Calcutta
Pop:
11 million
Phone Code: 033
Before
the British arrived in India around 300 years ago Calcutta was just
a small village. It was the capital of India under the British until
they moved the capital to Delhi in 1911. It is the biggest city in
India. Calcutta is a fast-moving city, and it is a nice place to walk
around.
It
is said that Calcutta received its name when Sati killed herself by
self-immolation after her father insulted her husband, Lord Siva.
Lord Siva arrived after his wife’s body was already burning.
He tore the body from the fire and started his dance of cosmic destruction.
The other gods wanted him to stop, and they asked Lord Vishnu to convince
him. In order to get Siva to stop, Lord Vishnu cut Sati into 51 pieces.
Her toe is said to have fallen at Kali Ghat in the south part of Calcutta.
Therefore, the city was called Kalikata, and later Calcutta.
The
Hoogly River, which flows through Calcutta, is a branch of the Ganges,
and is considered very holy.
The
best time to visit Calcutta is from the end of October through the
middle of March, at which time the weather is pleasant. During the
monsoon season (late June through the middle of September) the rains
can cause severe flooding.
History
The British established a trading post here in 1690 under the leadership
of Job Charnock. Charnock married a Bengali widow after convincing
her not to perform sati upon the death of her former husband. At that
time, Calcutta consisted of just three small villages—Govindapur,
Kalikata, and Sutanati. In 1707, the old Fort William was built, at
a place near present day BBD Bagh (Dalhousie Square). The Mughal ruler
in Delhi granted the East India Company permission to have a trading
post here in 1715. A moat was built around the perimeter of the city
to defend against attacks. It was known as the Maratha Ditch, and
was where the present-day Circular Road is now located. By 1750, Calcutta
had expanded its population to over 100,000.
In
1756, the Nawab of Bengal, who ruled from Murshidabad, about 200km
north of Calcutta, attacked the city. Most of the British escaped
onto boats, although some were captured and imprisoned in an underground
cellar where many of them suffocated. This incident became known as
the “Black Hole of Calcutta.”
Early
in 1757, Clive retook Calcutta and made an agreement with the Nawab.
Later in 1757, the Nawab became friendly with the French, which helped
lead to the Battle of Plassey, won by the British.
After
this, the present Fort William was built. Calcutta became the British
capital of India in 1772. Many Bengalis became leaders in the Independence
movement, which helped lead to the decision to move India’s
capital to Delhi in 1911.
Getting
Your Bearings
The main part of the city lies along the eastern bank of the Hoogly
River (a branch of the Ganges). Howrah, the main train station, is
on the west side of the river. BBD Bagh (Dalhousie Square) is where
the GPO, West Bengal Tourist Office, American Express, and railway
booking offices are located. It is toward the north of downtown, close
to the river.
The
Maidan is a large park in the center of the city that goes along the
river, and the Chowringhee area is to the east of it. The northern
part of this area is where Sudder Street and the cheap hotels are
located. This is where many budget travelers stay. There are several
places where you can get cheap international tickets in the Sudder
Street area. Along the Maidan are located many of the middle and higher-class
hotels, the airline offices, and the Indian Museum. It is a nice part
of Calcutta, and the main area that most tourists see. Kali Ghat is
located in south Calcutta.
Change of Street
Names
Many street and park names have been changed from the British names
to Indian names. Many taxi drivers know only the old name.
Old Name New Name
Ballygunge Store Rd - Gurusday Rd
Chowringhee Rd - Jawaharlal Nehru Rd
Dalhousie Square - BBD Bagh
Harrington St - Ho Chi Minh Sarani
Harrison Rd - Mahatma Gandhi Rd
Kyd St - Dr M Ishaque Rd
Lansdowne Rd - Sarat Bose Rd
Lindsay St - N Sengupta Sarani
Lower Circular Rd - AJ Chandra Bose Rd
Mirzapore St - Surya Sen St
Theatre Rd - Shakespeare Sarani
Wellington St - Nirmal Chunder St
Information
The useful and helpful Government of India Tourist Office
(2282-5813; Email: indtour@cal2.vsnl.net) is located at 4 Shakespeare
Sarani. vjpetomhjrr. They can give you a computerized printout of
many places in India. There is also a Tourist Office counter at the
airport, open when flights are arriving and departing. Hours: Mon-Fri
9 am to 5 pm, Sat 9am-1pm
The
West Bengal Tourist Bureau (2248-8271; Web Site:
http://www.westbengaltourism.com)
is located at 3/2 BBD Bagh East. They also have counters at the airport
and at Howrah Station. They arrange tours of Calcutta and West Bengal,
and book tours and accommodation for the Jaldapara and Sunderbans
Wildlife Parks and also help with permits. Hours: Mon-Fri 10 am to
4 pm, Sat 10am-1pm, Sun 8am-12 noon. West Tourism Centre has a counter
at the Howrah train station (2660-2518) Hours; Mon-Sat 8am-7pm, Sim
8am-12:30 pm
Survey
of India, 13 Wood St, has a good selection of maps including
trekking maps.
