Ask a non-Bengali stranded in Kolkata (non-Bengalis usually feel stranded in Kolkata) what the city's foremost problem is and the answer you will likely get: intellectualism. This intellectualism is not merely a time-pass, it is also a seemingly impregnable defence.

You whine about telephones not working, and a Kolkatan will talk about the city's three Nobel laureates and an Oscar winner. You will be given to understand that only those people who don't come from such a lofty city worry about such a soulless thing as a telephone. In sharp contrast stands that ode to restlessness and the capitalist spirit: Singapore. It is not home to anyone. People come and go, unlike Kolkata, whose addiction is difficult to shake off for anyone who has lived there for a considerable length of time. It is also unimaginable that anyone would spin poetry roaming the manicured streets of Singapore. That happens only in unkempt Kolkata.

The contrast is not the only connection between the two cities. Singapore, with ''the highest urban living standard in the world'', to quote from the memoirs of US Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, was administered from Kolkata, ''necropolis, city of the dead and dying, vast, putrefying, forsaken,'' for the first 48 years of its existence. Traces of that are hard to find now. But veteran journalist Sunanda K. Datta-Ray, in article for Time two years ago, recalled rejoicing when he stumbled upon a cast-iron manhole cover in Singapore that bore the old Calcutta's imprimatur. Singapore lacks gravitas, but not dynamism. It has in abundance a desire to constantly regenerate itself. Upgrading is as much a way of life as shopping. Historian Sunil Khilnani calls it a ''geography of command'', his term for top-down cities, a miracle of method and management over mood and mystery.

However, while there is much to admire in the way Singapore works, it probably believes too much that any alteration to its way of working may lead to a collapse of the system. This was visible when former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, on a visit to Singapore, said that the answer to the problems of democracy was more, not less, democracy. His hosts were not amused by the applause that followed in the audience. Kolkata, on the other hand, is considered a waste of time by many in India. Stories abound about how one has to win over a bank clerk through intellectual discussion-perhaps about Fidel Castro's retirement plans-to have any hope of withdrawing money within a reasonable period.

Not surprisingly, most of Kolkata's businesses have moved out. But that is unlikely to bother the intellectual too much. What is a minute in a millennium? Kolkata is a concept. It is an ideology, soul, and sensibility. It is not ideas, reason, or sense. Perhaps the biggest reason for Kolkata's decline has been too much focus on the abstract at the cost of reality. Singapore's problem is a complete ignorance of the abstract, which bodes ill as well.

A touch of Kolkata's gravitas could perhaps help Singapore believe more in its lasting existence. Kolkata, of course, has much to learn from Singapore. Perhaps a touch of Singapore's robust political leadership could translate some of Kolkata's intellectualism into creativity. It is perhaps time to renew the association.

The Commercial Capitals Of The Past

CHENNAI The change of name from Madras to Chennai in 1996 was nothing new. Founded as Medraspatnam, its first rechristening was Madrapatnam, then Maddaraspatan, then Madrazpatnam, then Maddaras and then to Madras. Some consider Madras the foundation on which modern India has grown. In the 1640s the city was little more than a small fortified enclosure. Even then a proper administrative structure existed for revenue collection and accounts. Other leaders in the town were the Company's merchants headed by the Chief Merchant. The Company advanced money to merchants who commissioned the weavers and dyers brought from Andhra districts to manufacture cloth for the Company's exports. By the end of the 17th century, Madras had become the chief British settlement in India and remained so until Calcutta became the capital in 1774. n

CALCUTTA The Dutch came first, settling some 25 miles upstream as early as 1653. The French came in 1673, a little way down the river from the Dutch, then came the Danes further downstream. In the first half the 18th century, boats began arriving from the Thames to the Hooghly with droves of writers to keep the East India Company's accounts and, as subsequent events proved, to manage its businesses and politics too. By 1742, over 50 vessels were sailing into the Hooghly each year. Trade in Calcutta had crossed the million-pound mark annually, and in 1774, the city became the centre of British operations. The managing agency houses, which are the cornerstone of Calcutta's growth into an entrepot, came in the early 19th century, then came the jute and engineering industries. Today, few remember its halcyon days.

