Atul Bhalla's approach to his research on Kolkata through multiple entry points. He says, "Kolkata is not only about the bazaars and labor, food and craft; it's also about the Hooghly, its rising and lowering tides, the very definite connection to the sea.

Historically, the sea is Kolkata's connection to the world!

The boat makers, who were better than the British ones but, were kept from their trade so that the inferior ones would keep their job in far-off Britain! The sea defined the history of Kolkata in many ways!"

Bhalla shifts away from conventional perspectives on Kolkata's colonial history. Rather than focusing on the city as a colony shaped by British influences, he steps back to examine the land's geographies. His analysis extends to understanding why Kolkata was chosen as a colony, tracing the course of invaders and colonizers from the Bay through the Hooghly River to the interior of Bengal and then to Kolkata.

As we know, Bhalla is known for his extensive body of work on the river Yamuna, climate crisis, environmental disasters, and so on. His research in Kolkata delves into the non-aligning policy of the benefiting colonisers, addressing the systematic destruction of the shipbuilding industry in Undivided Bengal. Bhalla sheds light on the fact that skilled craftsmen produced superior and durable ships. In addition to the benefits, he identifies the challenges of maintaining a harbor city close to the Bay, referencing Amitabh Ghosh's book, "The Great Derangement."

To further enrich his understanding, Bhalla embarks on an extensive trip through the waterways of Kakdwip, Bakkhali, and Mousuni islands west of the Sundarbans' reserved forest. His investigations focus on the conditions of livelihood in the Sundarbans region, examining the challenges faced by the fishing community, the risks of living in flood-prone areas, the problem of landfalls, and the vulnerability to typhoons from the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean.

Bhalla's journeys uncover diverging avenues compared to his initial motivations. Atul Bhalla also dives deep inwardly.

Atul Bhalla immerses himself in the exchange of letters between his father and Ashoke Seksaria, where their shared concerns become an emblem of friendship. Using this as a starting point, Bhalla undertakes a project to unravel their longstanding ties through the letters they exchanged. His journey leads him to Kanchrapara, where he accesses the Archive in Formation, curated by Sanjay Bharti, and discovers a wealth of poetry and poetic expressions from Ashoke's old diaries.

Returning from Kanchrapara, Bhalla endeavors to bridge the realms of imagination and reality by connecting the two writers with the letters they exchanged. Highlighting the closeness of their friendship, he desires to visit the Ganges estuary, viewing it as the symbolic place where both friends reunite after death. In line with Indian tradition, where loved ones' remains are offered to the river, Bhalla plans to explore the areas near Sagar Island.

In the later part of his research, Atul Bhalla addresses interprets and actualizes the multitude of concerns encountered. His approach and queries reveal a narrative interwoven with friendship, colonial legacy, regional livelihood, and natural calamity. All these elements come together in the vast landscape he explored during his KKCL residency organized by Kaee Contemporary.