At Your Service

With all considerations to the fact that a six-year stay in the middle of a city against a six-month one on the outskirts of another is very likely going to lead to a biased opinion, I would like to state that New Delhi kicks Kolkata's ass.

The one thing that bugs me the most about this place is the absolute disinterest Kolkatans in general apparently have in earning money. Used to being swamped by salesmen in Delhi and Mumbai, I was shocked when some time back I had gone to a nearby shop to buy shoes. Actually the first shop that I walked into had such pathetic service that I walked out in disgust. The next one was slightly better in that one of the sales-guys took time away from his adda-session to notice me. I had to buy a pair of formals for my interviews. I told him my shoe-size, chose a pair on display, tried them on, didn't like it and asked him for another. He showed me a couple of pairs, and then started getting irritated when I wanted to see more. I needed the shoes badly, so I chose the first decent pair I could and came away. And this is not a one-off incident. No wonder this city runs because of the Marwaris and the Biharis. If not for the Marwari businessmen and the Bihari laborers, Kolkata would have succumbed to Cholbe Na - Cholbe Na the day the British left.

But all's not rotten in the city. One thing I like are the pubs. I rarely get to go to the city, but when I do with my friends, for much less than what I would probably be spending in Delhi for the same stuff, I end up having a great time. I discovered this place called the OlyPub recently. Had heard about it from a lot of people, but remembered to visit it for the first time only a couple of weeks back. Took some of my friends there a week later. It looks really bad at first glance, but it 'grows on you'. There's no music, no TV, no frills at all. The service is just about OK, but mainly because it always seems to be full, and the waiters appear to be on a relay-race. The alcohol and the food, both are fairly cheap, or maybe the ambience, or the lack of it, makes it look that way. They serve very nice steak, ham and beef (which I ate in India for the first time here). But the best thing is the fact that the crowd's just right, not too flashy, but not too down-market either. And the atmosphere is just right for a good conversation with a group of friends over nice beer and great steak.

There's another nice restaurant that we discovered a couple of months back. Cinnamon Lounge and Restaurant (or something like that) is also on Park Street, and a huge contrast from OlyPub. It's fairly expensive, but the amazing food and the good service makes it worth it. Especially the good service, which stands like an oasis in the desert that Kolkata is in that department.