Epi portal on kolkata!

Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal is among the oldest cities in India and bears signs of

ancient traditions. Though with the passage of time the characteristics of the city has changed

drastically one can find lot of things that speaks about its past. The central and Northern part

of the city still hosts plenty of century-old houses that stand as specimens of architecture of

the bygone eras. Today, thousands of flashy new cars and two wheelers travel from one from one

corner of the city to another but one can still see man-pulled rickshaws here, which used to be

one of the most common means of local transportation for the people. But the image of Kolkata is

changing very fast. In fact it is changing everyday, every hour and it’s all because of the

impact of modern technology. From architecture to transportation service, food service to

entertainment venues, shops to markets, everything is witnessing the huge impact of modern

technology and as a result, the lifestyle of people of Kolkata is also changing rapidly.

The biggest gift of modern technology to Kolkata is perhaps Salt Lake Sector-V, which is

popularly known as the IT sector. Inhabitants of Salt Lake area still struggle to believe how a

place, which was almost abundant even 20 years, turned into such a huge corporate hub. Today you

can find office buildings of several reputed IT companies at Sector-V that remain crowded with

young and enthusiastic people wearing smart formal outfits with identity cards hanging over the

collars. Today it is the new ‘ office para’ (office area) of the city and is attracting

thousands of young people to earn their livelihood. In the recent few years, there has been a

significant rise in the percentage of new recruitment in the IT sector and it’s still at a

steady level even in the current phase of global economic meltdown. Thanks to the positive

impact of technology on the city, this percentage is likely to increase even more in the coming

days.

Another major contribution of technology in the lives of people of Kolkata is the ATM machines.

Today ATM machines of nationalised as well as privatized banks are available on almost all busy

areas of the city making withdrawal of money a matter of seconds of people. No matter whether it

is a weekday or Sunday, dawn or midnight, one can withdraw money from these machines just by

putting in their pin numbers. Especially for aged people, who cannot take the physical strain of

standing in long queues in banks through cheques, these ATM machines have been of great help. To

make things even easier, ATMS of some nationalised and privatized banks allow multi-withdrawal

facility, which saves people’s time. Apart from making withdrawal of money easier for people,

ATM
machines have also been like blessings for lots of poor people who work their as security

personnel.

Even in the arena of entertainment, modern technology has played a huge role as far as Kolkata

is concerned. Equipped with modern technology, the flashy new multiplexes in the shopping malls

have put an end to businesses of several cinema halls in the city. Despite of much costlier

tickets, people are these days going to these hi-tech theaters to enjoy high quality picture,

sounds and the comfort that the soft chairs offer. Thanks to internet, availability of online

ticket booking system has made things even simpler. The days of standing in front of cinema

halls’ counters to buy tickets are gone. Today you can buy ticket of your favourite movie from

the website of any multiplex. To compete with the multiplexes, some of the popular cinema halls

have also started online ticketing system.

Another thing that has made a huge impact in the lifestyle of people of Kolkata is the

shopping malls. Easy availability of all kinds of goods, starting from grocery to utensils,

luggage to gift items, garments to food under one roof are attracting more and more people

towards the flashy modern shopping mall sin the city. Go to any shopping mall in the city and

you can get back home with all items you required. The ways shopping mall in Kolkata are growing

in numbers, one day popular market areas in the city like New Market, Lake Market, Gariahat

Market might struggle to exist one day.

It is obvious that new will replace the old and everything which is new today will become

backdated tomorrow. It is like a cycle and universal truth. Character of countries, states and

cities change with the course of time as people’s habit changes and same has been happening for

Kolkata . A day might come when young people of the city will not even believe what the city was

like hundred years ago, and if it really happens it will be due to the increasing impact of

technology on the lifestyle of its people.