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Our city tour of Kolkata emphasized the curio. We were driven over the Howarh Bridge which the guide described “as the world’s busiest with 2 million pedestrians using it everyday.”

Photo essay: The City of Joy and Protest

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... with a canopy spread over about 15,000 square meters, which is said to be “the largest in India.”

Photo essay: The City of Joy and Protest

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On the other side, we were shown the Kolkata train station which was described as “India’s busiest.” This was on our way to the Botanical Gardens established in 1786 to develop the newly discovered tea bush but now more famous for its banyan tree ...

Photo essay: The City of Joy and Protest

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... were stamped on many walls.

Photo essay: The City of Joy and Protest

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It runs through the urban campus of the Calcutta University Institute which was established in 1891.

Photo essay: The City of Joy and Protest

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I went to see what was once the major center of this intellectual ferment in old Calcutta (the spelling of the name was changed in 2001 so as to better reflect the phonetics). College Street is impressive with its nearly one thousands stalls selling books, old and new.

Photo essay: The City of Joy and Protest

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At one corner, all by itself, was a small-scale metal model of Parsis’ Zoroastrian Dokhma (Tower of Silence) where the deceased are left to be devoured by vultures.

Photo essay: The City of Joy and Protest

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“Kolkata is called the city of Joy and protest,” our tour guide said. In nearby street-corner rallies which we were now seeing the Congress Party had hoisted its banners. The rival Marxist Party’s hammer and sickles...

Photo essay: The City of Joy and Protest

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