Overview in Calcutta

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Overview

Despite its congestion, Calcutta is a fairly manageable city. The majority of Calcuttans rely on buses, trams, and the spotless metro. You will probably rely mostly on taxis, rickshaws, and your feet (the bus system is indecipherable, the rickety trams are good only for an early morning ride, and the metro is somewhat limited). Calcutta is not a good city for driving. Take a cab to or from the area you're visiting, and once there, rely on your feet or a sturdy rickshaw.

Many streets in Calcutta have been renamed in a rather haphazard way. Though some maps and street signs have only the new names, you're more likely to see just the old or both. Taxis and rickshaws use the names interchangeably, but, unsurprisingly, old names are still favored, as most of the new names are ridiculously long and obscure. The most important name changes are: Chowringhee Road is now Jawaharlal Nehru (J. L. Nehru) Road; Ballygunge Circular is now Pramathesh Barua Sarani; Bowbazar is now B. B. Ganguly Street; Harington Street is now Ho Chi Minh Sarani (and, in a poetic, Calcuttan manner, home of the U.S. and U.K. consulates); Lansdowne Road is now Sarat Bose Road; Lower Circular Road is now A. J. C. Bose Road; Rippon Street is now Muzaffar Ahmed Street; and Theater Road is now Shakespeare Sarani; a complete list is available at the Government of India tourist office or in Calcutta: Gateway to the East (published by Travel House, Rs. 40). In response to the painful traffic situation, authorities have made many roads in Calcutta one way and then the other way and then two ways at various times throughout the day and week.