Like every other city, Kolkata has a character. There is something humane about it, which, many a time has an effect on the people living in the city. When the rains came, my four-year-old son perceived Kolkata to be a giant dustbin. He refused to step on the roads and pleaded with me to get him a ropeway that would connect one house with another and make his travel easier. I found myself feeling disdainful about his behaviour because as a four-year-old I found the muddy waterlogged streets of the city the most attractive thing to look forward to when...