Streets of Calcutta, a photo from West Bengal, East

Photographer's Note

After Allahabad, which I presented in my last upload, I made a long overnight journey by train to Calcutta, where I ended my trip to India in 1991.

Today's photos are strictly nothing special, just very ordinary views from central parts of the city. The main photo is of a poor quality, but it may give you some idea of what the streets look like during busy hours of the day in busy parts of the city. I converted it to B&W because the colours weren't very good.

You see two hand-pulled rickshaws trying to enter a major street from a side street. Calcutta was probably the last major city where these old style rickshaws were seen, but nowadays they are banned from the central areas. The goats, cows and water buffalos I sometimes saw in the major avenues in the 1970's are also gone.

In the background is Calcutta's major mosque., the Nakhoda Masjid, opened in 1926.

A slightly less confusing view from the same street is in WS #1. The other WS shows a quiet street with a slightly exciting atmosphere.

I should mention too, to avoid misunderstandings, that Calcutta may be chaotic in places, but it's surprisingly safe and no doubt my favourite Indian mega city. I have been there many times and always enjoyed the calm and friendly atmosphere among the crowds and noise. It is also probably India's intellectual centre, full of film makers, poets, painters and musicians.

All photos were scanned from Kodachrome slides.

Next time I will take you somewhere else.

papagolf21, Fis2, ikeharel, Royaldevon, ChrisJ, PaulVDV, pierrefonds, jhm, PiotrF, ricardomattos, burmaman, alvaraalto, clic, jean113, adramad, COSTANTINO, mcmtanyel has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

papagolf21 (152607) 2020-10-19 0:29

Bonjour, cher Gert,
Ce retour en arri鑢e est passionnant � travers ces photos en noir et blanc et en couleur !
J'aime l'ambiance qui se d間age de chaque prise de vue.
Heureusement que vous avez conserv� votre journal de bord pour faire ressurgir les souvenirs !
Amiti閟.
Philippe

Fis2 (170747) 2020-10-19 0:49

Witaj Gert my neigbour today again :)!
Another interesting set of photos.
This black and white work reminds me of the beginnings of my adventure with photography.
Great street scene.
Good Work.
Nice new week.
Krzysztof

ikeharel (113345) 2020-10-19 0:51

Wow, Gert, what a chaotic scene, and I believe that even nowadays the vibrant street never goe's to sleep...
Remarable, I can imagine the tumult and roaring sounds there when taken this picture.
A superb document, my cong.s,
Ike

Silvio1953 (221593) 2020-10-19 2:01

Ciao Gert, beautiful B&W with nice scene, fine details, excellent clarity and splendid light, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

Royaldevon (85932) 2020-10-19 2:29

Hello Gert,

Nothing special .... I don't think so; this is a street full of busy people, some carrying bags, some carrying on their heads, and poor people taking on the role of horses! There are shops, a mosque and hardly a spare space in your photograph! It is organised chaos! Amazing!
Is that a soldier or policeman, in the f/g?
The street looks to have tracks, as well, as if a tram might make its way through this busy thoroughfare!

I just love the shop types!
Did they make you smile?
Novelty Cloth Store, Detective Agency, certainly not the type of shop that I would have expected!!

The two photographs of the street look as if they have been taken years apart, not hours!
What an amazing record!

Thanks for sharing these,
Bev :-)

ChrisJ (171822) 2020-10-19 2:39

Hello Gert,

A tremendous archival quality b&w image from the streets of Calcutta, or Kolkata as it is now known. Good sharpness and tonal range. The bg mosque anchors the shot. Tfs!

PaulVDV (62892) 2020-10-19 2:42

Hello Gert,
So you did not get off the train in Varanasi. You were probably there on a previous India trip.
Your main photo nicely shows the busy city life in a fairly wide street with a view of a mosque at the back.
I even notice tram tracks on the road surface. I believe that this city has (had) the only tram network in all of India.
Calcutta would also be the Indian city that used these hand-pulled rickshaws the longest. But I never saw them because I was never in Calcutta.
Funny but I saw such rickshaws in Japan. However, only in quiet places in the city and only intended for transporting tourists.
I wonder what your main photo would look like in colour?
Best regards, Paul

pajaran (115891) 2020-10-19 3:04

Greeting.
Beautiful photos and memories, well shown.
Good work by scanning slides, good text.
Memories and photographs remain.
I wish you a nice day, all the best in the new week that has begun.
Paja.

