The fliers are all over downtown Kolkata. At least, all over the few city blocks that I have walked. Like Marx’s answer to a Tibetan prayer flag, the red squares flutter in the air.

And on each one? A communist hammer and sickle.

For me, this image conjures up fear. Stalinist purges. East German secret police. Torture. Imprisonment. Violence. Exile.

But here in Kolkata, the communists run the show. And win re-election. And hold conventions. And face criticism from rival leftists.

I’m not sure how many Indian communist parties there are. But I do know that there’s a rival communist convention in town. And the CPI(ML) — “Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation” — is making its presence known.

CPI(ML) members gather at a major train station in Kolkata.

It is a strange thing to see these flags all over the place. As I slowly get to know Kolkata’s streets, I can’t help but feel like I’m in New York. It really isn’t a stretch of the imagination at all. The taxis, the streams of people, the bright signs, the wide avenues.

Maybe I’m becoming desensitized to the uniquely Indian elements of my environment. Saris, child labor, Indian street vendors, food stands, poverty. But still, I think that the only city in the U.S. that parallels Kolkata’s energy is New York.

And it is as strange to experience the combination of communist fliers and Kolkatan commerce as it would be to come across a hammer and sickle monument in Central Park.

But even more interesting is that the CPI(ML) is a vehement critic of the CPI(M) — the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Yes, they are two different communist parties. And in West Bengal and its major city of Kolkata, it is the CPI(M) that runs the show.