Oh! Calcutta!

The travails of a resident of the city which has just concluded its year-Iong tercentenary celebrations with a lot of fanfare.
FRIENDS from other parts of the country and abroad sometimes wonder why people in Calcutta often do not respond to their correspondence more promptly or even refuse to accept proposed assignments. Possibly, they are not acquainted with the living and working conditions in Calcutta. Indeed, many foreign friends with a leftist bent tend to believe that under a communist-led government life in Calcutta should be easier than in other Indian cities. The following may give them some superficial glimpses of the travails of a denizen of this metropolis whose year-long tercentenary celebrations have just concluded with a lot of fanfare.