The Trams of Calcutta

Tera mujh sey hai pehley ka naata koi
Yun hi nahin dil lubhaata koi...

I fell in love with trams the first time I visited Calcutta in January 2009. Calcutta being the only city in India to currently have trams, it was the first time I ever saw one in operation or rode one. Actually, rode many. As many as I could convince my friends to take. I recently visited again and many of the routes plying in 2009 have closed. We took two routes this time, from Tollygunge to Kalighat and Esplanade to Kidderpore, and in the sweltering heat of June, the tram was the coolest way to travel.

The history of tram transport in India goes back to the 1870s when trams were introduced in Calcutta and Bombay and subsequently in Delhi, Madras, Patna, Nasik and Kanpur. Delhi and Bombay were the last to hold out, shutting down in the 1960s. The Calcutta tram survived and is the oldest operating electric tram in Asia, running since 1902.

I was most surprised (and irritated) to find that no tram souvenirs were available anywhere in the city. No postcards, no magnets, no t-shirts. (What shops do sell is the Victoria Memorial, some Howrah Bridge and lots and lots of, of all things, the Taj Mahal (Agra)). 

Oh it hurts me just to see 'em
Going dead in a museum

- Robyn Hitchcock, Trams of Old London 

Where trams go to die - Tollygunge Tram Depot

Ram Rattan Singh, who has been driving trams for 32 years

My love for trams is not an isolated phenomenon...

...and thankfully, they seem to have made a comeback in many cities around the world in the past couple of decades, including London in 2000. One can only hope that the Indian government will catch on and the Calcutta trams especially will also be remembered and cared for and regain their glory.