India, Aug. 14 -- Growing up in Kolkata the bylanes became a visual diary, full of hand-painted signage, bold street art, and the graceful curves of the Bengali script. The red and black sickle, political graffiti, and shopfront lettering in Devanagari, Urdu, and English weren't just signs, they were statements. Each shopfront felt like a poster: dramatic typefaces, intricate linework, and an interplay between modern and traditional styles that echoed the Bollywood billboards of the '60s to '80s. My personal favourite? The wooden, three-dimensional signboards still clinging to crumbling walls in North Calcutta (now Kolkata), artefacts of another time, but still alive with character. On drives down Park Street with my grandfather, a lover ...