Kolkata's story goes way beyond Howrah Bridge and yellow taxis: Meghdut RoyChowdhury

For Meghdut RoyChowdhury, Kolkata isn’t only about nostalgia; it’s a city that constantly reinvents itself. As Calcutta Times celebrates 25 years, we speak to the brain behind the Make Calcutta Relevant Again initiative and the executive director and chief innovation officer at Techno India Group about celebrating social innovators, reviving traditions in contemporary ways and why the city still holds immense potential for the next generation.You’ve been highlighting contemporary stories from Kolkata through your work. What inspired you to focuson that? I’m inherently an anti-nostalgia person. Growing up, we keep hearing about certain legends who did so much for the city and established its identity. But where is the list of people who were born in the last 30, 40, 50 years? Young people today need leaders, icons, and role models they can relate to – people who aren’t much older than them. We live in a world where 22-23-year-olds are building billion-dollar companies. We see entire social movements started by young people. Because of the internet, and the power it bestows on every young person, everyone has a better chance than ever before to build a meaningful life for themselves. If that’s the case, why are we always looking at the past? Why can’t we look at what’s happening now? Every day, in my search for stories from the city, I discover people revitalising old traditions in new ways.If you had to introduce Kolkata to a global audience, how would you describe it? There’s no easy answer. But the three words I’d use are – food, aggressively hospitable, warm. And by warm, I mean both in terms of the weather and the people.What do you think young people today expect from a city like Kolkata when it comes to opportunities and growth? Young people are looking for stable jobs. They are looking for opportunities to build within the city. And if they don’t get stable jobs, then they need experience and opportunities that offer them much more than a regular job. I think there’s a lot of scope for that here. People also want a stable startup ecosystem – a place where they can build, collaborate, and grow with confidence.What excites you about the revival of Kolkata’s heritage?What inspires me is sustained effort to help people see the city from a different perspective. The Kolkata Illumination Project is a major example. It shows that sometimes, all that’s needed is a little light. There are also cultural activations happening – theatre, performances, and events in places like the GPO, old insurance buildings, and other historic sites. Without these interventions, these are just old buildings.‘There’s a stark difference between Kolkata today and 20 years ago’Why do we only call showbiz people celebrities? Why don’t we celebrate founders of NGOs, social enterprises, startups, artist collectives, or public institutions doing globally relevant work? Today, we have an experimental gallery culture. We have people like Prateek and Priyanka associated with institutions of global standing. We also have exciting developments in food and hospitality. There are restaurants that are reimagining Bengali food for global audiences. If you brought someone to Kolkata 20 years ago and compared that with the experience today, they would see a stark difference. There are genuinely good things happening, and for a city to remain relevant, these things matter.The stories told about the city online are limited to the same clichés – the Howrah Bridge, trams, yellow taxis, nostalgia. But those things alone do not define Kolkata. It’s story goes way beyond all thatWhen people begin to see performances in their corridors, art in their courtyards, and life inside them, heritage buildings become relevant againCaption: (below) a dance-off session in progress at the CCU Festival 2025 – a part of the Make Calcutta Relevant Again initiative