Does anyone recollect the Calcutta of old?

Calcutta has been renamed Kolkata and, along with a new name, the Calcutta of old has lost many of its landmarks and charms.
Does anyone recollect the Calcutta where marketing on the occasion of Durga Puja used to be in the Harlalka opposite Medical College or in the India Silk House on College Street or the Kamalalaya Stores on Dharamtolla Street? In those days, this Kamalalaya Stores was the only departmental store where one could get lost for the whole day, without realizing it. It stocked every conceivable object from safety pins to suitcases and had a Section devoted to toys and also wonderful refreshment room – a visit to both these was a must after completion of purchases. The purchases would automatically move to the Centralized Delivery counter located at the exit. In those days, very people owned cars and the uniformed guard at the gate would hail a taxi for you, if you so desired.
Does anyone recollect that purchase of new footwear for Pujas would be kept in abeyance till the day when all the latest designs and prices were disclosed on the last page of leading newspapers?
Does anyone recollect a park called Wellington Square where Political parties would organize meetings on Saturdays? Or the Hawkers’ corners in Shyambazar and Gariahat meant usually for those with shoe string budgets?
Does anyone recollect trudging along to see the Durga idols at the Headquarters of the Fire Brigade or the one at Beadon Street? Both were famous for innovative designs – I still remember the idol of the Fire Brigade where Asura was depicted as kneeling down in front of Devi Durga and pleading with outstretched arms for mercy.
Or the idols at Beadon Street modeled in lines of Ajanta frescos and the celebrations at Baghbazar where the fair was an added attraction.
Of course, there existed a great cultural divide between residents of the North and the South. Whilst the former were more conservative, their counterparts were more liberal, progressive and advanced. Soon after the release of that beautiful cinema ‘Hatari’, a restaurant of the same name sprung up on Rash Behari Avenue and became an instant hit. It would be patronized by the youth of both North and South. Subsequently, this divide kept growing, especially with people from other parts of the country preferring to settle down in pockets of South Calcutta. There were Malayalees, Maharastrians and Bangaloreans. Kolkata welcomed all of them with outstretched arms and, from them, emerged luminaries like Usha Uthup, Thankomani Kutty, Derek O’Brien and Dr. N. Vishwanathan.
Kolkata today has an underground rail system and above the ground it is a maze of shopping malls, flyovers and potholes. It has undergone change in color from red to a mix of blue, white and green but these are not indications of change in character or culture of the city. The roads get waterlogged even now, as it used to sixty years ago.
Does anyone recollect that song – ‘the ladies of Calcutta…’ sung by Peter Sellers in the film ‘the Millionairess’?