Features

Oh Kolkata

1 May 2007 by business traveller
In India, cricket is a religion", says my guide, Santi. "People actually pray to the players." He smiles as he watches my reaction. On our left is the Maidan, one of Kolkata's many parks; children run dusty and barefoot across the scorched grass, cricket bats outstretched, the red ball flying towards the stumps. It is a comfortable, traditional image of the city formerly known as Calcutta, located in West Bengal near India's north-eastern border with Bangladesh. Yet while cricket and crumbling Victorian buildings – remnants of the Raj – remain, Kolkata is moving forward with the rest of the country. "India Poised – Our time is now" reads a billboard at a busy intersection, where the city's distinctive yellow Ambassador cabs weave their way through the slow-moving traffic. It certainly seems as if the world is waiting on Kolkata's next move. Air India and BA offer direct services from London, Jet Airways stops over in Mumbai on the way and Lufthansa, currently flying three times a week from Frankfurt, is looking to expand flights to the city to a daily service by 2008. Werner Heesen, director of South Asia for Lufthansa, says: "Kolkata is the gateway to eastern India, and India will be the third-largest economy in the world by 2050 [after China and the US] – it is growing by 5 per cent a year." There is no shortage in interest in this booming economy. The UK is the third-largest overseas investor after Mauritius and the US in terms of new investments and, since the Indo-British Partnership was formed in 1993 to encourage trade between the two countries, there has been an increase of 69 per cent in bilateral trade. New industrial estates are springing up, including the IT centre Salt Lake City in the north-east of Kolkata (the UK is the largest market for Indian IT services). In the centre of the city, black and yellow posters offering lessons on "how to speak call-centre English" wallpaper the buildings of nearly every street. HSBC is one of the largest employers and within two years Kolkata will be the queen of India's call-centre industry, snatching the crown from Bangalore. The city is also starting to emerge as a tourist destination, thanks to its association with Mother Teresa and the East India Company (see box), and its status as the literary heart of India. West Bengal has in the past had a bit of a raw deal – Debjit Dutta, chief executive of Bon Voyage tour operators says: "One problem with tourism in India is that it is always the west and Delhi that is promoted but not the east." However, the government's "Incredible India" campaign, which has been running for two years, has now launched a separate operation to focus on east India. Another problem is that tourism is a relatively new concept and businesses, hotels and restaurants need to catch up, and catch on quickly, to cope with the increasing global interest. Dutta took me on a boat tour down the Hooghly River, a tributary of the Ganges, to get a view of the city and temples from the water. The boat broke the stillness of the brown water as it chugged along, and colourful funeral flowers rocked on the chocolate ripples. Families once brought dying relatives to the water-side so that they could pass away in the holy river, but the British banned this practice in 1925, declaring it unhygienic. Later that day as we stand before the white glare of the Victoria Memorial, a majestic white marble structure in the style of the Taj Mahal which took 15 years to build, Dutta says: "Companies here do not understand the concept of tourism. Like with the boat trip, we approached the captain and he did not understand why we wanted to go up and down the river. But this will change soon. I think it is starting to change now." Clearly part of the challenge is the infrastructure. Electric trams have been around since 1901 but do little to ease the congestion. With 40,000 trucks a day, 84,000 taxis and 17,000 rickshaws, the roads are gridlocked. Even the rickshaws are on a time-limit now as the government has declared them degrading to Indian people. After nearly being catapulted into a sacrificial goat pen as my rickshaw crashed into a taxi, I would say that safety is an issue too. To escape the rush I ventured underground to the metro system. Charlie Chaplin entertained the half-empty platform on television screens, and when the train rattled into place the carriage was far more civilised than London's heaving mass of commuters. If the rest of the city could be reached in such a fashion, life would be a little easier. Lufthansa's Heeson agrees that the infrastructure poses problems for business and leisure travellers. "There are different challenges faced by an airline operating in India and access to the airport is an issue," he says. Despite Kolkata's vibrant atmosphere, the view from the balcony of my hotel is a mixed one. The hotel's landscaped garden and pool are surrounded by a tall wall; behind it I can see a mountain of rubbish and children, like ants, picking their way through the bottles and cardboard. Santi explains that 32 per cent of the Indian population live below the poverty line (13,444 rupees a year, around £160). In the 1960s, a third of the population of Kolkata lived in slums. Now it is a fifth of the 14 million, and 100,000 Kolkattans pick up plastic bottles for a living. But visitors should be wary of handing out their cash impulsively. Professional beggars lie in wait outside the gates of five-star hotels having paid off the police. It's a real business here – a taxi driver earns around 500 rupees (£6) a day but a professional beggar can collect 3,000 rupees. You may well be persuaded to part with your money when you see a mother cradling her ragged child, but Santi warns that he sees the same women year after year and "their" babies never get any older. A more practical way of ending the poverty cycle is provided by organisations such as the British Consultancy Charitable Trust, which operates in 22 countries and is active in Kolkata. Linked with VSO, the BCCT (bcct.co.uk) is a voluntary organisation which assists people in developing countries "who need training, education and mentoring in the field of enterprise and social development". The BCCT offers free advice from experts in developing economies and has 12 projects in south-east Asia (four in West Bengal). The projects are put into practice by the Indian Professional Service Organisation, which aims to motivate people below the poverty line by organising workshops for SME's, which make up 20 per cent of businesses in Kolkata. The workshops teach participants how to deal with banks and put together proposals. For now, as long as you leave enough time to get to and from your meetings, Kolkata is a vibrant and convenient place to do business – Hyatt, Taj and Oberoi are all here (see box). From the Oberoi, it is a short and exciting taxi ride to the main shopping centre, government buildings and, if you have the time, one sight which should not be missed: the wholesale flower market under the arms of the busy Howrah Bridge. Open daily from sunrise to sunset, the market sees 5,000 people a day; men stagger past with 70 kilos of flowers on their heads, women walk draped in orange snake-like floral chains and families sit weaving flower necklaces. Buses and carts squeeze down the muddy avenues past the overpowering stalls. If India has been described as an attack on the senses, then this is one example. There is a flower for every god in India. And probably one for the cricketers too.

