4 min read Chandigarh Updated: Apr 26, 2026 11:11 AM IST The author stayed at the family's Alipore home during his visit (Express file photo by Partha Paul). Written by R K Saboo Some journeys are planned not by calendars, but by memories of times gone by. Recently, my wife and I visited Kolkata , my hometown, the city of Tagore and Netaji, where I grew up singing Bande Mataram and learnt to walk the path of life guided by Tagore’s call of Ekla Chalo Re. A city of trams and yellow taxis, a centre of art and culture, Kolkata is also where I once met Mahatma Gandhi and, with immense pride, offered Rs 10 to his Harijan Seva Fund, my entire two-month pocket money. Though I left Kolkata in 1960, Kolkata never left me. Walking through its familiar lanes during my recent visit, memories and emotions resurfaced, untouched by time. I remembered Birla Jute Mills in Birlapur, where my father worked, where I was born and raised, and where I attended primary school.…