Calcutta and The River: A Photo Essay

patrickG · October 7th, 2010, 06:43 PM

Without the Hooghly river, there would be no Calcutta..or Kolkata if you prefer.

In our rush to urbanise, to build bigger, taller, better buildings and create infrastructure that will benefit an unquantifiable and an often unconcerned percentage of the population, we have treated the river more like a massive drainage canal. With all the talk of beautifying the river front we have forgotten the river itself. And do remember, so far there has only been talk of beautifying, just the phrase most favoured by those in government: "we are planning to...". I'm sorry, I don't think a public park along the river banks is beautifying in any way.

These are all pictures taken by me and you may use them freely only if you are not gaining monetarily from it. My intention is to start off a discussion in SSC about this aspect. I hope my pictures will provide some inspiration.

patrickG · October 7th, 2010, 06:58 PM

Sorry, don't know what happened to the size of the images...still getting the hang of this..bear with me...!

patrickG · October 7th, 2010, 07:33 PM

patrickG · October 7th, 2010, 07:42 PM

Ok, got the hang of posting images! Enjoy...and do respond. Thanks!

All the pics are recent, within the last 12 months.

sidney_jec · October 7th, 2010, 07:44 PM

Delete

patrickG · October 7th, 2010, 08:15 PM

patrickG · October 7th, 2010, 08:17 PM

patrickG · October 7th, 2010, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidney_jec

Delete

what exactly?

sidney_jec · October 7th, 2010, 09:39 PM

oh nothing man. i was actually quoting you image to put it right when you couldn't figure it out how to. but by the time I posted you had so deleted my comment.

patrickG · October 7th, 2010, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidney_jec

oh nothing man. i was actually quoting you image to put it right when you couldn't figure it out how to. but by the time I posted you had so deleted my comment.

Sorry. I didn't mean to intentionally delete it. But thanks for offering to help, though I - think! - I have it now.

sidney_jec · October 8th, 2010, 07:41 AM

just one thing man. resize your images to 800 X 600.

***Suncity*** · October 9th, 2010, 05:20 AM

Hello Patrick. Welcome to the forums. I have seen your photos of Kolkata before in picasaweb and infact I did post a couple in this forums with links back to your album.

Can you please resize the photos to a smaller size? They are really huge. I have fixed the thumbnails in the first post.

If you intend to post more photo essays we can move this thread to the showcase gallery.

What are your viewpoints on the beautification plans that never materialize?

skyscrapercity103 · October 9th, 2010, 06:27 AM

OMG..they are too big..suncity please help him out. thanks

patrickG · October 19th, 2010, 09:00 AM

@suncity: sorry about the photo sizes. will do as you suggest from now on. yes, I did see your posts and links back to me...it's how I got on to this forum! I do want to post more pics. about moving it to the showcase gallery, I leave it to you/moderator.

On beautification plans that never materialize I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I do want to see a genuine cosmetic overhaul of the city and its environs. At the same time, I have seen from research and experience that these plans to beautify never take all stakeholders into account, are usually vague ideas of bureaucrats and some so-called experts, incompetently executed or implemented (if at all) by the public works department and their sub-contractors, while the rest of us citizenry have to accept whatever is finally offered. That there is no public discussion nor opinions gathered for aesthetic and utility values and long-term sustainability is the grouse I have.

October 7th, 2010, 06:43 PM	#1
patrickG Registered User Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Calcutta Posts: 9 Likes (Received): 0	Calcutta and The River: A Photo Essay Without the Hooghly river, there would be no Calcutta..or Kolkata if you prefer. In our rush to urbanise, to build bigger, taller, better buildings and create infrastructure that will benefit an unquantifiable and an often unconcerned percentage of the population, we have treated the river more like a massive drainage canal. With all the talk of beautifying the river front we have forgotten the river itself. And do remember, so far there has only been talk of beautifying, just the phrase most favoured by those in government: "we are planning to...". I'm sorry, I don't think a public park along the river banks is beautifying in any way. These are all pictures taken by me and you may use them freely only if you are not gaining monetarily from it. My intention is to start off a discussion in SSC about this aspect. I hope my pictures will provide some inspiration. Last edited by Suncity; October 9th, 2010 at 05:08 AM. Reason: fixed the thumbnail links

