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People Called Kolkata
Kolkata is a compelling city of juxtapositions. Loved and loathed, beautiful and enfante terrible, its extremes and contrasts continue to balance the historic with the contemporary. At her heart lie people, as witnesses and living archives of Kolkata’s realities and aspirations. An extensively documented city — in history, politics, arts, food, and nostalgia — she evokes both strong imageries and rigid stereotypes. People Called Kolkata offers a point of departure, as an anthology of 55 people-centric stories that chronicle her soul. It assembles a motley cast, whose collective impressions offer a window into today’s Kolkata, while affording an alternate reading of the city.Four broad streams steer narratives without rigid clustering as thematic heads. Culture in Continuum explores continuity and transformation of urban culture and its emergent landscape. A Social Tapestry essays eclectic histories of diverse communities that lend exuberance and verve to the city. Extraordinarily Everyday is a portrait of often inaudible voices who inconspicuously live in the megacity — adding utility and flavour to our lives but only in supporting roles. The Contemporary City traces poignant stories on shifting ideas and values that determine the contours of Kolkata’s relationship with its future. With a contemporary view and voice, that curates a diverse mix of authors and perspectives, People Called Kolkata is a journey in recasting our idea of the city through a rendering of its people.About the CuratorKamalika Bose is an urban conservationist, curator and educator with twelve years of experience in heritage-oriented planning and design, advocacy and research. She is the Founder of Heritage Synergies India, a dynamic practice deeply committed towards the stewardship, preservation and management of built and cultural heritage.The People Place Project is a research initiative that explores text as a tool of placemaking and foster a spirit of city consciousness. The publications are a way to share narratives that re-read our cities.
302 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 29, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 29, 2021
Immensely entertaining and educational to know about so many humble human beings who have made the City of Joy their home and how they play their own small part in making this India's most humane megapolis.
September 2, 2020
I really loved this book. For me it was my childhood and so many stories I've heard captured in one book. So many forgotten communities of Kolkata - the Jewish, the Armenian, the Parsis, the Chinese have all made Kolkata their home. It has stories from the iconic yellow Ambassador taxis and so much more. Wonderful for anyone to know more about Calcutta and also very evocative.
January 30, 2023
"Calcutta is not for everyone. You want your cities clean and green, stick to Delhi. You want your cities, rich and impersonal, go to Bombay. You want them high-tech and full of draught beer; Bangalore's your place. But if you want a city with a soul, come to Calcutta." – Vir Sanghvi.
Nothing is more apt than this Vir Sanghvi quote that describes the city of Kolkata perfectly. People called Kolkata is an anthology of fifty-five people from all walks of life. Every city has a history, and it doesn't dwell in the city's historic structures. Instead, it lives inside the residents who have been part of that phenomenon. People who have seen the town grow and change. The book explores the unexplored facets of the city of Joy.
"A great city is not a collection of buildings. It draws its greatness from the people who inhabit it."
Kamalika Bose, the author of the book is an urban conservationist and educator. She was Research Associate for Architecture in India. Her vast experience in the field of heritage planning, design, and advocacy reflects in her book. Interviewing fifty-five people over a year is a mammoth task. Yet she was able to manage it with a panache.
"Every day is a portrait of Kolkata's often inaudible voices, the softer colors, those who inconspicuously live in the megacity. Their lives add utility, color, and flavor to our lives but only in supporting roles."
Kolkata is a city of juxtaposition. Loved for its culture and loathed for its haughtiness and uncleanliness. Its large colonial structures and its shanties. Kolkata never ceases to amaze you. One can either love the city or hate it, but it never evokes indifference from those who have experienced it.
"Kolkata—part-inspiration, part-frustration—a city of binaries, Where monumental potentiality collides with staggering inertia, Where utopian romanticism confronts unrelenting realism, And where the city—as a contemporary, ever-evolving, living organism."
The book offers a new-age perspective and voice. The anthology is a diverse mix of authors and perspectives that firmly connects the readers with the present. People Called Kolkata is a journey that reforges the reader's perception and image of the city through proferring of its people. The Kolkata anthology presents a pleasantly sharp taste and appetizing flavor of food, structure, expression, eccentricities, and emotions, echoing the broader vision of The People Place Project. It is a book that tries to reinvent the city so well-loved by its residents and non-residents.
The author has deliberately not dwelled in the political arena, though the city's people have a keen interest in politics. I loved how she supplemented the book with pencil-drawn sketches of Kolkata. It adds a layer to the anthology. While reading the book, I deeply desired to visit Kolkata soon. This is how much this book makes you fall in love with the city.
I would like to end my review with a quote from Carlos Ruiz Zafo'n
"It is as if the people who inhabit the streets, inspired by some mysterious wisdom, realize that the true history of Calcutta has always been written in the invisible tales of its spirits and unspoken curses."
Nothing is more apt than this Vir Sanghvi quote that describes the city of Kolkata perfectly. People called Kolkata is an anthology of fifty-five people from all walks of life. Every city has a history, and it doesn't dwell in the city's historic structures. Instead, it lives inside the residents who have been part of that phenomenon. People who have seen the town grow and change. The book explores the unexplored facets of the city of Joy.
"A great city is not a collection of buildings. It draws its greatness from the people who inhabit it."
Kamalika Bose, the author of the book is an urban conservationist and educator. She was Research Associate for Architecture in India. Her vast experience in the field of heritage planning, design, and advocacy reflects in her book. Interviewing fifty-five people over a year is a mammoth task. Yet she was able to manage it with a panache.
"Every day is a portrait of Kolkata's often inaudible voices, the softer colors, those who inconspicuously live in the megacity. Their lives add utility, color, and flavor to our lives but only in supporting roles."
Kolkata is a city of juxtaposition. Loved for its culture and loathed for its haughtiness and uncleanliness. Its large colonial structures and its shanties. Kolkata never ceases to amaze you. One can either love the city or hate it, but it never evokes indifference from those who have experienced it.
"Kolkata—part-inspiration, part-frustration—a city of binaries, Where monumental potentiality collides with staggering inertia, Where utopian romanticism confronts unrelenting realism, And where the city—as a contemporary, ever-evolving, living organism."
The book offers a new-age perspective and voice. The anthology is a diverse mix of authors and perspectives that firmly connects the readers with the present. People Called Kolkata is a journey that reforges the reader's perception and image of the city through proferring of its people. The Kolkata anthology presents a pleasantly sharp taste and appetizing flavor of food, structure, expression, eccentricities, and emotions, echoing the broader vision of The People Place Project. It is a book that tries to reinvent the city so well-loved by its residents and non-residents.
The author has deliberately not dwelled in the political arena, though the city's people have a keen interest in politics. I loved how she supplemented the book with pencil-drawn sketches of Kolkata. It adds a layer to the anthology. While reading the book, I deeply desired to visit Kolkata soon. This is how much this book makes you fall in love with the city.
I would like to end my review with a quote from Carlos Ruiz Zafo'n
"It is as if the people who inhabit the streets, inspired by some mysterious wisdom, realize that the true history of Calcutta has always been written in the invisible tales of its spirits and unspoken curses."
May 23, 2025
It’s a mosaic of varied narratives from people in Kolkata, expressing their struggles and triumphs, all overcast with nostalgia. As you read each story, you’ll feel like a flâneur, observing lives that mirror your own.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews