My visit to Kolkata: Once the capital of India
The thought of visiting Kolkata always intimidated me. A lot like other travelers, I was always tempted towards it. Hence, it took me there several times but couldn’t find the courage to roam around and experience it, and one day finally got the time to see India’s former capital. There are many things to explore around Kolkata if you have enough time and days.
As we are talking about Kolkata, It’s very much essential to speak about our re-known poet Rabindranath Tagore, sobriquet Gurudev, who was a Bengali polymath, poet, musician, and artist from the Indian subcontinent. A native of Calcutta (Kolkata), India, who wrote in Bengali and often translated his work into English, Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913—the first Asian person to receive the honor.
“Every person is worthy of an infinite wealth of love – the beauty of his soul knows no limit.” ― Glimpses of Bengal
Apart from my visit to several states in India, Kolkata beat them with its charm, friendliness, and an old colonial character, completely re-framing my experience of an Indian city. If you ask me, of all the cities I’ve visited, Kolkata now stands as one of my top Indian gems and a city worth spending time in. Hence, I realized why it is called “A City of Joy”.
Kolkata is the capital of India’s West Bengal state and was formerly the capital of India when it was under the British Raj in 1773. Calcutta served as the capital of British-held territories in India until 1911. Today it’s a city with a traditional soul, colonial architecture, cultural festivals, cars honking traffic is common here, and street food you will find everywhere. So come along. I’m going to show you my favorite highlights of this unique city.
Going around the city:
1. Esplanade
The Esplanade district is a buzzing district that is very Raj-esque in architecture and history. Colonial architecture is present, as well as a bit of an every man’s shopping area. It’s also the crossroads where you can find a lot of transportation from long-distance buses to trolleys, metro, and tramps.
The picture is a glimpse of the culture: a man pulling a rickshaw barefoot, which existed since the British Raj. It’s an attachment of emotions of the transformation journey from Calcutta to Kolkata.
2. Mullick Ghat Flower Market
Mullick Ghat Flower Market is Kolkata’s biggest and busiest flower market. Flowers are an essential part of the city and are sold for temple prayers, wedding decorations, and festivals.
Every morning the crowd gathers around to see, buy and the flower sellers haggle, negotiate, and transport their bundles. Unlike what you see in photos, there are very few female vendors. The majority of transactions occur between men.
3. Howrah Bridge
Spanning the width of the Hooghly River, you have the Howrah Bridge, a steel and iron landmark bridge connecting central Kolkata and the Mullick Ghat Flower Market below beside the Howrah Bridge to Howrah Station.
Early in the morning, you can see people going to their daily worship, and taking a bath in the river. A great place for people watching, you’ll see daily commuters, travelers, and work porters transport goods and big bundles of goods at all times of day.
4. Howrah Station
Howrah Station is Kolkata’s second railway station and one of India’s largest and most crowded. It’s said that an estimated two million people arrive and depart by Howrah station each day.
5. New Market
The New Market, otherwise known as the Hogg Market, is a covered shopping area with over 2000 shops selling anything from clothing to sweets and spices. It’s interesting to see people coming around and shop varieties. Getting there: You can reach it either through Park or Esplanade metro stations, slightly closer to Esplanade. From Chowringhee Road, take a left onto Chowringhee Place, then right onto Betram Street.
6. Park street
Park Street is a major access route in Kolkata, also officially known as Mother Teresa Sarani. The street begins at Chowringhee Road or JL Nehru Road and stretches till Park Circus crossing. It is said that Park Street never sleeps and is always bustling with activities. Being a major hangout spot in the city, it has many pubs and restaurants. Several important routes intersect or originate from Park Street. The street has been a crowd-puller since the reign of the British Kingdom and has undergone modifications that make it a fashionable hangout spot.
Most common Tourist spots:
1. Khalighat Temple
Khalighat temple is a main pilgrimage temple for devotees of Kali. Being a main site, it’s very busy. Street vendors and touts are trying to usher you in and sell you places to park your shoes. If you come at night, there are a lot of festivities where you’ll see a lot of people here and there are a lot of shops to go around.
2. Indian Museum
Indian Museum, founded in 1814, is the oldest museum in India and the most impressive one I’ve seen yet. It’s a spacious museum of artifacts, anthropology, and interesting zoology exhibitions. Has rare collections of antiques, Armour and ornaments, fossils, skeletons, mummies, and Mughal paintings. Highly worth getting there, it’s between Park and Esplanade metro stations. The entry fee of the Indian museum is Rs. 20 per person for Indian Adults (Baby in arms free), and Rs. 500 per person for foreigners.
3. Victoria Memorial
The Victoria Memorial is a large marble building in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, which was built between 1906 and 1921. It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria and is now a museum and tourist destination under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture.
Victoria Memorial Gallery Timing
Opening Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 10.00 AM – 6.00 PM
Monday and National Holidays: The Gallery remains closed
Tickets:
For Indians – the entry fee to the museum is Rs. 30/- (per head)
For all foreigners – the entry fee to the museum is Rs. 500/-(per head)
Free for school children up to Class XII in uniform and Army personnel in uniform.
Please Note: The ticket counter closes half an hour before the closure of galleries. The Gardens: Opening Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 5.30 AM – 6.00 PM
Garden Tickets:
Daily ticket: Rs. 10/- (per head, per entry): The revised annual rate for Morning Walkers is Rs.1,000/- for Senior Citizens (above 60 years) and Rs.2,000/- for others. Please Note: Garden tickets do not entitle entry to the museum building
4. Princep Ghat
Prinsep Ghats is a ghat built in 1841 during the British Raj, along the Kolkata bank of the Hooghly River in India. The Palladian porch in the memory of the eminent Anglo-Indian scholar and antiquary James Prinsep was designed by W. Fitzgerald and constructed in 1843. The Ghat was named after James Prinsep.
The beauty of the Princep Ghat draws architecture and history buffs in large numbers, but even locals visit to absorb the regal vibe of the attraction. With the magnificent Howrah Bridge in the background, watching the sunrise or sunset and taking a long walk in the cool air on the banks of the river or boating are some of the preferred recreational activities here.
With a couple of friends, we thought of mesmerizing the sunset but unfortunately, we were late. But well we were tired whole day long going around the city and thought of getting relaxed, so what could be better than a boat ride in Princep ghat? Seeing around the James Princep memorial followed by the boat ride was a wonder. The silent cold breeze of wind with the night lights and the ships honking still feels amazing with less crowd after 5 pm.
Boating is a favorite recreational activity at the Prinsep Ghat. These river cruises last for a few minutes to an hour, and tourists can choose from traditional wooden boats and speedboats. Early mornings (6:00 AM to 9:00 AM) and evenings (5:00 PM to 7:00 PM) are highly recommended for boating in the serene river. No entry fee, but boating may cost around Rs. 500 to Rs.650.
So do the reading and tolerate the terrible writing. There are still so many things to see around, but What am I missing here? Let me know in the comments and I’ll add it in! Please do like and share. I will be writing soon…
Thank you!