My Visual Travel Experience: Kolkata

Before 2011, I had visited Kolkata several times on work visits, for 2 or 3 days at a time. At that time I never knew that one day, the city would become a very important part of my life. In 2011, I got married to Kamalini Roy, a Bengali girl from New Alipore in Kolkata, and since then, I have been spending close to 2 weeks every year in the city. We often go there during Durga Puja and during Christmas to spend time with my wife's larger family, and I have got a chance to really get to know the city, its rich heritage of monuments, its warm people, its strong culture and its delicious food!

Peeping a little into the city's history, in 1690 the Nawab of Bengal granted the British East India Company a trading license to operate in the region. Three villages (Kalikata, Gobindapur and Sutanuti) were unified to form Calcutta. Job Charnock, a British administrator who worked for the company, is seen as the founder of the city. In 1793, the East India Company  took full control over the city. Under the British Raj, Calcutta served as the capital of India until 1911, when the capital was shifted to New Delhi. In 2001, the city's name was officially changed from Calcutta to Kolkata. Today Kolkata has grown into a very large city - it has a population of 4.4 million, but Greater Kolkata is home to a staggering 14.1 million inhabitants!

Most visitors to Kolkata start with Victoria Memorial, which lies in the heart of Kolkata. It is a grand memorial to Queen Victoria of England. It was built in 1906, shortly after her death in 1901 after a 64 year reign. The white marble structure is in the middle of an expansive garden, and inside, it houses a museum about the history of Kolkata. Under the grand dome, there is a sculpture of the young queen. Outside in the lawn, there is another bronze sculpture of the queen on her throne.

Victoria Memorial

Edward VII Statue, Victoria Memorial

Lion Sculpture, Victoria Memorial Complex

Lord Curzon Sculpture, Victoria Memorial Complex

Close by, there's another Kolkata landmark, St Paul’s Cathedral,  an Anglican cathedral completed in 1847. It was inspired by Norwich Cathedral in England. The cathedral has a white exterior and some exquisite stain glass panels inside.

St Paul's Cathedral

A short walk away, there's Birla Planetarium, a white coloured circular planetarium resembling a Buddhist stupa. It was inaugurated in 1963. It has daily shows in English, Hindi and Bengali. The astronomical gallery has paintings and sculptures of famous astronomers.

M P Birla Planetarium

Chowringhee Road is a large avenue that runs through the centre of the city. It is full of Victorian architecture, and is a major commercial hub. Heritage landmark buildings along Chowringhee Road include Indian Museum (which was established in 1814 and has a large collection of natural history, Gandhara art and miniature paintings) and The Oberoi Grand (an elegant British period building dating to the late 19th century). Perpendicular to it, there's Park Street, probably Kolkata's most lively street, full of fashionable shops and high end restaurants.

The Oberoi Grand

Howrah Bridge, renamed Rabindra Sethu in 1965 after the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore, was commissioned in 1943 and is a cantilever bridge over the Hooghly River.  The length of the bridge is over 700 meters, and it carries over 100,000 vehicles and 150,000 pedestrians every day. The bridge is one of the most popular landmarks of Kolkata.

Howrah Bridge

Writer’s Building houses the West Bengal secretariat. Construction started in 1777 and the building was originally the office of the writers of the British East India Company, and hence the name.

Writers Building

The General Post Office Building houses the central post office of Kolkata. It was designed in 1864. The white structure has an imposing dome. It has a postal museum with an impressive collection of stamps.

General Post Office Building

St John’s Church was completed in 1787 and was one of the first structures to be built by the British East India Company. The church was modeled along the lines of London’s St Martin in the Fields. Behind the church lies the mausoleum of Job Charnock, the British trader, who combined three villages to form the city of Calcutta.

St John's Church

Birla Temple was inaugurated in 1996, after a construction period of 26 years. The beautiful white marble temple is one of several temples built by the Birlas across the country.

Birla Temple

Belur Math is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission. Swami Vivekanada (1863-1902), a disciple of Ramakrishna, set up a monastery at the  location and was responsible for popularizing Hindu philosophies to the western world. Vivekananda founded Belur Math in 1897 and his relics are kept at Vivekananda Temple at Belur Math.

Belur Math

Vivekananda Temple, Belur Math

Dakshineshwar Temple is situated along the east banks of the river Hooghly, a little outside Kolkata and close to Belur Math. It was built in 1855 by a devotee of Goddess Kali. Adjoining the temple are 12 identical shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is a prominent pilgrimage spot, along with the Kalighat Temple that's close to the city centre.