Miguel82 (47110) 2020-10-19 3:12

Gert, the traffic was very busy that day. The hand pulled rickshaws or arm rickshaws still exist nowadays although ngos and human rights organizations asked to ban them. The old mosque appears majestically on the right. The other picture shows the traffic jam and the yellow ambassadors used as taxis. I ve added a bit more information in my photo note. Fine colors, good sharpness, regards.

pierrefonds (114448) 2020-10-19 4:41

Hi Gert,

You have captured well a daily life scene. The point of view is showing how the movements on the street and details of the buildings. Well done, have a nice day.

Pierre

jhm (211736) 2020-10-19 6:16

Hello Gert,

What a busy city but happy less cars, almost twenty year ago.
I think that I yet must have a hour to look all details.
Sharpness and clarity make your picture attractive.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John

CMJC (5097) 2020-10-19 6:33 [Comment]

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jmdias (115156) 2020-10-19 9:48

gert

looks the chaos in person..but in those days not plastic in the ground as today.
I liked the mood of the main post, it would be perfect if only entire chariot would be in the center of the scene. the detective building is funny and I never saw one..the buildings of the other WS looks like having a personal forest growing above them.
take care

jorge

GyurMaster (24830) 2020-10-19 12:35

Hello again,

Its beyond question that this photo was the best solution as the main upload! Although we lost the colours of the Kodachrome, its still an amazing shot! I like the chaos one can observe! And still, its like a well-organized orchestra! I like the two yellow cabs in the WS. Are they Hindustan Ambassadors, an iconic car of India?

Best Wishes,
Gy.

Tue (92360) 2020-10-19 12:35

Hej Gert,
Sikke en travl by med masser af mennesker p� gaderne og meget at se p� husenes facader. Mosk閑n in baggrunden er ogs� godt kommet med og sender vores blik ind i gaden hen mod kuplen. Det vil v鎟e interessant at se hvordan stedet ser ud nu om dagen, der er bestemt meget der har 鎛dret sig i de sidste tredive 錼.
Lars

PiotrF (54666) 2020-10-19 14:45

Hello Gert,
A very nice daily life scene from street.
The atmosphere of this place is shown perfectly.
Interesting picture from your archive.
Fine presentation.
Regards
Piot

lousat (139266) 2020-10-19 15:31

Hi Gert,3 beautiful memories from your trip in Calcutta 29 years ago. Great confusion in the main pic and in the WS with the yellow taxis! And i wish me too to discover some stories from detective agency too..ehehe.well done! Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

ricardomattos (17460) 2020-10-19 20:06

Hi Gert,

What a beauty of work in B&W my friend. Full of moviment and different means of transport. Very well done.

Best regards

Ricardo

ifege (48085) 2020-10-19 23:38

Hi Gert
A good series from Calcutta with the main one being an excellent B&W image with lots of great detail.
cheers
Ian

emka (158156) 2020-10-20 0:08

Hello Gert, I read the discussion with Paul. Indeed, to see it in colour would be nice but there are many interesting details anyway. I saw similar hand-pulled rickshaws maybe also in India, but for sure in Japan. But there it was meant as a tourist attraction and the guys were nicely dressed and had special strange shoes. Interesting chaos in the street. I imagine it is a typical Calcutta. I had quite detailed plans for a trip to this part of India and maybe Bangladesh or Nepal. But first, I finally went to Saudi Arabia, so I postponed the plans for the next year, and now it seems impossible :(.

Best regards MAlgo

burmaman (1336) 2020-10-20 4:52

Hi Gert!
It`s a pleasure to see your old and good scans.Here are many fine details tom view, the different kinds of transportation, the policeman with helmet, the still working of carrying goods on the head....
I wonder about the diagonal lines non the ground looking like an old raillway or tram track.
Regards,Ronny

