So when I was leaving Delhi for Calcutta, I was not surprised when my maid said enviously: 'Good you are going to Calcutta, Pakistan will surely drop the atom bomb on this awful city.' In fact, I have been wondering lately if there is anyone who wholeheartedly loves Delhi.
Calcutta was a pleasant change. At Netaji Subhas Bose airport, we had a proper aero-bridge, as in Bombay, to save one walking to a bus and then the trudge to the arrival lounge. The city, of course, has a terrible air of decay along old familiar streets and bylanes and very little seems to have been done to save its heritage buildings, the demolition of the old Senate Hall being one of the most shocking civic tragedies. But go to the old shady streets of Ballygunje, its elegant buildings, some with traces of old-style architecture, and you feel nostalgic.