October 7th, 2010, 06:58 PM	#2
patrickG Registered User Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Calcutta Posts: 9 Likes (Received): 0	sorry! Sorry, don't know what happened to the size of the images...still getting the hang of this..bear with me...! __________________ *More of my pics* *here* *and* *here* ...and read some of my writings here

October 7th, 2010, 07:33 PM	#3
patrickG Registered User Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Calcutta Posts: 9 Likes (Received): 0	__________________ *More of my pics* *here* *and* *here* ...and read some of my writings here Last edited by patrickG; October 7th, 2010 at 08:01 PM. Reason: to enable image

October 7th, 2010, 07:42 PM	#4
patrickG Registered User Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Calcutta Posts: 9 Likes (Received): 0	Ok, got it! Ok, got the hang of posting images! Enjoy...and do respond. Thanks! All the pics are recent, within the last 12 months. __________________ *More of my pics* *here* *and* *here* ...and read some of my writings here

October 7th, 2010, 07:44 PM	#5
sidney_jec Complex Equation Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 6,256	Delete __________________ *Everything that can be done, either by Man or God, has been done in India - Mark Twain* myIncredibleIndia \| flickr \| Sids Photography \| Will you fight a monkey?

October 7th, 2010, 08:15 PM	#6
patrickG Registered User Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Calcutta Posts: 9 Likes (Received): 0	__________________ *More of my pics* *here* *and* *here* ...and read some of my writings here

October 7th, 2010, 08:17 PM	#7
patrickG Registered User Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Calcutta Posts: 9 Likes (Received): 0	looking across the water __________________ *More of my pics* *here* *and* *here* ...and read some of my writings here

October 7th, 2010, 09:39 PM	#9
sidney_jec Complex Equation Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 6,256	oh nothing man. i was actually quoting you image to put it right when you couldn't figure it out how to. but by the time I posted you had so deleted my comment. __________________ *Everything that can be done, either by Man or God, has been done in India - Mark Twain* myIncredibleIndia \| flickr \| Sids Photography \| Will you fight a monkey?

October 8th, 2010, 07:41 AM	#11
sidney_jec Complex Equation Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 6,256	just one thing man. resize your images to 800 X 600. __________________ *Everything that can be done, either by Man or God, has been done in India - Mark Twain* myIncredibleIndia \| flickr \| Sids Photography \| Will you fight a monkey?

October 9th, 2010, 05:20 AM	#12
*Suncity* By the ocean Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 24,311 Likes (Received): 766	Hello Patrick. Welcome to the forums. I have seen your photos of Kolkata before in picasaweb and infact I did post a couple in this forums with links back to your album. Can you please resize the photos to a smaller size? They are really huge. I have fixed the thumbnails in the first post. If you intend to post more photo essays we can move this thread to the showcase gallery. What are your viewpoints on the beautification plans that never materialize?

October 9th, 2010, 06:27 AM	#13
skyscrapercity103 BANNED Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 149 Likes (Received): 0	OMG..they are too big..suncity please help him out. thanks

October 19th, 2010, 09:00 AM	#14
patrickG Registered User Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Calcutta Posts: 9 Likes (Received): 0	Thanks and apologies! @suncity: sorry about the photo sizes. will do as you suggest from now on. yes, I did see your posts and links back to me...it's how I got on to this forum! I do want to post more pics. about moving it to the showcase gallery, I leave it to you/moderator. On beautification plans that never materialize I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I do want to see a genuine cosmetic overhaul of the city and its environs. At the same time, I have seen from research and experience that these plans to beautify never take all stakeholders into account, are usually vague ideas of bureaucrats and some so-called experts, incompetently executed or implemented (if at all) by the public works department and their sub-contractors, while the rest of us citizenry have to accept whatever is finally offered. That there is no public discussion nor opinions gathered for aesthetic and utility values and long-term sustainability is the grouse I have. __________________ *More of my pics* *here* *and* *here* ...and read some of my writings here

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