ISSUE 22
Kolkata
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Twenty-five years ago, Calcutta officially became Kolkata. Has anything truly changed since then? In many ways, the name change was inconsequential. Throughout history, the city has worn a long mala of names around her neck: Kalikata, Kolikata, Kalkatta. She never needed the decision of elected officials to adopt new appellations. When the name Kolkata was officially consecrated, it did ruffle feathers among some sections of the anglicised elite. But it was far from revolutionary. The name had long been alive on Bengali lips anyway. So then what? Has nothing changed at all? Outsiders and Bengalis alike often dismiss the city as doomed to stagnation, trapped in her past. There is no doubt that nostalgia permeates Kolkata's aesthetic - you cannot escape it here. But Kolkata is far more than that. Scratch the tired image of a sleepy city, and you see a megalopolis in motion. New takes on Bengali cuisine. Edgy comics. Alternative lenses from younger photographers. An irreverent underground scene. Heavy bass, rap, and humour from the margins. Kolkatae onek kichu hocche toh - much is stirring in Kolkata, and it is time to recognise those reshaping the city's imagination. This is a tribute to a city of textures and contradictions, of irresistible quirks and irreverent grace. This is Kolkata for you: heavy on nostalgia, but enough attitude to dance with it.

MITI

On 8th June 2025, Miti Adhikari, also known as Silver Fox, passed away. A sound engineer and producer who worked with the best – Pink Floyd, Nirvana, the Strokes, Radiohead, to mention just a few… – he played a major role in shaping Kolkata’s 21st century indie scene. Miti’s niece, Tara McManus, pays tribute to his gloriously warm light.

EDEN GARDENS: PARADISE LOST?

“Mumbai has the legacy, Delhi has the passion, Bangalore the Academy, and Chennai the tacticians. Kolkata has the stadium…Make no mistake, Eden still packs a deafening roar. But the sound has lost some of its meaning. How did we get there?” — Sushovan Sircar

A DECADE OF DECADENCE

“For all of Kolkata’s own brand of cosmopolitanism, and despite being able to have the world’s most perfect bhetki paturi and chingri malai curry here, it was still difficult to find world cuisines at a level that competed with other metropolitan cities, let alone “food” cities. And then suddenly, that began to change.” — Karuna Ezara Parikh

NABANNA: WOUNDS, WAR AND HUNGER

“Pradip Das conceived Nabanna: Wounds, War and Hunger as a pandal for Durga Puja 2025. The installation connects two distinct yet genealogically linked episodes of colonial violence: the state-engineered Bengal Famine of 1943 and the ongoing genocide in Palestine.” — Sayanth R S

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