The Ghosts of Calcutta: Hugh Purcell finds stirring memories of the British Raj in this thriving city, a far cry from its dreadful reputation of a generation ago.(ANOTHER COUNTRY)

From: History Today | Date: October 1, 2006| Author: Purcell, Hugh | Copyright information

IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT Calcutta attracts twO kinds of visitors, those seeking sainthood by extreme acts of philanthropy and those seeking their past. I belong to the second category. The first time I visited India I felt I had been there before and nowhere do the ghosts of our collective past return more evocatively than in the first capital of the British Raj.

Today Kolkata, as it is now renamed, does not deserve its bad reputation. Kipling called it the 'city of dreadfu...

Read all of this article with a FREE trial to HighBeam Research

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles from HighBeam Research

The Ghosts of Calcutta: Hugh Purcell finds stirring memories of the British Raj in this thriving city, a far cry from its dreadful reputation of a generation ago.(ANOTHER COUNTRY)
History Today ; IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT Calcutta attracts twO kinds of visitors, those seeking sainthood by extreme acts of philanthropy and those seeking their past. I belong to the second category. The first time I visited India I felt I had been there before and nowhere do the ghosts of our collective past return
Trips to Calcutta still tug at a visitor's heartstrings
Chicago Sun-Times ; It was a steamy afternoon in Calcutta, India's crowded cauldron of a city. A little boy, 7 or 8 years old, was watching me fuss with my camera by the Victoria Memorial. With amber eyes and an outstretched hand, he waited for the well-fed stranger to offer a coin or two. "I am hungry," he said
COMMENTARY; CALCUTTA HAS TWO ENTRANCES
Dayton Daily News ; Leg 41 of our virtual Around-the-World journey is a long flight across the Indian Ocean to the Bay of Bengal. Leg 41 of our real Around-the-World-in-Ohio trek is a long drive across the state to the suburbs of East Liverpool. Both trips take us to Calcutta, though the original recently changed the
Oh! Calcutta! It is known as the home of Mother Teresa and a black hole, but Calcutta has much to offer the adventurous tourist: romantic ruins, outdoor nightclubs and amazing shopping, says Charlotte Eagar
Evening Standard - London ; George Bush should go to Calcutta. He may already have been, but I doubt it. Invasions apart, he doesn't really seem to do abroad. But it might send a chill down his spine if he's ever wondered how long empires take to crumble. Tendrils of weeds wreathe the classical columns that line the Hooghly
Oh! Calcutta! It is known as the home of Mother Teresa and a black hole, but Calcutta has much to offer the adventurous tourist: romantic ruins, outdoor nightclubs and amazing shopping, says Charlotte Eagar.
The Evening Standard (London, England) ; Byline: CHARLOTTE EAGAR George Bush should go to Calcutta. He may already have been, but I doubt it. Invasions apart, he doesn't really seem to do abroad. But it might send a chill down his spine if he's ever wondered how long empires take to crumble. Tendrils of weeds wreathe the classical columns
Krishna Dutta was born and educated in Calcutta and has recently written a cultural and historical guide to the city. Currently living in London, she will be giving a talk on Calcutta at the RGS-IBG on 12 January. Jo Sargent spoke to her about her passion for this vibrant Indian city.(In Conversation)(Interview)
Geographical ; What inspired you to write this book? Calcutta isn't a city for your average traveller. It's hard to penetrate its apparent chaos, to catch a glimpse of what makes the city an interesting and creative arena for artists, writers, musicians, filmmakers and scientists. It's also a place where the West
Calcutta: a city of "ruthless hates, passionate loves."
U.S. News & World Report ; Everything that could go wrong with a city did, with a vengeance, in this Indian metropolis, giving the world a nightmare vision of what happens when urban woes run amok. Visitors from the outside are sickened by Calcutta's overcrowding, poverty, squalor and decay. So overwhelming is the misery
TIRED OF BEING A BLACK HOLE, CALCUTTA PLEDGES TO TIDY UP RULING COMMUNISTS SEEK TO RID BLIGHTED CITY OF RICKSHAW DRIVERS, SIDEWALK VENDING STALLS.(News/National/International)
Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO) ; Byline: John Stackhouse Toronto Globe and Mail Scripps Howard News Service CALCUTTA, India -- Dressed in tattered clothes and bare feet, spending his days pulling a rickshaw through congested city ...
THOUGHTS ABOUT CALCUTTA
World News Tonight with Peter Jennings ; ... This city has an enduring capacity for survival, but salvation is another matter. (on camera) And that is our report on World News Tonight. Later this evening, when Nightline begins, we will be back live with the Indian state funeral for Mother Teresa. It ...
Travel: An exotic window on a world far removed from our Western society; The Great Escape JON GRIFFIN takes in the sights and sounds of Calcutta.(Features)
Coventry Evening Telegraph (England) ; Byline: JON GRIFFIN PICTURE the scene, if you can, on a baking hot Sunday morning at Calcutta's wholesale flowermarket in the shadow of the mighty River Ganges. A teeming mass of humanity, hustling and bustling through narrow alleyways, many defying gravity by balancing impossibly large bundles of