At first when I read your post I was curious too why getting a SIM in India is complicated, but seeing the photo actually reminded me. Indian government is quite serious about this kind of security. You might have heard that India threaten to ban Skype and BlackBerry unless the services can be monitored. Chinese telecom equipments were already banned too.

Really interesting!!! You even sound like it’s much much worse in India than in Myanmar…

OK. Let me take a deep breath before I get started to reply to this post, which I feel I must, to put things in perspective.

- There is no denying the fact that Calcutta is chaotic, maddening, overwhelming even to people NOT from first world nations.

- There is abject poverty, people and canines (sorry dog lovers) eating out of the same plate (read garbage vats/dumpsters). There are beggars, destitute, homeless, smokers, dopers, junkies, sick, venal…. (as a reminder please refer Taxi Driver – a Martin Scorsese classic depicting New York of the late 1970′s

- Traffic is not really our forte, here in Calcutta. The central walled city is the worst and the most chaotic of them all. However I have traveled to Bangalore (and again not to compare) – people there lately have found traffic to be nightmarish, it’s boon has been it’s bane. The city traffic I heard and saw it bursting at it’s seams. On my last visit I saw a big stretch completely dug up, leaving may be 25% of the road space. Again Mumbai and Delhi have more land available to them.

- Now coming to the fact that there are two or more sides to a coin, what you have seen is one side and been judgmental about it. Give your host a chance to show you around the other side, and not just the underbelly of any city is bound to be dark, uninspiring and a reminder to the fact that people in general need to wake up and smell the stink around them. I lived and worked out of New York / New Jersey and can take you to certain parts of even present day New York where if you can go once, are likely to never return (traffic chaos included)

- If your host is only taking you on a tour of “let us see all that does not work in my city”, it is plain sad. Because there are things that do work, there are things that are historic, well maintained and inviting. I would like to be realistic and in order to do that – if I show you something I am ashamed of (and there is plenty of that), I should also show you something I am proud of !

- Please be sure not to miss out on certain key aspects of the city that include but are not limited to – Park St (the mecca of food lovers), the Heritage New Market area, Eden Garden stadium, Millineum Park on the water front, Sweet meat shops scattered around the city, even Howrah Station (over 100 years old – the only station at least in India – where you can drive in and park inside the train station right next to the train compartment you are going to be traveling in), the Victoria Memorial, New Town – a burgeoning and modern township coming up on the eastern fringes of the city.

- I just got back from one such hidden gem – “Belur Math” – a pilgrimages for people from all religions; you don’t need to be a staunchly religious to be visiting this place set up by Swami Vivekananda a hundred or more years ago. This is a settlement and place of worship on the water front and is pure, serene and peaceful like any other place in the world I have traveled to. They do a terrific job at keeping the place spic and span!

- May be I am getting a little defensive about the city where I am born and raised, but I have to put things in perspective In my own small way I am trying to make a difference around me in helping change the things that need changed for better. I find it extremely difficult to agree with arm-chair analysts and the citizens of the country from far away land passing judgment on how bad things are in their own land. I have lived and worked in US of A for several years, have returned to my roots and has it been easy – certainly not

- I still get frustrated at the system and things not working, at bandhs and strikes and everything not-so-good about the city. I still bite my tongue, keep my head down and try to do whatever little I can do to help.

- Regarding the SIM card and the somewhat convoluted process – we are a country threatened by terrorist strikes more than there are hours in a day. The government has put in some rules in place earnestly to try to prevent connections to unscrupulous subscribers. Is that going to stop them to do their nefarious acts – NO – but we can’t be twiddling our thumbs either. It is not a perfect world, what can I say as a citizen it is our job to abide by the law and order around us. And really, if you have the documents listed in place, I can get you a pre-paid SIM sooner than you can say SIM ! Else you can always borrow a SIM.

Finally Kalyan (hope you are reading this) – it is stretching it to call Calcutta to be rather backward. It is true it is a polarized world here, and the gap needs bridged among people who cannot afford two square meals a day, and the super rich ! But isn’t that gap present everywhere, may be it’s wider here than other places !

I really hope you do see the uplifting face of Calcutta and not just the underbelly – Good luck and Good night !

PS: I agree airport is in a bad-shape however you will take delight in noting that we are in the middle of a modernization project which will hopefully end some woes. Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore are ahead in the race. Unfortunately it is no longer the age of “What Bengal things today, India thinks tomorrow”. May be we do think ahead, but we certainly do not it ahead of others

@Chip – I would like to take the opportunity to explain – and say some things in my and Calcutta’s defense. You have by all means a right to voice your opinion. You are welcome to Calcutta and have an opinion too. Just that opinions can often get prejudiced/skewed and things need to be put in perspective. Just as there is bad, there is good too. No city / town / country would be able to sustain if there were bad and bad alone. So I sincerely hope that your hosts showed you around some nicer places too and explained to you why are things the way they are – rather than just saying look how dirty, dingy, over-populated, polluted this city is !

And what can do as a conscientious citizen to help improve things ? You will be glad to know there are bunch of do-gooders right here on facebook – they launched something called – Calcutta Cleanup Campaign to address one of the problem areas we have. Now these people deserve all the credit, as opposed to people who comfortably sit miles away and pass their verdicts – oh this isn’t right, that ain’t right, this is dirty, that is stuck in the 80′s. Ask them one good thing they have done for their city or neighborhood and they will be looking for help.

We all want nice cushy jobs, fat salaries, good food, nicer cars .. nothing wrong with that. But ask the same people – would you be willing to may be not drive your car – 2 days each week to help fight the pollution problem. The answer might come – oh well, what difference is that going to make. Charity begins at home, it’s easy to be judgmental and make facebook comments. It is also a fad these days to bad-mouth the city/town/country you belong to, you can make friends easier that way.

Finally, I would like to apologize if my words would have hurt your sentiment and/or intellect. That is why they say – use tasteful words when arguing because we might have to eat them back

Kolkata has the worst traffic in the world. A total chaos. I lived in Kol for a year and getting driven in there was like a journey to hell. The yellow monsters come charging on you. Bumper kisses are very common and the bus drivers are like frustrated demons who wish to kill someone in a day.