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Calcutta or Kolkata? Indpaedia says: Both
Priyanka Dasgupta | TNN | Aug 3, 2016 The Times of India Capital shift: After 15 years, why Kolkata is still Calcutta for many
KOLKATA: In 2001, just after then Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee announced that the state capital `Calcutta' would be officially renamed `Kolkata', author Mahasveta Devi had welcomed the change.But, almost parenthetically , she had asked what would happen to the names of the city's venerable institutions? Would Calcutta University be renamed Kolkata University? Would Calcutta high court be called Kolkata High Court?
Fifteen years later, the Centre has proposed a bill to change the names of Madras, Bombay and Calcutta high courts to Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata high courts respectively . But the name of Calcutta University remains unchanged.
Among those who had clamoured for a change in the nomenclature of the state capital was author Sunil Gangopadhyay. Soon after the announcement, the elated author had reacted to the change, describing it as a "long-standing demand of intellectuals of the metropo lis". Gangopadhyay had even hoped that the state would be renamed "Paschim Banga" and had suggested that at least a third of the signboards in the city be rewritten in Bengali.This, he had said, would "fuel" Bengali pride, make people feel that the city belonged to Bengalis and do away with the colonial hangover. However, film-maker Mrinal Sen had wondered whether renaming would indeed help in getting rid of the colonial legacy . To do away with that legacy , he had maintained, was not that simple.
Actor-director Parambrata Chatterjee refuses to let go of Chatterjee refuses to let go of `Calcutta' when speaking English. "The colonial hangover is a part of us. I don't denounce everything with a colonial legacy . In Bengali, I call my city Kolkata. But in English, it is always Calcutta for me," he said.
Names of Calcutta Univer sity, IIM-Calcutta, Calcutta Club, Royal Calcutta Golf Club, Royal Calcutta Turf Club and Calcutta Telephones have also not changed.
Suvojit Guha, former presi dent of Calcutta Club, said the committee that was in charge of managing the club's affairs in 2001had decided that the original name was better. "Being a conventional club, we don't embrace change drastically . Without a doubt, the original name of the club goes better with its identity," he said.
Many also point out that while Calcutta is easier to a non-resident's tongue, the name `Kolkata' often gets mutilated into `Kawlkotta' and its variants by many. "Thankfully, our club's name has been saved from that," Guha concluded.
Sex and the Mahanagar
Sexy, naughty, wild: Kolkata goes kinky
Stuti Agarwal,TNN | Apr 25, 2014 The Times of India
In the 1990s, Kolkata was plain ol' vanilla. In ice-creams, cakes, perfumes, bathing bars and yes, even in the bedroom. Life was squeaky clean. If you wanted to get dirty, you went to the Maidan and played football.
In 2014, couples are buying sex toys, friends are throwing erotic bachelor parties, lingerie is getting kinkier and wedding cakes naughtier.
Dress to thrill
Apparently, Kolkata is naughtier than metros like Delhi and Mumbai, according to La Lingerie. Crotchless panties and cupless/ see-through bras, apart from sex toys and vibrators, have kinky fetishists bending over backwards — or forward, if that suits your style — to get them. Its proprietors says that the sales of kinky items have gone up here, as compared to our stores in other parts of India. In the last two years, sales have shot up by 100%. Handcuffs, whips and lubricants are their largest selling items. It's okay to gift naughty items at weddings now. Often, my clients discuss with me the kind of daring lingerie they'd like to wear or how they like to pleasure themselves. Buying wrist cuffs, cat o' nines, riding crops and inflatable dolls isn't taboo anymore."
Dare to gift
When it comes to gifts, a whole world of erotic items have opened up. So you have kinky board games, candles, glasses and clocks flying off the shelves, thanks to more and more people throwing adult-themed parties. From straws, whistles and glares to chocolates — almost everything is available in genital shapes.
According to the Party Hunterz shop, these items double up as party props and icebreakers. We started stocking some of the naughtiest items when their demand soared too high to be ignored. Overtly flirtatious badges, kinky games (such as roulettes with options like grab a guy's bun) leather whips and fur handcuffs fly off our shelves."
Not surprisingly, good ol' Kamasutra is also finding itself under the spotlight.
At the F-Bloc shop the Kamasutra clock is their largest selling item, closely followed by dice games which instruct you on sexual poses! Sales of such items have shot up by 35% since 2012. Most of their clients are youngsters. They are well-informed and know enough to pre-order such gifts from abroad if need be. Even girls do not shy away from asking for kinky gift items now.
Whipping up a storm
There was a time when buying a cake was about choosing between stuff like black forest and butterscotch. It's time you woke up to naughty cakes. From bachelor parties to birthdays and anniversaries, you can order for any occasion . Coming in all sorts of suggestive shapes and sizes, they are guaranteed to up the fun quotient. At the Krazy For Chocolates stores earlier only boys would drop in to order such cakes. But over the last few years, the shop has seen girls coming and giving detailed descriptions (often, offering pictures too) of their naughty cakes.in 2014 girl ordered an adult cake at our store, but asked for it to be toned down a bit since her saas-sasur would be present at the do! On another occasion, a girl gifted a cake showing a naked couple making love, to her bhaiya-bhabhi!
Apparently, most of these cakes are ordered during the wedding season! Krazy For Chocolates sold 50 naughty cakes in the 2013 wedding season that lasted two months Earlier, when KFC had to make a naughty cake, the proprietor would send everyone out for lunch and ask a trusted aide to stay back and help. But now, everybody is in on the game.
Hard reading
the sale of erotic books shot up when a certain Christian Grey came calling. Now, according to figures provided by city bookstores, readers in all age brackets — from teens to retired people — are snapping up these books. EL James's series helped increase the visibility of books such as the Crossfire series and other erotic novels. Now bookstores have a widely stocked segment on erotica and from 60-year-old bureaucrats to 20-year-old youngsters, everyone's asking for such titles without inhibitions. Bookstores are also stocking up on adult board games! In 2012, only guys would come looking for such items furtively. Now, women come in and locate these stuff themselves
E-kink isn't cool The city seems to love the touchyfeely bit. Which is why online sales of kinky items have dropped from the city. Kolkata isn't among India’s top five cities for e-sales of sex toys and lingerie. Maybe because it is more easily available here now.
