Like an electric reptile, the tram rattles through the lanes of Kolkata, its two bogies inching along the steel tracks as a matter of habit. The Calcutta Tramway Company (CTC) has been ferrying people non-stop since 1902. Although first introduced to the city in 1873, when a 3.9km route was established from the Sealdah area to Armenian Ghat Street, trams were discontinued in 1880. Once the service resumed at the dawn of the new century though, it never came to a halt again.
In its 141-year history, the CTC has remained a constant in an ever-changing world, witnessing the partition of Bengal, the nation’s independence and the naxal movement.
“While I could have probably moved onto other government jobs, I never wanted to leave this one,” says Chanchal Das, a graduate who joined the CTC as a conductor and recently completed 32 years of service. Das has seen the trams evolve from rickety streetcars to air-conditioned refuges for harried commuters. Set at a pace synchronous with a certain age, no one gets on the tram for its speed. Or punctuality. Trams are known to make unplanned stops, halting mid-journey so the conductor can readjust the knobs and levers before it can start chugging again, winding through crowded bazaars and empty maidans all day.
While financial constraints periodically threaten CTC’s future, until the tram pulls into its last stop, and long after it does, the unmistakeable sound of its bell will ring in the ears of those who lived in the city in gentler times.
(Shome Basu is a freelance photojournalist currently based in Delhi)