Calcutta through my lens - Photo Blog!
We landed at Calcutta airport on a transit flight to
Bagdogra. With a good 3 hours to kill,
my cousins and I walked in and around the airport photographing the
delightfully cute yellow taxis (as opposed to yellow top taxis in Mumbai!), enjoying
a cup of coffee at the nearby CCD and chasing squirrels!
Thereafter, we stayed in Calcutta for two nights while returning
to Mumbai from Sikkim. While we were still
recovering from Sikkim hangover, we got to know the City of Joy a little better.
We were staying in Hastings in Calcutta. Fortunately for us, the place was on the
banks of River Hoogly and a 15-minute drive from the famed Howrah suspension
bridge and/ or Vivekanana setu (new bridge).
We began our day tour on a hazy Calcutta morning which did got in the
way of our photography. However, we did
manage to spend a good half hour at the ghat photographing Vivekananda Setu from
where we could see the faint outline of Howrah Bridge at a distance.
Our day tours also included driving around Fort William,
where we spent a good 1 hour at the Eastern Command Military museum, Dalhousie
square (Writer’s building, High Court, GPO) and a two-hour or more halt at
Victoria Memorial which is a must see (it is a picnic spot for families, an
adobe for couples and visited by many tourist not only for the architecture but
also for the museum it hosts). All the
architectural sights in Calcutta were well maintained and the locals take pride
in sharing insights about them.
But what stood out about Calcutta was the predominant blue
colour everywhere (lampposts, fences, etc) - thanks to Mamata Banerjee’s decision to paint
the city sky blue in line with the motto of the government ie 'the sky is the
limit'! I do hope she would spare the
yellow taxis!
Apart from sightseeing, we also shopped for Kantha sarees at
Gariahat (Adi Dhakeshwari), leather products at New Market (Shree leathers), ate
street food (pani puri, moodi, rolls, kulfi and loads of Bengali sweets) at several
places, enjoyed some baked delicacies at Flurry’s, Park Street (a bit
over-rated) and ate a Bengali buffet at 6 Ballygung place.
Overall, Calcutta surprised me – the traffic was organized
(most roads are one-ways, the roads were quite clean, I felt safe there and the
people were warm and seemed to be content.
I admit I did not get an opportunity/ time to visit old Calcutta area - which
may change some of my first impressions - but for now I’m basking in the joy that
Calcutta gave me.
Needless to say, I do hope I get to plan a dedicated visit
to Calcutta sometime soon.
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