Five hotel options in Kolkata

Oberoi Grand Facilities 213 rooms, broadband internet in all rooms, 24-hour business centre, telephone conferencing and ballroom for 800 people. Also a pool, fitness centre and spa. Location Centrally located on Chowinghee street. Price From US$152 for a Classic room. Contact Tel +91 33 2249 2323, oberoihotels.com. Taj Bengal Kolkata Facilities 229 rooms, six meeting rooms with a capacity up to 500 people, wireless internet access, secretarial services, pool, fitness centre and spa. Location South Kolkata, opposite the Zoological garden and overlooking the Victoria Memorial and racecourse. 45 minutes from the airport. Price From US$170 for a Superior room. Contact Tel +91 33 2223 3939, tajhotels.com. The Park Hotel Kolkata Facilities 150 rooms, 24-hour business centre, meeting rooms for up to 20 people, six banquet halls holding up to 1,200, a 24-hour restaurant, fitness centre, pool and spa treatments. Location On Park Street, 15km from the airport and in the centre of the city, Contact Price From US$176 (Deluxe room with breakfast). Contact Tel +91 33 2249 9000, theparkhotels.com. The Kenilworth Kolkata Facilities 105 rooms, a business centre, 165sqft conference centre, secretarial assistance, health club, sauna and steam room. Location Close to the financial district on Little Russell Street and around 45km from the airport. Price From US$170 for an Executive room. Contact Tel +913324283945, kenilworthhotels.com. Hyatt Regency Kolkata Facilities 235 rooms, high-speed wired internet access and wireless in public areas, business centre, regency club and 790 sqm of meeting and conference space. Also a spa, pool and gym. Location In the emerging business district of Salt Lake City, 20 minutes from the airport and the city. Price From US$159 for a King room. Contact Tel +91 33 2335 1234, kolkata.regency.hyatt.com. All rates based on a midweek stay in mid-June, including 10 per cent luxury tax.

Facts you may not know

  • The population of India is 1.1 billion and there are half as many cows in the country as people and four times as many rats.
  • 70 per cent of the electric bulbs used in India are made in Kolkata.
  • More cars are sold in Kolkata every day than wrist-watches.
  • Indian trains carry more passengers each day than all the airlines in India in a year.
Facts by Santimoy (Santi) Bhattacharya for Bon Voyage House of Tourism. Santi has been a guide since 1963. Visit easthimalaya.com.
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