DELHI The earliest known capital city of Indraprastha was founded by the Pandavas in 1450 BC. The centre of power, and consequently trade and commerce, centred around Delhi in the epics. But it shifted to other areas with the advent of invaders who swept in from the West. Delhi became the capital of many medieval rulers, attracting traders and merchants from across Asia. The big change came when the British built the grand city of New Delhi to symbolise imperial might and shifted the capital from Calcutta in 1931. Made initially to cater to a population of 70,000, Delhi saw breathless growth in the years following independence, when refugees from Pakistan set up home and scores of small industries. They worked hard and prospered, but Delhi in modern India never caught up with Mumbai.

The Commercial Capitals Of The Present

MUMBAI It has always attracted the most promising and successful entrepreneurs from across the land: Gujaratis, Parsis, Bohris, even street-smart Malayalees. Little surprise then that it accounts for a third of the country's Income Tax collections, half of customs, a fifth of central Excise, and a sixth of value added by the manufacturing sector. Mumbai banks also account for nearly a fourth of bank credit in the country and 35 per cent of all cheque clearances. The Reserve Bank of India and the two biggest stock exchanges of the country are located here. It is the commerical capital of India by a long shot, and the city where the best and the brightest flock when they want to dream big. Not bad for a city that started life as seven tiny fishing hamlets.

GURGAON Delhi has everything that can drive away potential settlers: problems of power, water, roads, housing, public transport, air pollution, and law and order. That's because it's a magnet, of course, but it's gaining the mantle of a professional haven because it's developed one of India's most prosperous counter-magnets: the suburb of Gurgaon, only nominally in Haryana. Gurgaon is sylvan suburb, city centre, and industrial belt, all rolled into one. Private developers have thrown up row upon row of condos, swank apartments, and exclusive clubs. Thousands of professionals make their home here, working in the nearby steel and glass office complexes of multinational and new economy firms. Delhi's largest shopping malls are coming up here. Even the old villages have prospered, making fortunes selling land to the king of suburbs.

BANGALORE Its Kannada origins tell us it was called the city of beans. From its founding days in 1537, it remained sleepy and sylvan-until the 1980s. In two frenetic decades, it's taken over the mantle of the capital of India's new economy. No other city took advantage of the liberalisation of 1991 like Bangalore did. In the current year, Bangalore's software exports are slated to be nearly $2 billion. That's almost 30 per cent of the country's total software exports. Since liberalisation, Bangalore's population has almost doubled to 7.2 million. The city's old landscape of strolling retirees, gracious bungalows, and roundabouts clad in gladioli are gone. Its 484-sq km spread is now extremely cosmopolitan, attracting diverse people who take advantage of its still-salubrious climate, cheap housing, and gentleness.

Return Of The Prodigal

With Mumbai (most businessmen still prefer Bombay) occupying the top rank in the latest annual survey of Best Cities For Business (BT, December 23, 2001), corporate India has rediscovered the city that gave it its first and most fertile platform. Since the inception of BT Best Cities listings, Bangalore alone has always finished on top, with Mumbai at the second spot. It seemed all along that Mumbai would never recover it once-central status as the best city to work in. Bangalore seemed to offer everything that Mumbai did not: easy housing, law and order, a cosmopolitan ambience, and extremely amiable weather. It seemed just the right place for the tech companies, which normally have a lot of international visitors.

Not surprisingly, Bangalore, forever high on perception, came out tops in the first three surveys, even though Mumbai was always sniffing down its neck. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the 2001 survey was Chennai at number two, despite Jayalalithaa's shenanigans, chronic water shortages, and not the least its sultry climate. It is, however, strong on infrastructure with its busy port, the highest teledensity in the country, and hundreds of technical institutions. It also offers low wages, a high work culture, and low real-estate prices.

Previously unknown cities have now crept into the top 10: Mysore, Thiruvananthapuram, an indication perhaps that even in slovenly calm towns, people see the opportunities outside-and are unwilling to be left out.