Visit to West Bengal’s Calcutta
The swamps, heritage monuments, trams, cream painted houses with green windows, man pulled rickshaws, yellow taxis and rain; monsoon in Calcutta is beautiful.
On the day I landed in Calcutta, it was drizzling. I didn’t let that disappoint my enthusiasm to visit the city because any city is best seen in its extreme weathers.
I was careful with the prepaid yellow taxi driver not giving too much of information when he tried to strike a conversation. I told him I’m visiting Calcutta after 3 years while it was my first time. I called up my colleague’s uncle for detailed address and he sounded very specific and clear person. The Dum-Dum is a crowded area and the streets are busy even in the early morning. I got down at an apartment in B.T Road in North Calcutta which is essentially old Calcutta.
They offered me sweets and then Lemon tea followed by breakfast Puri(Indian bread) with Aloo(potato) curry. It was sumptuous. I gobbled the Puris as fast as I could.
In lunch, I liked Suktho(another type of potato curry), fish batter fry in the lunch and it was followed by sweet Rosogulla and payasam. On seeing the potato sticks being served I realized that I had ordered it on plane thinking that I was going to get french fries. I still had them then in the bag as I couldn’t finish it all.
And in the dinner I was offered fish curry again to which I declined politely saying I was full. West Bengal is indeed famous for fish. I just had dal and potato sticks followed by the usual famous sweet Rosogulla. It was raining the whole day. I tried to take some photographs of the lightings and decorations but in vain. Still it looked good. I wished I had an SLR then. But probably, I wouldn’t have enjoyed the way I did if I had one.
The following day, I quickly got ready to visit Dakhineshwar Kali temple on the banks of river Ganges. It was raining but still I chose to go because it’ll be long till I get another chance to visit Calcutta again. I took a local bus to Dakhineshwar. One interesting thing about these buses is that the ticket they issue for your joinery is recycled old papers. It’s very small and the conductors didn’t hesitate to return the change unlike in Hyderabad. The buses were small but really fast. If one gets a window seat, it’s beautiful to look at the city through the wide windows the buses have.
I reached Dakhineshwar and had to walk for around 500 meters to reach the temple. The lane that leads to temple was wide. The temple looks outstanding as the color used is red which stands out in the gloomy rainy atmosphere. As I entered the premises I saw two big temples and gathering place to the right and six small temples in a row to the left. Among the two on right, first is Krishna temple, second Kali temple. On the left, all of them are Shiva linga temples. Half between these six temples is a way to the bank of Ganges and a clear view of Bali bridge.
Not recollecting the image of Howrah bridge, I mistook Bali bridge for it.
The view was spectacular as the Ganges overflowing due to continuous rain. I took pictures and headed back.
That afternoon I went to the venue and fish was served again. I had to pass through the old streets to reach the venue. Walking through these streets, there’s a strange feeling of living those stories my mom used to tell about narrow streets in Delhi
I wanted to roam Calcutta more but the rain won’t stop. So in the evening though it was drizzling, I went to Shyam Bazaar. I saw tram there for the first time in my life which was waiting for the traffic to clear its way. I wanted to get on, but not wanting to get lost in the city and miss the wedding, I went against it.
That night I noticed Bengali wedding too for the first time. It was little strange with the Ululations. But the best part was Misti-Doi(Yogurt), it was delicious.
The next day, after a lot of discussion with everyone, deciding on what all places to visit and what not considering the rain, I visited Indian museum followed by Victoria memorial. Indian museum is a white building with two storeys; each so tall that it would normally be two floors. The architecture of this building is ancient European style. It looked like a palace that’s on a garage sale with artifacts and other things on exhibit. It also houses a mummy from Egypt.
Indian Museum
It’s said that the architecture of Victoria Memorial is inspired from that of Taj Mahal. The memorial now exhibits how British established their colonialism in India pictographically along with the artifacts displayed. By the end of the day, my shoes were wet and I was feeling cold. I looked for a footwear shop and bought a pair of flip flops. It’s when I realized, I should have done this as soon as I reached Calcutta.
Victoria memorial
Luckily the ticket my sister booked got confirmed for my journey back Hyderabad but until then I secretly hoped that it shouldn’t get confirmed so that I get one more day to roam around Kolkata.
Next day morning, I woke up early to catch my train from Howrah. I quickly said goodbyes to everyone and thanked them for their hospitality.
Reaching Howrah station, that’s when I saw the great Howrah Bridge with a view of Howrah station in Red. It was a beautiful to watch everyone getting ready to face the day ahead of them. It was a memorable visit and I’ll cherish it my whole life.
With a heavy heart and a lump of pain in my throat I boarded the train. I promised myself to visit Calcutta again.
It looked like I was in Kerala with all the coconut trees, greenery, swamps and thatched roofs; probably because I have been in Kerala two years ago during August itself.
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