A cliche' title. What else would you call a city which is nothing but a place for joy. Aptly enunciated. Calcutta is the east-est I have traveled in India. The city is historically very important to our nation. When Britishers first landed in India, they made Calcutta their capital. And so started the evolution of British India - the customs, the speech, the architecture, and the mannerisms. Building in this city are magnificant, awe-inspiring, very colonial. But the way they are integrated into city's fabric, by citizens, by culture, is nothing but truly Indian. For instance the grounds in front of Victoria memorial. In good old days, the Queen must have made them with the purpose of strolling or brunches (I suppose), but today they are affectionately utilised by boys and urchins as cricket grounds, or football is it?
Architecture of Calcutta is much talked about - both Indian and colonial, and I will not delve into it much. What we can list here is some of the places which one should be visiting when in Calcutta - Victoria memorial for sure, Ramakrishna Ashram, Dakshineshwar temple, Belur Math, Kalighat temple, Townhall. Ramakrishna ashram has intricate carving and silence all around it. The location is strategic - its on the river bank. Across the river stands the elegant Dakshineshwar temple, which reminds me of the white and red border sarees commonly worn by Bengali women. The ghat (man-made) at the Ramakrishna Ashram must be really popular with young couples or peace-seeking people, for obvious reasons. We were there during the day and even the harsh sun couldn’t discourage many visitors from occupying the ghats. The two bridges, Howrah bridge and the New Hoogly bridge (Vidyasagar Setu) are also worth a ride.
We stayed at Hotel Big Boss, which was at Rawdon Street, now called Sarojini Naidu Sarani. Its claim to fame is its vicinity to La’Martinere’s School. Keeping with the national trend, Calcutta too has rechristened many of its streets from English to Indian. There is a Shakespere Sarini (sarini would mean street or road), which is the cultural street as they say. Many a theatres and art houses are located on this street. What is particularly amazing about Calcutta is that almost all the streets or roads, even lanes are mini markets. The “shopping zone” has indefinite boundaries in Calcutta. And on these streets, one finds the true spirit of Calcutta – people…..loads of them, smoking people…something that we totally detest in Delhi, yellow taxis…. nerve-racking callous drivers, traffic…chaos….jams…diversions, hand-pulled rickshaws…a sickening site, trams…. true heritage.
The first time I went to Calcutta, I was recommended to do the Heritage Tram Tour. http://www.calcuttatramways.com/events.htm. Its an enthralling experience. As the tram makes its way into the lanes and bylanes of the city, one sees old and dilapidated buildings, encroachers on pavements, house of Tagore, careless people walking right in front of tram, and the tram driver braking hard making the wheels squeek and roll with a grinding sound!! But the bumps and old ragged seats of the tram doesn’t dampen the spirits, at least I felt enriched by experiencing this alternative edifice of this city. I suppose the steamer ride on hoogly will offer an equally exciting experience.
Talking about streets and markets, Gariahat market is one of the biggest and richest (in terms of choice and variety) in Calcutta. There are upscale shops like Kanishka where you can treat your eyes (and pocket) to very classy and trendy Bengali sarees. They have traditional stuff too. Right next to similar upscale shops are the small makeshift shops, where you can pick good cotton stuff at very reasonable (and highly negotiable) prices. Swabhumi, a crafts bazaar kind of place has been recently opened in New town to cater to the growing need of art loving urban citizens.
Food and sweets make up for what the Bengalis really are. Flurry’s, an old colonial type coffee house is supposedly the must-visit, must-have-breakfast joint in Calcutta. There is 6 Ballygunge Place which is an old house transformed into a hotel. Here one must try the Luchi, Radhabhalobhi and baked Sandesh. Equally famous is the night life in Calcutta. Walk on the Park Street to take a plunge in one of the busiest pubs / clubs / restaurants scene in India. There is the famous but not so satisfying “Saurav’s”. Mukambo and Tangra rate high in Chinese cuisine. AND for the world famous, mouth-watering sweet delicacies of Bengal, visit Balaram Mallick in Bhawanipur (its most authentic).
Once touted as the most polluted city in India (i am not sure of the status now), Calcutta has lots on offer. If one is looking for real relaxation then this would be the place. It is a city which one would want to visit again and again. Not only to buy the beautiful cotton sarees, but also to absorb the "culture". Much is said about the artistic inclination of Bengalis, their flare for long and tardy political discussions and their always-growing fascination with theatre. It is an organic city. Ofcourse, there is salt lake and all the new townships with sky-touching residential towers, which make up for the new face of the city. I spotted huge malls on my way to the airport and i was wondering whether this should be the future of all our cities. Or whether we would love to remember Calcutta as what we saw through the Tram ride. For sure its a question of heritage versus development. And i would rather people have better living conditions than sticking to their heritage houses. But i do hope that 5years from now, if i visit Calcutta again, i still get to ride in the Tram and see those old colonial buildings which makes up for the most of character in Calcutta. (I am sure the Bengalis will differ here and say Calcutta is much more than just trams!!!). To which i would say, yess yess lets explore that too :)
