Redeeming Calcutta: A Portrait of India's Imperial Capital - Tapa dura

The city Steven Raymer depicts in 'Redeeming Calcutta' is one of rich colors and textures. His camera paints the city like a brush. (The Wall Street Journal)

Redeeming Calcutta: A Portrait of India's Imperial Capital takes a fresh look at one of Asia's great cities, a metropolis of hope and decay that was once the Second City of the British Empire after London. In this storied colonial metropolis, National Geographic photographer and educator Steve Raymer discovers a city of high culture, leftist politics, and ambitions to reclaim its past grandeur. With around 200 photographs, including historic black-and-white images, the book takes us through the streets, ghats, and corridors of Calcutta to capture the imperial/historical city, the city in motion, commerce and business, the practice of faith, the country's cultural hub, and politics. Raymer's compelling photographs, coupled with a timely and detailed text, paint an inclusive and nuanced portrait of Calcutta, a city long neglected by Western journalists except for its poverty and sorrow. The volume also includes a Foreword by acclaimed historian, Dipesh Chakrabarty.