Subrata Das — jettisoned by a world that’s never tired of touting social uplift as its mother motive and the cornerstone of a balanced universe — sleeps under a clear sky each day of his life. Occasionally he watches the stars, which carry no messages for his types and play no guides. They guide only the important or so we think.

There are thousands like him across Kolkata. It is the capital of the state of West Bengal and formerly the capital of the British empire.

The metropolis, which has been home to four Nobel laureates (poet Rabindranath Tagore, Mother Teresa, economists Amartya Sen and Abhijit Banerjee), has been described as a city of joy. One has always found that description confusing. Is the author in anyway romanticising poverty? Or for him is the city nothing more than a powerful motif? Or a fertile playground for creative minds?

---

Is the author in anyway romanticising poverty? Or for him is the city nothing more than a powerful motif?

---

If sleeping on pavements for years is a joy then the words make sense. If bathing at roadside taps is a joy then the words make sense. If doing dishes and washing clothes there is a joy then the words make sense. If garbage heaps form a joyful sight then the words make sense. If eateries near poorly covered drains are a matter of joy then the words make sense.

One was very hopeful of progress when a few years ago the current chief minister of the state, quite rightly considered a champion of the minorities and underprivileged and a redoubtable opposition to the ruling party, had promised to transform Kolkata into another London in six months’ time. She had said so in very emphatic terms after her party ousted the leftists, who had left the city in anarchic health following a three-decade rule.

We believed her and decided to temporarily freeze our time-tested conviction that politicians live off rhetoric. She had also said she would convert the famous tea district of Darjeeling into another Switzerland. Also in six months. On hearing that we did go high on tea.

Except for some flyovers and some malls nothing much has happened over the years. Wasn’t really expected. But for the common man it was a typical case of hope against hope.

Well, the next state election could mean serious trouble for the present dispensation. And one big reason for that fear is unfulfilled promises about the development of the state in general and the city in particular.