Oh! Kolkata!

Well, this article was very interesting because it dealt specifically with Calcutta (Kolkata). The author began by discussing his experiences in Kolkata, and did a good job of explaining and evaluating the things he saw. He mentioned the slums, the summer monsoons, the beggars, the street people, the rickshaws, etc. After spending some time discussing these things, the author goes into discussing Kolkata and how it is transforming into a global city. One way Kolkata is going global (sounds like a book I read earlier...India: Goes Global...I guess the same should be true of Kolkata) is through the expansion of malls, and restaurants. As these types of buildings grow, and Indian business people are using the standards of service many have learned from the West, Kolkata is catching up with many of it's neighboring cities and countries.

The author says that Kolkata still isn't "on a par" with that of China, but the city is headed in the same direction. I thought it was very interesting that the author talks about the middle class. In most everything I have read up until now, very little is said about the middle class, and if anything is mentioned, it is that the middle class is vanishing. The author of the article states that "Calcutta's middle class, which has always been here, has take on greater visibility, thanks in part to its consumerist buying sprees." The author also mentions, in discussing the middle class, that the people who sell food on the side walk, and the people with sewing machines sitting on pavement are actually lower middle class people. What? I think that really puts things into perspective for me. The author says that "selling noodles and curry dishes testify to the rise of a lower middle class." I guess these are individuals who have risen from complete poverty, and this is considered a fairly decent job. Wow!

With what I just came to understand, I think it is true that our "Western fixation on the visual brutality of its poverty has obscured its harsh, unsentimental upward mobility." It is difficult to see upward mobility, when the people who are moving up still seem to be in such poverty in my eyes. The "new rich" class is growing, and because of this jobs are being created for the poor. Although jobs are being created, problems still remain because the places the poor live are being over run by new "housing developments" and gated communities for the rich. Kolktaa is home to primary and secondary education that is probably the finest in the country--it is even referred to as "the Harvard of India" (I thought this was hilarious because some people refer to Wofford as "the Harvard of the South!"). Kolkata has something though, that many other cities do not have that will allow it to continue to grow. Kolkata has adequate fresh water which many other Indian cities lack. This alone is a big promoter in the continued growth of Kolkata.