Calcutta This Fortnight, provides a schedule of events
in Calcutta, and is available at the West Bengal Tourist Office.
Some of the states with tourist offices in Calcutta are:
Andaman
and Nicobar Islands
3A Auckland Place (2247-2604)
Arunachal Pradesh
4B Chowringhee Place (248-6500)
Assam
8 Russell St (298-331)
Bihar
26B Camac St (247-0821)
Himachal Pradesh
25 Camac St (2nd Flr)
Jammu & Kashmir
12 JL Nehru Rd
Madhya Pradesh
Chitrakoot Bldg, 6th Flr, Rm 7, 230 AJC Bose Rd (247-8543)
Manipur
26 Roland Rd (747-075)
Mizoram
24 Old Ballygunge Rd (748-279)
Nagaland
11 Shakespeare Sarani (242-5269)
Orissa
55 Lenin Sarani (2244-3653)
Rajasthan
2 Ganesh Ave
UP
12 A Netaji Subhas Rd
Sikkim
4th Floor, Poonam Bldg, 5/2 Russell St (2267-7516)
Tripura
1 Pretoria St (242-3836)
Tours
The Government of India Tourist Office (242-1402),
4 Shakespeare Sarani, organizes a full-day tour to the Indian Museum,
Victoria Memorial, Nehru Children’s Museum, Zoo, the Sitalanath
Jain Temple, Dakshineswar Temple, and Belur Math for Rs 75. It departs
from their office every day except Monday at 8 am.
The
West Bengal Tourist Office (2248-8271; Web Site:
http://www.westbengaltourism.com),
3/2 BBD Bagh, offers a similar tour (as above) for Rs 75. Hours: Mon-Fri
10am-4pm, Sat 8am-12 noon.
West Bengal Tourism offers a tour to Sunderbans Wildlife Sanctuary
between October and March and it is a good way to see this
place. For more information, see the Sunderbans section.
There
are some interesting walking tours of Central Calcutta organized by
the Foundation for Conservation and Research of Urban Traditional
Architecture (CRUTA), (554-6127), 67B Beadon St, which visits
the old buildings and palaces in the area. The tourist offices have
information about these tours.
Warren
Travels (298-274), 31 Chowringhee Rd, operates tours on specific
themes, such as the arts of Calcutta or a river cruise.
Money
American Express (2248-9471; fax 2248-8096), 21 Old
Court House St, changes money quickly and efficiently. Hours Mon0Fri
10am-6pm, Sat 10am-2pm.
Thomas
Cook (2280-3907; fax 247-5854), Chitrakoot Bldg, 230 AJC
Bose Rd, also changes money efficiently. Hours: Mon-Sat 10 am-6pm
Main
banks: Grindlays Bank, 41 Jawaharlal Nehru Rd &
19 Netaji Subhas Rd; State Bank of India, 1 Strand
Rd & Jawaharlal Nehru Rd; Bank of America, 8 India Exchange; and
Citibank, 43 Jawaharlal Nehru Rd. Most of these banks
have ATM machines.
There
is a 24-hour branch of the State Bank of India at
the Calcutta airport.
RN Dutta (2248-6975), Stephen House, 4-5 BBD Bagh
East and 5&7 Kidderpore Dock, Near West Bengal Tourism (Hours
Mon-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 10am-2pm, as well as Maneek Lal Sen,
New Market, are licensed brokers who can change money outside banking
hours. Travellers’ Express Club,(2245-7604;
fax: 2252-2867) 20 Mirza Ghalib St, near Sudder St (Hours: Daily 10am-6pm
Post,
Phone and Internet
The service to find phone numbers that have changed is English-1952;
Bengali-1953; Hindi-1951.
The
GPO at Subhash Rd, BBD Bagh has an efficient poste
restante (Mon to Sat 7 am to 8.30 pm). It also has a philatelic department
for stamp collectors. The New Market post office
is on Mirza Ghalib St (Free School St), just opposite Sudder St. The
Park St Post Office is efficient for mailing parcels. There
is also a post office in the domestic terminal of the airport.
The
Central Telegraph Office is located at 8 Red Cross
Place. The Telephone Bhavan is located at BBD Bagh. There is a fax
place on Shakespeare Sarani (others elsewhere).
