Chancing upon the Calcutta Houses account on Instagram (pictured above and below) could all too easily be the start of a descent down a long rabbit hole.
Calcutta Houses‘ posts of old houses of Kolkata perfectly capture some of the faded glamour and rundown charm of the city.
And it’s an quick hop, skip and a click to #calcuttahouses for more, going from there to the dormant old Calcutta (Kolkata) blog and then thoughts of a Kolkata walking tour.
By the time it comes to black and white images of Kolkata or browsing Flickr, it’s probably time to call it a day.
Nevertheless, I do love the architecture of Kolkata, a city that has always reminded me, at least in some ways, of Liverpool – another place I love.
Bear with me.
Both rose to prominence at about the same time when the British Empire was in the ascendence; both were major imperial ports; both have a very definite sense of themselves (and one where culture figures heavily); both are home to friendly, somewhat garrulous people; a could go on.
Nevertheless, the imperial connection – before the Bengalis scared the British into retreating to Delhi – finds echoes of the old buildings of Liverpool and those of Kolkata and vice versa.
But all this just reminds me that I must revisit both cities some time soon.
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