Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal is among the oldest cities in India and bears signs of ancient traditions. Though with the passage of time the characteristics of the city has changed drastically one can find lot of things that speaks about its past. The central and Northern part of the city still hosts plenty of century-old houses that stand as specimens of architecture of the bygone eras. Today, thousands of flashy new cars and two wheelers travel from one from one corner of the city to another but one can still see man-pulled rickshaws here, which used to be one of the most common means of local transportation for the people. But the image of Kolkata is changing very fast. In fact it is changing everyday, every hour and it's all because of the impact of modern technology. From architecture to transportation service, food service to entertainment venues, shops to markets, everything is witnessing the huge impact of modern technology and as a result, the lifestyle of people of Kolkata is also changing rapidly.

The biggest gift of modern technology to Kolkata is perhaps Salt Lake Sector-V, which is popularly known as the IT sector. Inhabitants of Salt Lake area still struggle to believe how a place, which was almost abundant even 20 years, turned into such a huge corporate hub. Today you can find office buildings of several reputed IT companies at Sector-V that remain crowded with young and enthusiastic people wearing smart formal outfits with identity cards hanging over the collars. Today it is the new ?office para? (office area) of the city and is attracting thousands of young people to earn their livelihood. In the recent few years, there has been a significant rise in the percentage of new recruitment in the IT sector and it's still at a steady level even in the current phase of global economic meltdown. Thanks to the positive impact of technology on the city, this percentage is likely to increase even more in the coming days.

Another major in the lives of people of Kolkata is the ATM machines. Today ATM machines of nationalised as well as privatized banks are available on almost all busy areas of the city making withdrawal of money a matter of seconds of people. No matter whether it is a weekday or Sunday, dawn or midnight, one can withdraw money from these machines just by putting in their pin numbers. Especially for aged people, who cannot take the physical strain of standing in long queues in banks through cheques, these ATM machines have been of great help. To make things even easier, ATMS of some nationalised and privatized banks allow multi-withdrawal facility, which saves people's time. Apart from making withdrawal of money easier for people, ATM machines have also been like blessings for lots of poor people who work their as security personnel.

Even in the arena of entertainment, has played a huge role as far as Kolkata is concerned. Equipped with modern technology, the flashy new multiplexes in the shopping malls have put an end to businesses of several cinema halls in the city. Despite of much costlier tickets, people are these days going to these hi-tech theaters to enjoy high quality picture, sounds and the comfort that the soft chairs offer. Thanks to internet, availability of online ticket booking system has made things even simpler. The days of standing in front of cinema halls? counters to buy tickets are gone. Today you can buy ticket of your favourite movie from the website of any multiplex. To compete with the multiplexes, some of the popular cinema halls have also started online ticketing system.

Another thing that has made a huge impact in the lifestyle of people of Kolkata is the shopping malls. Easy availability of all kinds of goods, starting from grocery to utensils, luggage to gift items, garments to food under one roof are attracting more and more people towards the flashy modern shopping mall sin the city. Go to any shopping mall in the city and you can get back home with all items you required. The ways shopping mall in Kolkata are growing in numbers, one day popular market areas in the city like New Market, Lake Market,

might struggle to exist one day.

It is obvious that new will replace the old and everything which is new today will become backdated tomorrow. It is like a cycle and

. Character of countries, states and cities change with the course of time as people's habit changes and same has been happening for Kolkata. A day might come when young people of the city will not even believe what the city was like hundred years ago, and if it really happens it will be due to the increasing impact of technology on the lifestyle of its people.