US
citizens can make collect calls to America from the US Consulate.
Courier
service: DHL (2281-3131) , 21 Camac
St, Chowringhee area. does shipping worldwide.
There
are plently of places to surf the Internet, especially in the Sudder
St area. Enternet (2217-5268), 9 chowringhee Lane.
good for Internet Cyber
Empire, at the New Empire Cinema near New Market, Netfreaks
(2216-1689), 2/1
Sudder St, near the Salvation Army, is a good place for Internet.
Visa Extensions,
Permits & Income Tax Clearance
The Foreigners Registration Office (2247-3300/1),
237 AJC Bose Rd, is where you apply for a visa extension and a permit
to visit the Andaman Islands. To get an income tax clearance you go
to Room 11, Income Tax Building, Bentinck St
.
Photography and
Camera Repair
Narain’s Photo Cine Centre, 20H Park St, and
Bombay Photo Stores, 33–34 Park Mansions, Park St, are good
places. North East Colour Photo (2249-2098), 14 Sudder
St, by New Market, does one-hour processing.
Camera Craft, 1st floor, 24 Park St, and Latif’s,
24 Chowringhee Rd, are good camera repair shops.
Foreign Consulates
Bangladesh
9 Circus Ave (247–5208)
To obtain a visa for Bangladesh, you must go to Delhi, even though
there is a
consulate in Calcutta.
Bhutan
48 Tivoli Court (241-301)
Denmark
3 Netaji Subhas Rd (248-7478)
France
26 Park St (290-978)
Germany
1 Hasting Park Rd (479-1141)
Italy
3 Raja Santosh Rd (479-2426)
Japan
12 Pretoria St (242-2241)
Nepal
1 National Library Ave (479-1173)
Netherlands
18A Brabourne Rd (262-160)
Russia
7 Alipore Ave (479-7006)
Thailand
18B Mandeville Gardens (440-7836)
UK
1 Ho Chi Minh Sarani (242-5171)
USA
5/1 Ho Chi Minh Sarani (242-3611)
Travel Agencies
Blue Sky Travels (2244-0934) at 2/1 Sudder St, was
recommended to me as a good discount travel agency. They are efficient
and cheap. Travellers’ Express Club, (2245-76040
20 Mirza Ghalib St (Free School St), is efficient and offers good
discount airline tickets. Crystal Travel, Paragon
Hotel off Sudder St, is supposed to be a good place for cheap tickets.
American
Express (248-6181), 21 Old Court House St; Sita World
Travels (292-174), 3B Camac St; Mercury Travels
(242-3535) and Travel Corporation of India, both
at 46C JL Nehru Rd, are established travel agencies.
Places To Shop
New Market, Lindsay Street, is a large market carrying
a wide range of items. It has more than 2,000 stalls. As you approach
the market, expect someone (or a group of people) to run up to you
and drag you (literally) from shop to shop. Avoid them, as they are
usually totally useless and will get you moving at the speed of light.
Chamba Lama sells Tibetan goods and silver jewelry. Sujata’s
is a well-known silk shop.
The
Central Cottage Industries Emporium, 7 JL Nehru Rd,
has a wide selection of handicrafts.
Good
places to obtain musical instruments are Braganza & Co,
2A Marquis St, and J Reynold & Co, 15 Mirza Ghalib St. They also
repair instruments.
Hiren Roy & Son, Rashbehari Ave, Gariahat, is a famous
sitar maker. They have made sitars for Ravi Shankar.
Naskar & Sons, 14 Ganga Prasad Mukherji Rd, makes good
tamburas and sitars.
Hemen Roy & Sons, Rashbehari Ave, Triangular Park, makes
excellent sitars and tamburas.
Manoj Kumar Sarder & Brothers, 8A Lal Bazaar St, across
from the police station, make first-class sitars and sarods.
Bookshops
The Oxford Book Shop, 17 Park St, and Cambridge
Book Company, 20D Park St, are good bookstores.
Newman’s is on the same block as the Great Eastern
Hotel.
The Bookmark is upstairs at 56D Mirza Ghalib St.
Booklands, at the eastern end of Sudder St, has a good selection
of tourist books.
Many of the bookshops along Mirza Ghalib Street have
a good selection of books.
Landmark 92282-2617), 3 Lord Sinha Rd, third fllor
of Emami Shopping Center, has one of the best selection of books in
town. Also has music and stationary.
Seagull Bookstore (2476-5865; Web Site: http://www.seagullindia.com)
31A Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rd, near Indira Cinema and Bhowanipore
police station. Hours: Mon-Sat 10am -6pm.
The
Survey of India has a Map Sales Office,
13 Wood St, where they sell good maps of India’s major cities.
There
is a large Book Fair in the Maiden in December-January.
