In the vibrant streets of Kolkata, history is palpable, intertwined with a sense of nostalgia. After serving the City of Joy for hundreds of years, the trams have earned their place on the nostalgia list.
The trams have reached a standstill after 151 years of service, as the West Bengal government has announced the discontinuation of tram services starting in October.
While a small stretch from Maidan to the Esplanade will be retained for tram lovers, for that occasional time machine ride, now, escaping the nostalgia surrounding trams will be difficult. It is deep as trams were an integral part of Kolkata's city life. Kolkata residents are taking to social media to express their sorrow, mourning the loss of yet another piece of the city’s living history and the diaspora in the UK shares a similar feeling and have shared their nostalgia of the trams and their opinion on the discontinuation of the service.
For Jayanta Bej, IT consultant from Northolt, London, Calcutta trams, especially the yellow and red ones were a childhood and college life nostalgia. “During my school days, our academic sessions would typically end by mid-November, leading to extended winter holidays. My parents and I would travel from our village home to my aunt’s place via Esplanade. My uncle, aunt, and cousins would then take us on a tram ride around Dharmatala, after which we would head to College Street.
“I vividly remember my aunt pointing at a monument and encouraging us to offer our pranams, referring to it as a temple. We would do our nomoskar, causing the fellow tram passengers to burst into laughter. The journey from Narendrapur to Esplanade and then catching the tram to College Street for book shopping was another delightful experience. I would enjoy the slow pace of the ride, often trying to sleep while snacking on peanuts, admiring the film posters, and savouring the aroma of kebabs wafting through the tram window. It was a wonderful time filled with so many memories!”
Sudip Roy from Oakwood also shared his nostalgia of the Tram, “I fondly remember number 1 and number 5. Both the tramlines used to go from Shyambazar to Esplanade. I knew most tram routes by heart as I spent my entire school life travelling on the Calcutta tramways, avoiding the horrible and dangerous bus journeys that were the only alternative.
“It is sad that the government allowed the demise of the tram through all these years. My father is 84 years old and the only public transport he could avail was the tram. I am sure there are plenty of old and frail citizens of Calcutta who now have a reduced access to public transport due to the slow demise of the services. This is not a retrospective note but a wakeup call to the local government to nurture and develop the tramways instead of giving in to the greed of realtors and developers.”
Anirban Mukhopadhyay from Harrow shared a different perspective stating with, “One may find it not environment friendly and if you consider your childhood memories, absolutely heartbreaking , but the reality has to be faced- I was in India a couple of years ago for an extended period and used to make it a point that I take the tram ride wherever possible and must admit the experience wasn’t nice- very erratic frequency and not very well maintained coaches.
“Though there were a couple of very well maintained ones, the traffic was very unfriendly for the trams and there were very few people on board! Unless there was a heavy investment and subsidy, the writing was clearly on the wall! Kolkata should have woken up long back and insisted on a better tram facility than protesting now.”
The iconic Kolkata trams have also made memorable appearances in several Bollywood films, capturing the city's charm and nostalgia. Notable examples include ‘Parineeta’ (2005), ‘Barfi!’ (2012), ‘Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!’ (2015), ‘Kahaani’ (2012), and ‘Gunday’ (2014). In these films, the trams are more than just a means of transport; they serve as a storytelling device that adds depth to the cultural and historical context of Kolkata.
Moreover, Kolkata trams have left their mark in literature, often symbolising the city's unique character and evoking a sense of nostalgia. Works such as ‘The Inheritance of Loss’ by Kiran Desai, ‘The Hungry Tide’ by Amitav Ghosh, and ‘Calcutta: Two Years in the City’ by Amit Chaudhuri utilise trams as metaphors for journeys—both literal and metaphorical—reflecting the lives of their characters and the essence of Kolkata itself.