Dakshineshwar Temple

Shrines, Dakshineshwar Temple

Alipore Zoo is India’s oldest zoological park and opened in 1876. The initial collection included the private menagerie of Carl Louis Schwendler, a German electrician posted in India. British and Indian nobility donated animals and the collection grew. Opposite the zoo, there's the iconic Taj Bengal Hotel, one of the city's most prominent hotels.

Elephant, Alipore Zoo

The Lobby, Taj Bengal Hotel

Lobby, Taj Bengal Hotel

Kolkata is famous for its club culture, and the city is host to several British era clubs, which members frequent for meals, socializing or playing sports. The best known clubs include Tollygunge Club, Calcutta Club, Calcutta Cricket and Football Club (CC and FC), and Saturday Club. The clubs are particularly popular during occasions like Christmas and New Years, as they host large parties. Tollygunge Club is possibly the most impressive of Kolkata's clubs, with its beautifully manicured golf course.

Tollygunge Club

Calcutta Club

The Agri Horticulture Society of India dates back to 1820 and has a huge collection of flowers, plants and trees. The garden also has an impressive collection of medicinal plants. There is an annual flower show and there are training courses on horticulture. The garden has walking pathways, is beautifully maintained and is a delight for nature lovers.

Agri Horticulture Society of India

Coconut Trees, Agri Horticulture Society of India

Rose Garden, Agri Horticulture Society of India

Science City was inaugurated in 1997. The museum has hands-on interactive exhibits. Highlights include a fresh water aquarium, a butterfly enclosure, dioramas with models of prehistoric animals, a space centre and a 3D theatre.

Science City

Mother’s Wax Museum was opened in 2015. The wax museum has wax sculptures of mainly Indian personalities, with a big representation from the state of Bengal. Some of India’s best known personalities from the fields of politics, movies, music, literature, sports, philosophy and social work are featured, including people like Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Subhash Chandra Bose, Swami Vivekananda, Mother Teresa, Amitabh Bachchan, Uttam Kumar, Suchitra Sen, Sachin Tendulkar and Saurabh Ganguly.

Rabindranath Tagore, Mother's Wax Museum

Subhash Chandra Bose, Mother's Wax Museum

Mother Teresa, Mother's Wax Museum

Seven Wonders in Eco Park opened in 2017. It features Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, the Statue of Christ the Redeemer, the ancient city of Petra, the Pyramids of Giza, the Colosseum and the Giant Heads from Easter Islands.

The Great Wall of China, Seven Wonders, Eco Park

Colosseum, Seven Wonders, Eco Park

Taj Mahal, Seven Wonders, Eco Park

Every year around October during the festival of Durga Puja, Kolkata is at its festive best, with numerous puja pandals all over the city. The pandals are characterized by their pratimas (idols of Goddess Durga), the cultural performances, the drums playing, the dhunuchi naach and the food stalls.  On the last day of Durga Puja (Dashami), the pandals are dismantled and the pratimas are immersed into the river. It seems like a real pity that such beautiful works of art aren’t permanent. Other cities have pandals too, but nothing to beat what one sees in Kolkata. I have seen the New Alipore Association Pandal very closely, as my wife's family is very closely associated with it, but I have also gone pandal hopping to see these beautiful pandals, competing with one another for creativity and beauty. Some of the most stunning pandals I have seen include those at Shuruchi Sangh and Shib Mandir.

Shib Mandir Puja Pandal 2011

Shuruchi Sangha Puja Pandal 2012

New Alipore Association Puja Pandal 2017

Kolkata is a foodie's paradise. Bengalis take their food very seriously. Prominent eateries include Mocambo's (famous for its continental food), Peter Cat (with its chello kababs), Oh! Calcutta! (with its traditional Bengali cuisine), Kusum's (a take away place, well known for its kabab rolls) and Flury's (with its cakes and desserts), to name just a few! The joke about Bengalis is that at breakfast they discuss the menu for lunch, and at lunch they discuss the menu for dinner. Believe me, it's not far removed from the truth! I have been to my wife's relative's house for evening tea and been given kosha mangsho (the traditional Bengali mutton dish), aloo dam and luchhis! That was more than a meal by itself, and I still had a dinner invitation that followed!

Chello Kababs, Peter Cat

In recent years, I have been impressed by developments in Kolkata: new flyovers have de-congested the once overcrowded roads; beautiful night lights have made driving at night a pleasure; malls like South City Mall have sprung up and are comparable to the best malls in the country; new attractions like Mother's Wax Museum and Seven Wonders have given tourism a boost; impressive condominiums have come up in newer areas. And yet, Kolkata retains its old charm. It's a city that has grown on me over the years, and I have come to like it more and more!