foxy (3461) 2020-10-20 13:38

Hello Gert,
Strange, at a glance....it's exactly what I see in this photo, calm and friendly atmosphere.
Suddenly back to the hustle and bustle of the big city swarming with people ( young and old )in all directions , the noise and smell, the honking and shouting...the whole street in disarray.
What I find most interesting is the vintage old cars with white patches ( are they taxis ) and one Tuk-Tuk ?
No sign of curry restaurants I see, I wonder if you do fancy Indian cooking since you've been many times in India.
When I was in Malaysia, I always watched Bollywood movies. I never knew it came from Calcutta :-) Mostly, it's a love story and a lot of dancing & singing.
Too bad, it's just a glimpse of the mosque.
:-) I thought the man sitting under the brolly , from the detective agency. Who knows, a detective in disguised.
Thanks for sharing these strictly not so ordinary views.
Loong

alvaraalto (42804) 2020-10-21 3:16

Hello Gert,
A wonderful varied presentation from Calcutta 1991.
When I look at the main picture, however, I feel like I'm in the interbellum, let's say 1926. With the photo quality associated with that time and therefore this atmosphere is enhanced.
In the first workshop photo we can see from the cars and the colors that we have anded in the end of the 20th century and the third photo indeed challenges us to fantasize about exciting stories that the detective can tell us.
In summary: a very rich contribution.
Have a nice day, groet Rob

clic (76) 2020-10-21 13:52

Hallo Gert
You were lucky to feel confident facing such a human tide;
everybody's tiptoeing on others' shoes!
Fortunately this time, no holy cow in sight to delay the traffic flow!
Lot of exoticism expressed in this busy scenery and I am wondering what can be nowadays the public fuzz in this commercial district.
Thanks for this instructive and well-restored voyage back in time!
Halsningar

kasianowak (17676) 2020-10-21 13:57

Hi Gert
I've never been to Calcutta, and I'm sure it has changed a lot, but this reminds me of the hustle and bustle of central Dhaka. However, I don't think I've ever seen hand-pulled rickshaws anywhere except for Japan. Probably for the best, even if the effort of some bicycle rickshaws is still heartbreaking. But then, people need to earn their living somehow. I remember and article I read in the National Geographic, probably in mid-90s about hand-pulled rickshaws being withdrawn from the streets of Calcutta and the impact that had on the livelihood of people who did that kind of job... It's easy to judge when one has been born in an affluent country with all the prospects.
Anyway... I really like this photo, there is so much going on, so many details to have a look at. All frozen in time. The two colour photographs complement the main one nicely and the detective sign is very intriguing indeed.
Best wishes
Kasia

jean113 (27853) 2020-10-23 4:19

Hello Gert, an excellent record of daily life in Calcutta in 1991.
The people so intent on their daily business, that they do not notice a photographer standing taking it all in!
I would have loved to know what the 'Novelty Cloth Stores' sold. And as for the 'GLobe Detective Agency', well, the mind pictures any number of scenarios.
Thanks for sharing such interesting pictures.
Excellent scanning.
Kind regards, Jean.

CLODO (45116) 2020-10-23 10:39

Hi Gert

Nice oldie with the street traffic, it seems there is no rule to drive there. The B&W accentuates the feeling of the past.
Cheers
CLODO

willperrett (14215) 2020-11-11 9:50

Hello Gert

I've been pretty lazy about visiting of late, so have missed a fair few of your postings. But I couldn't let this one go by, probably because it's my favourite black and white! It seems entirely appropriate too, for the almost 30-year old scene, and a street scene too, which of course, should always be in monochrome!! I wanted to say "timeless scene", but that's not only a clich�, but probably not true: I wonder what this street looks like today...

Kind regards

Will

adramad (72978) 2020-11-30 11:17

Hi Gert.
I love this photo in B&W, which gives us a totally timeless vision, I love this kind of carriages pulled by a person, when the normal thing would be for it to be by a horse, as we have seen them in my country in distant times, people , the houses, everything has that wonderful and a little crazy mix.
Excellent sharpness and light.
Very well done. I like very much.
You have a good day.
Very best regards.
Luis.

COSTANTINO (116490) 2021-02-09 23:22

Hello dear Gert and have a nice day
excellent choice of black and white
black and white brings memories
to me from my beginning with
the photography...
forgotten efforts...
regards
Costantino

mcmtanyel (68503) 2021-10-06 19:42

Hello Gert,
With all those rickshaws and B&W tones, this could be from the 19th century. But the Hindustan Ambassador and the tuk-tuk are betraying the illusion.
Regards,
MT