I strongly believe that there is something very sensual about watching a city wake up! Of course, that means you have to be comfortable with the idea of waking up well before sunrise. But, if you can, the experience is at the same time exhilarating and calming. Reason why I make it a point to always wake up early and go out for a walk( with my camera, of course) whenever I am in a new city.

And that is what ensures that in spite of all the shortcomings of my hometown, Calcutta, every time I go for a walk at the crack of dawn, I fall in love with my city all over again, warts and all.

And to walk in the morning, especially in winter, The Maidan is one place in Calcutta, I never tire of visiting. It may seem surprising to many, considering it is, as the name clearly suggest, just an open field!

But, it is a field which is teeming with life!

Spread over more than 5 sq. km, it is often called the lungs of Calcutta. Rumour has it, that the homesick British rulers created it to remind them of Hyde Park in London!

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People rarely appreciate how powerful advertising can be. We’ve long passed the days when advertising was just about selling you a product. These days, it is also the tool of non profit organizations and government agencies, trying to reach out to us and convince us to do some good as well. Advertising, when creative and imaginative, can go a long way to change this world, along with people’s hearts and minds.

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