It’s a Classic!

Contrary to its current very Bengali identity, Calcutta (or Kolkata as most would know it now) actually began as a very British city. The man who established it in 1690, Job Charnock, was British and it remained a British city until Independence. In fact, it even served as the capital of British India from 1858 to 1911. On the other hand, the iconic British maker of motorcycles, Royal Enfield, has remained in Indian hands for several decades now. Despite its very Indian modern identity, the brand began life in distant Redditch, England, in 1901. In the post-Independence era both, Royal Enfield and Calcutta, remain shining examples of British heritage, albeit touched with an Indian flavour. To me, this curious parallel became a call to explore the iconic city from the saddle of the brand’s spanking new Classic 350.  One of the most difficult bits about exploring a city as rich in its heritage as Calcutta is, having to decide what to leave out of the route plan. After much deliberation, I decided to omit the old Indian quarters. Their rich heritage isn’t exactly British, while a more practical consideration was the fact that the roads and streets there aren’t conducive