Kolkata Travelogue

 November 17 2010 | Category : Traveler | | No Comments Tweet

Kolkata, once known as Calcutta, is situated in eastern Indian state of West Bengal. The metropolitan city is bordered along the banks of Hooghly river and receives abundant rainfall brought in by the South-West monsoons from Bay of Bengal.

Kolkata: Photo by ArijeetB

Kolkata, also famously known as City of Joy, has always been the center for literature, art and revolutionary prominence. Being the former capital of India, it is the birthplace of modern Indian literature and artistic thinking dubbing it as the cultural or literary capital of India. The city, boasts of the oldest museum in Asia that has vast collections of Indian history and art. Exhibitions staged by various art galleries are a frequent sight in this city overflowing with cultural heritage. Kolkata is decorated with structural designs of Oriental, Baroque, Roman and Gothic styles making it an architectural splendor to watch. Rice and fish curry are the favorites of the capital.

Kolkata: Photo by trngam

Scene from Kolkata: Photo by Paul Miller

Scene from Kolkata: Photo by mokmf23

Howrah Bridge: Photo by Soumya

Kolkata is acknowledged very profoundly for its dedication towards theater and cinema. The state was home to world renowned filmmakers such as Satyajit ray, Tapan Sinha and Mrinal Sen. At the end of January month, the Dover Lane Music Festival conducted is the best showcase of Indian Classical music. This entertainment programme provides a platform to artistes from various parts of India to expose their talents.

Kolkata sets for display, a variety of exquisite features such as Victoria Memorial , Indian Museum, Science City, Eden Gardens, Alipur Zoo, Kalighat temple, Marble Palace, Jora sanko thakur bari for Rabindranath Tagore museum, Dakhineswar temple, Nicco Park etc.

Victoria Memorial: Photo by Suvrangshu

Science City: Photo by McKay Savage

Rabindranath Tagore Museum: Photo by Avrajyoti Mitra

The city is filled with balconies dated from the Raj-era. Elegant gardens, peaceful churches and temples, historical monuments and museums adorn the city. The Birla Planetarium presented to the West Bengal government in 1929 A.D. by the Birla Education Trust is a popular landmark of the city. It is the largest Planetarium in southeast Asia and one of the biggest in the world. At the heart of the city, playgrounds (maidens) for various sports activities such as Cricket and football is situated.

Birla Planetarium: Photo by staticsilence

The Victoria Memorial, named after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom who was entitled as the Empress of India during British rule, serves as a museum and an important tourist attraction. The memorials architecture, built between 1906 and 1921, is a majestic structure of white marble and is similar in comparison with Belfast City Hall.

The city of Kolkata, has numerous Chinese eating places, mainly at a spacious location called as Tangra, the China Town. Many of these eat outs are managed by Chinese families providing authentic, home made and healthy Chinese food. The city adopts a lot of variety to its daily diet. So a visitor can enjoy multiple styles of cuisine within the city – Continental, Punjabi, Chinese etc.

Kolkata nightlife is very trendy and fun filled. Dazzling lights, synchronized sound and sight, huge dance floors and exquisite drink serving bars are common entertainment features most nightclubs and hotels provide its clienteles.

hooghly River: Photo by Bilwanath Chatterjee

Howrah bridge at night: Photo by Asis K. Chatterjee

The best views of Kolkata can be viewed from the banks of Hooghly river. Taking a boat ride from Fairlie ghat near BBD Bagh, formerly Dalhousie Square where the British built their first fort in 1696 one can enjoy the best scenic beauties of City of Joy.