Chakrabarti explains colonial influence in modern-day Kolkata

Theatre and Dance Assistant Professor Sukanya Chakrabarti explores the evolution of Kolkata from the past to today in a new essay on Stanford University’s Arcade. A civic beautification project to turn “Kolkata into London” has come with new urban design and replicas of classic architecture and even a 135-foot tall Big Ben.

“This seeming paradox — the promotion of futuristic, high-tech urbanism alongside an equally imaginary and folkloric rural past – is ultimately united in its aim to serve the city’s neo-liberal pursuits of capitalistic development,” Chakrabarti wrote.