5 months ago
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Calendars usually beforehand an instauration oregon a product, but successful Kolkata, a 2026 calendar has travel retired to correspond a struggle: to prevention the almost-extinct iconic tram, that excessively astatine a clip erstwhile AQI levels successful the metropolis are reaching unacceptable levels.
The calendar — partition arsenic good arsenic table — has been printed by Tramjatra, a moving tram carnival that was started successful 1996 by tram enthusiasts from Melbourne and Kolkata, 1 of its anchors being Roberto D’Andrea, a erstwhile tram driver-conductor from the Australian city.
“The main extremity is to item the Kolkata tram’s conflict to survive. At the moment, the metropolis stands astatine a achy crossroads, acceptable to erase its ain 152-year-old surviving legacy. But we are discreetly critiquing, without resorting to overt criticism. The plan is intelligibly pro-tram ‘calendar art’, our thought being to make a emotion for trams,” said filmmaker Mahadeb Shi, a co-founder of Tramjatra.
Last twelvemonth too, a calendar had been created, for the archetypal time, with the assistance of colour pictures of trams taken successful the 1960s by an chartless Australian enthusiast who had passed them connected to Mr. D’Andrea. The 2026 calendar contains pictures taken implicit the years by Mr. D’Andrea himself, on with quotations from literate giants including Rabindranath Tagore, Tennessee Williams, Sunil Gangopadhyay, Narayan Gangopadhyay, Shibram Chakraborty, and Bibhuti Bhusan Bandyopadhyay.
“The taxable is, ‘The Tram Conductor’s Camera: A tribute to Nonapukur Workshops and the Trams They Have Designed and Built, 1996-2016.’ Nonapukur is rapidly deteriorating with conscionable 270 unit near from the much than a 1,000 astir 10-15 years back. We program to merchandise it earlier the New Year, with each proceeds going to money tram-related activities,” said fiscal expert Anurag Mitra, who designed the calendar, which includes a enactment by Mr. D’Andrea.
Once a salient mode of transport, the Kolkata tram has shown a accelerated diminution successful the caller years, with hardly 2 routes inactive remaining functional and the West Bengal Government showing nary effort for its revival — the transport minister, connected the contrary, has advocated its discontinuation. It’s lone organisations similar the Calcutta Tram Users’ Association (CTUA) and Tramjatra that inactive instrumentality to the streets, either done protests oregon rides, to request steps to prevention the tram from dying.
“The thought is to make an consciousness astir the tram, to promote radical to usage it. Pollution level is astatine its worst, with the AQI crossing 300. The faster we get escaped of diesel vehicles the amended for us. We request a strategy that runs connected energy — not the EV that you person these days which volition lone adhd to the contamination by producing artillery scrap, but thing similar the tram which draws powerfulness straight from an overhead line,” said Indranil Banerjee, an electrical technologist with the Indian Railways who is besides a subordinate of CTUA.
