As the air-conditioned bus weaves through the bustling traffic of the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, tour leader Sujoy Sen lists the many sights on the itinerary.
It sounds like a snapshot of the city's cosmopolitan history - colonial buildings like the General Post Office and the former British viceroy's mansion, Hindu and Jain temples, Greek Orthodox and Portuguese churches, an Anglican cathedral, the homes of freedom fighters who fought the British Raj, and Indian merchants who prospered under it.
But unlike most heritage tours, this one happens after sundown. Its main focus is not just the history or architecture but the lights illuminating the buildings.
The Kolkata Illumination Project is the latest addition to the city's many heritage tours and walks. Mr. Sen, who runs a tour company, chanced upon a newspaper article about city enthusiasts lighting up some of the city's grand but often neglected heritage buildings. He obtained a list of buildings and went to check them out.
I was stunned, he says. I have seen Paris by night. I didn't realize Kolkata could be like that also. I wanted other people to see it as well.
Himanjali Sankar, born and raised in Kolkata, now living in Delhi, joined the tour. She says the buildings themselves are familiar to her, but the illumination changes them. It is like they are coming alive, reclaiming their grandeur.
The project is the brainchild of a citizens' group called Kolkata Restorers. But it's not a real organization. There is no committee, no president. It's just a label. A WhatsApp group, says Mudar Patherya, the force behind the endeavor.
He says he didn't start out with plans to light up the city. He came upon an old market crowned with a grand dome and a broken clock that had numerals in Bengali. An avowed Kolkata evangelist, he wanted to paint the dome and raised the money for it from friends and associates.
But then I realized while it looked good during the day, in the evening it could not be seen at all, he says. So I again passed the hat around and raised money to illuminate it.
As the project expanded, Mr. Patherya realized there was one problem he had not foreseen: the buildings were often in a state of disrepair, and the illumination highlighted that. Before they could illuminate, they needed to be repaired and restored.
What Kolkata Restorers are really trying to restore are not buildings but a sense of pride in the city, says Mr Patherya.
What began as an effort to highlight Kolkata's heritage at night has blossomed into a civic revival, where the legacy of the city is not just preserved but celebrated. The goal is ambitious: to transform Kolkata into one of India's most spectacular cities by night, utilizing its stunning architecture as a canvas for community engagement and historical reverence.
