For a long time I had wanted to visit Kolkata, a city about which I have read a lot, heard and thought a lot. From the writings of Rabindranath Tagore, Bibhuti Bhushan, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Sarat Chandra, from the films of Satyajit Ray, Shyam Benegal, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Aparna Sen i had a few notions in my head. I have been an ardent admirer of the intellectual spirit of this city. Bengal; the cradle of Indian renaissance, the land of pioneering reform, the place from where the flames of freedom fanned across India, the land of intellectuals, reformers and patriots, I wanted to be