Calcutta, India, is another country, they do things differently! For instance, when they have a problem with children not knowing how to use zebra crossing, they take a page out of popular culture and use the cover of Abbey Road to show them.
According to the Indian Times: "Anuj Roy, officer in-charge (planning and survey traffic) of the traffic police, told PTI that the idea was thought up to attract the attention of the youth who often failed to use the zebra crossing which not only endangered their safety, but also slowed down traffic.
It is really amazing how the Beatles have gone from rock music superstars to avatars of popular West culture on a par with, well Shakespeare, Beethoven, even Aristotle. The Beatles are a central symbol for Western concepts of youth and freedom and while birthed in the 1960s, these are concepts that have become part of the common Western, and indeed, human ideals of living. "All you need is love" is beyond axiomatic and has become a screed like "turn the other cheek" .
So many things made the Beatles the greatest of them all, and not least was the music, For one thing, the early songs have such universal appeal and such simplicity that they are like Charlie Chaplin's silent movies: everybody understood and adored them. The Beatles looked attractive, sounded attractive, grew fast, and really only cared about two things: love and freedom.
The early death of John Lennon, and the way he died, the JFK of popular culture, give them a tragic aura that the music denies. It is a story which, through its complete ending, has parameters even within its own lifetime. They didn't have the opportunity to grow old. Lennon absolutely did not want the ending he got, he battled hard and fought back every rock star cliche, but in the end he couldn't fight back his fate.
As for Abbey Road, one of the greatest albums of all time is coming to a zebra crossing near you!