolkata one of the ugliest among the 26 "magacities" (population of over 10 million) of the world. Public parks and gardens are few and ill-maintained. Hardly any government building or public area is landscaped. Greenery is more of a inheritence and a survivor of apathy than conscious effort of the Parks & Gardens Department. Encroachers are everywhere- name any public place that you see empty today and tomorrow it will be filled up with people you never wanted to see. "Hawker Policy" allows hawking on 1/3rd portion of sidewalks and not within 50 feet of any crossing. In reality, less than 1/3 of all major footpaths are left open forpedestrians. Ideally, if you are not a customer you should walk sideways so that you do not distrurb the hawkers and their buyers! There is not even enough headroom for anyone taller than 5 feet, with bags and nighties hanging over your head to maximize display- for experiencing it, walk the 5 km stretch between Gariahat and Rashbehari. Unfortunately, no politican who patronizes these practices ever walk on these stretches. Official logic for allowing the 0.5 million hawkers and encroachers a free run on footpaths, forcing pedestrians to walk on the road is apparently "human face"; reality is much more tangible and rewarding, as we all know. The only group who pays the bill for such comatosed governance is the tax-paying, law abiding, non-unionized middle class. And the future of the city gets buried deeper and deeper in the abyss of hopelessness. As a resident who is proud of the history and heritage of the city, I feel pained and frustrated at this downhill slide.

My outsider's impression of Bangalore was however quite refreshing. The city seems to have maintained control on its growth, even in face of the tremendous growth the city has witnessed in the last two decades ever since it became the hot business destination in India. Ironically, about 5% of Bangalore's population are Bengalis, most of them first-generation migrants in search of livelihood. The buildings in an area have architectural parity with one another, and no ugly hoardings come up blocking the frontage of any important building. Overall, the buildings in the city are low-rise, which coupled with the abundant greenery makes the city look beautiful. Most of the government buildings have a manicured garden, and the agencies are proud about the same. The climate is nice, as Bangalore has always been known for. The infrastructure that has been put in is generally of a high standard. I did not see any encroacher occupying the sidewalks or below the flyovers. Transport (even the autos- there are many here too) is not unruly, buses stop only at designated stops and do not solicit passengers at every inch of its journey. The airport, both inside and outside, operates with clinical efficiency. This is a direct contrast to the chaos that greets any passenger as soon as he steps out of the arrival terminal in Kolkata airport. The real difference in my opinion is the work culture. Bangalore transport is almost entirely controled by the government, including taxis. The transport system is many times more efficient, but prices are comparable with Kolkata. The AC buses provided by Government of India under JNURM scheme has been put to good use- the Volvo buses run on common public routes with extremely affordable fare levels. In Kolkata, I am told over 300 new buses are just rotting in the depot because the private operators are not willing to run them even after more than 60% subsidy being provided by the government. The taxi service at airport and station, the layout of and passenger amenities provided in long-distance bus stations are all much much superior to what we see in Kolkata. Overall, the government seems to function much better and governance seems to be of a much higher order in Bangalore compared to Kolkata. Whether this is only due to the government, or the (un)governed, or both, can be a subject of an interesting debate.

I am surprised that I just finished writing this piece and is about to publish it- I have always fought with those who criticized Calcutta, and I still love the city. I strain my eyes for everything that we can be proud of. I returned to work the city in mid-90s, resigning from a lucrative job in Bombay- this was at a time when professionals of my background queued up for the first flight/train out of the city (probably most still do). I drive around the city in the early mornings of Sundays and public holidays, looking for hidden treasures of architecture, food, nature spots and people. I regularly read about and talk to people about the past glories of Calcutta- "the city of palaces" and the "crowning jewel of the British empire". I regularly take visitors out to Calcutta's places of interest. I travel frequently and have visited many cities. Never I had this urge of direct comparison and felt so helpless, frustrated and insulted with the results. It is possible that Calcutta has not changed- only my views are changing. But even that does not augur well for the city, if a die-hard resident fan like me start singing a discordant tune.