City of Colours: the diversity of reality

Part of the financial success of Mother Teresa's charity, depends on depicting Kolkata as nothing but cholera infested slums ravaged with teeming millions of beggars. Aroup Chatterjee, who published a extensive study of Mother Teresa's works, estimated that Kolkata has lost a total revenue of $2.4 billion through lack of tourism, as her vivid images of the hordes of destitute camouflaged the rest of the city. The millions living below poverty do exist, and the living conditions for many are totally unacceptable, but it is also important to open our eyes to the beautiful aspects of this historical city, of what was once the jewel of the British empire. Kolkata is proud of its cultural history; home to the first Asian Nobel Prize winner, Rabindranath Tagore, and the highly acclaimed, Oscar winner for life, Satyajit Ray, Kolkata, as well as the progressive and highly influential social economist, Amartya Sen. The city has a vibrant cultural scene, reflecting its love to pick and choose from Western influences and create a truly unique centre for learning through entertaining...

The Dover Lane Music Conference started at eight in the evening and went on all through the night. Bands of classical musicians proudly took the centre stage in front of a huge stadium which had the potential to seat 3,500 people, until seven in the morning. I do not know of many cities in the world where all-nighters involve listening to vocal and instrumental Hindustani and Carnatic music. The festival was followed by the Odissi Dancers' Forum performing a expressive mix of classical and modern Indian dance; including a traditional dance to Mozart. The Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts from Bangalore also put on an incredible performance of contemporary dance, set in the grounds of a beautiful old manor house in the middle of Kolkata. The dance troop literally danced through the house, taking the audience with them, ending in the flower fringed garden. The second floor occupants of the house looked down from above, as atmospheric sounds were dispersed through speakers suspended from the trees. The dancing was wild, free, expressive and expertly choreographed in homage to the German dancer Pina Bausch. Later this week a three day dance competition is being held aimed at revealing and supporting the up and coming 'Stars of Tomorrow'. Entrance to the venue to free and the programme centres around Kathak – where the rhythm is spoken by the dancers and is done so with incredible precision. The beats are simultaneously accompanied by the jangles of the globular bells worn around the dancers ankles, and accentuated by the accompanying orchestra.

Other regular events include alternative film showings by the Goethe-Insitut / Max MuellerBhavan and activist gatherings at the Earth Care Book centre. Exhibitions by local, national and international photographers are held at the Seagull Arts and Media Resource Centre. But an annual highlight is Kolkata's international book fair; the 34^th of which has just ended. The book fair is the fifth largest global gathering of literary lovers and was held for a duration of twelve days. The book fair covered a huge area – 25,000 sq meters including over 500 different book stalls which had been constructed out of plywood specifically for the event. Despite local criticism of power failures, inadequate fire safety and garbage removal, the tickets were a only five rupees (10 cents). This reflects the drastically reduced price of books in India – just a quick walk down College Street (the book market of Kolkata) reveals every possible title and every possible text book for as little as one fifth of the price in Europe. (I even know medical students who fly to India just to buy their course books.) Indian publishing is huge -there are over 16,000 publishers, and the numbers continue to increase. One of the reasons for the growth of the market is the rise in the literacy rate. At the time of Independence it was estimated that the national literacy rate was around 30 percent, but now it is almost 65 percent. This is reflected by the estimated 2.5 million visitors which this years book fair attracted, from the young and old, and from a fairly wide spectrum of economic classes.

Another of the city's cultural centres is the Ramakrishna Mission Institute Of Culture. Founded by Sri Ramakrishna's chief apostle, Swami Vivekanda, committed to the motto Atmano mokshartham jagad hitaya cha -“For one’s own salvation and for the welfare of the world”. The Institute runs the largest orphange in Kolkata as well as being dedicated to disaster relief during floods and famine. Apart from its philanthropic mandate it is committed to developing educational and cultural activities based on the Vendanta philosophy of the unity of human life. The institute has a beautiful public library, and through the access to information, presses for intercultural appreciation and understanding. Philosophical lectures and talks on Vedanta are regularly in both Bengali and English.This commitment to such a broad spectrum social welfare is a stark contrast to the Missionaries of Charity.

Basically, there is loads going on in Kolkata, much of which is easy to miss if you keep you eyes turned down to the pavements rather than to the events which they lead to. Many times it is more comfortable to pick one of the extremes – social work verses cultural exploration – as a foot in both camps highlights the inconsistencies. I often have the rather uncomfortable thought that some volunteers simply do not want to see the beautiful (well funded, well educated and definitely not in need of picking up and praying for) aspects of the city. Yet at the other side of the coin, I have read reports from foreign business men, who have flew in and out of Kolkata, taking with them nothing other than its fancy hotels, luxurious restaurants and rich cultural history. I am aware of my own role in portraying an 'image' of Kolkata as close to the reality as possible, but then again it all depends on ones particular reality, which is why I am enjoying broadening my experiences, despite the crazy contrasts of spending the afternoon bandaging the wounds of men with nothing but the clothes they wear, and then sitting next to stunning sari clad women, dripping with jewels and shimmering with gold.

Perhaps if more tourists were to visit then the government would be encouraged to become more committed to solving rather than ignoring the poverty. Kolkata could proudly show off her love for the arts, science and literature and become the diverse, cultural and secular city it used to be, and for a small percentage of the population, continues to be.

The more you look, the more you see, the more you see, the less you understand...especially when you are looking with foreign eyes. And often it is easier to see through the shaded veneer of sun glasses, but reality is never black and white. Reality is a ever changing mosaic of contrasting, merging, fading and exploding colours. This city makes me smile and cry - laugh and scream; often simultaneously. Perhaps that is why, when I am not complaining about the insidious pollution, or the continuous noise, or the perpetually staring eyes, I find this city continuously fascinating.