Meet Roberto D’Andrea, Kolkata tram’s strongest ally from Australia

Roberto D'Andrea, a Melbourne tram enthusiast, strengthens Kolkata's tram system through Tramjatra, celebrating Sunderbans despite government disinterest.

One cannot be sure whether this man from Melbourne knows Kolkata better than many Kolkatans, even though this is his 30th visit to the city since 1994. But Roberto D’Andrea certainly knows the Kolkata tram far better than present-day Kolkatans, considering that nearly all his visits have been related to his gentle mode of transport.

The brain behind the Tramjatra, a moving tram carnival started in 1996 jointly by trammies (tram enthusiasts) from Melbourne and Kolkata, and who, with the help of this association, helped elevate the condition of the tram in the city, is once again back for yet another edition of Tramjatra, which is celebrating Sunderbans this time.

Only that this time, this former tram driver-conductor from Melbourne isn’t sure how long tram-related events will go on in Kolkata, considering that the current government in West Bengal is not keen on keeping it alive.

“My friends, before I came to India, said to me, ‘There is an old tram system in Kolkata that still survives, could you please have a look and report back because there is a lot of tram enthusiasm in Melbourne?’ So, I am walking down Chowringhee on my first day on Indian soil and I hear the ‘ding, ding’ in the distance at Esplanade. The same one heard in Melbourne!” Mr. D’Andrea, 64, recalled.

The ‘ding, ding’ made by the tram, which had just arrived from the Belgachia depot, led to an instant friendship with its staff and an immediate visit to the depot itself. As a result, a friendship was forged between Belgachia depot and his depot in Melbourne; and before long, Mr. D’Andrea found himself being treated as a champion of the Kolkata tram.

Kolkatans who found this mode of transport going downhill found strength in the support of Melbourne trammies. Thus was born Tramjatra — a creation of the “Bengali spirit”, according to the man from Melbourne.

This year’s event is titled Sunderban Tramjatra, which the organisers—the State Government has nothing to do with it other than loaning a tram — are calling “four days (March 28-31) of celebration and soul-searching about the largest mangrove system on earth and its neighbouring megacity”, considering both have become vulnerable to climate change.