ABSTRACT
How does Kolkata, whose cherished cultural self-representations include a plethora of images of the young Marxist radical, militant trade union protests or the thousand and one marches against capitalist conspiracies, respond today to the explosion of gated communities, shopping malls, exclusive cafes, or themed restaurants spatially stabilizing the feel of global consumerist lifestyles? The seductive proximity of these lifestyles pulsate through the city, partially displacing what John Hutnyk (1996) called the 'rumor [sic] of poverty', characterizing Kolkata for most of the 20th century, by a new 'rumour of good life'. IT capital, real-estate development or the surfeit of branded commodities available in upscale shopping malls like South City or City Centre is expected to materialize the privileged signs of this good life. This new rumour surges through the 'nervous system' of the urbanscape touching and transforming the political, cultural and social terrains of Kolkata.