It is like having hundreds of bookshops all in one place.
Medical and Opticians
The Wockhardt Medical Centre (2475-4046), 2/7 Sarat
Bose (Lansdowne) Rd, south of Chowringhee, is open Mon-Sat 8am to
7pm. Dr Paes,
Vital Medical Services (2282-5664), 5th Floor, 6
Ho Chi Minh Sarani, is open Mon-Fri 10am-5pm. Kothari Medical Centre
(479-2557), 8/3 Alipore Rd, has good doctors and is recommended.
Woodlands Nursing Home (453-951), 8/6 Alipore Rd;
Belle Vue (244-2321), 9 Dr UN Brahmachari St; and Park Nursing Home
(244-3586), 4 Victoria Terrace, are suggested private clinics.
There is also the Centre for Tibetan Herbal Medicine,
400 Jodhpur Park.
Opticians:
Stephens, 23 JL Nehru Rd; Himalaya, 25 Camac St;
and President, 306 Bepin Behari Ganguly St (Lal Bazaar).
Indian
Museum
This is both the largest and one of the best museums in India. It
is located at the intersection of JL Nehru Rd and Sudder St. The museum
contains 36 galleries. On the right side of the main entrance is the
Archaeological Section, containing a large collection of old sculptures
and deities. There is a polished sandstone Lion Capital which dates
from the 3rd century and an interesting collection of sculpted stone
railings from the Buddhist site at Bharhut, Madhya Pradesh, dating
from the second century BC. In this museum there are fossils, an art
collection, a great coin collection, an Egyptian Gallery with a mummy,
meteorites, and carvings of the Buddha. Open daily except Monday 10
am to 5 pm and closes a half-hour earlier between Dec and Feb. Admission
Foreigners/Indians Rs 150./10; Camera Rs 50.
Maidan and Fort
William
The Maidan, located in the middle of Calcutta, is one of the largest
city parks in the world. It is 1km wide and 3km from north to south.
Running along the west side of the park is the Hoogly River, and on
the east side is Jawaharlal Nehru Rd (Chowringhee Rd).
Fort
William is situated on the west side of the Maidan, near the river.
Construction of this large fort was begun in 1758 and completed in
1781, costing £2 million. The area around the fort was cleared
to give the cannons a clear shot, and that area later became the Maidan.
The Indian Army presently uses the fort and it can only be visited
with special permission, which is hard to get.
Victoria Memorial and the race course are in the south part of the
park. Eden Gardens (1836) is a pleasant, well laid-out garden in the
northwest corner of the Maiden, with a Burmese pagoda set in a small
pond, brought from Myanmar (Burma) in 1856. Nearby is Ranji Stadium,
where cricket matches are played.
Ochterlony Monument
This 48m (158 ft) column, built in 1828, is located at the north end
of the Maidan. It has an Egyptian base, a Syrian column, and a Turkish
cupola. It was named after Sir David Ochterlony, who led the East
India Company’s army during the Nepal War (1814–16). It
has been renamed the Shahid Martyr’s Minar.
There
are good views from on top of the column. To gain access to the top,
visitors must first obtain permission from the Assistant Commissioner’s
office on the 2nd floor of police headquarters on Lal Bazaar St (northeast
corner of BBD Bagh). Permission is not given during the first and
last weeks of each month.
Victoria Memorial
This impressive monument was built as a memorial to Queen Victoria
between 1906 and 1921. It is located at the south end of the Maidan.
It is a mixture of the Italian Renaissance and Saracenic styles, and
has Mughal domes. It is an interesting museum that has 25 galleries
with over 3,000 exhibits, including sculptures, weapons, paintings,
and other art forms. Inside are Queen Victoria’s piano and writing
desk. The Calcutta Gallery has an exhibit depicting the history of
Calcutta in paintings, dioramas, and maps. When you approach the Memorial
you pass a large seated bronze statue of Queen Victoria. Open daily
except Mon 10 am to 4.30 pm. From March to October it closes at 3.30
pm. Admission Foreigners/Indians Rs 150/10. Guided tours are free.
There
is a Sound and Light Show in English about Indians
of Calcutta and the history of the struggle for Independence. It starts
daily (except Mon) at 8.15 pm. Admission Foreigners/Indian Rs 20/10.
There is a Musical Fountain in the Maidan in front of the Victoria
Memorial.
Saint
Paul’s Cathedral
This large church (1847) has a gothic tower, a grand altar, three
Gothic stained glass windows, and the impressive west window, designed
by the well-known Burne Jones. It has Florentine frescoes and a gold
communion plate given by Queen Victoria. The church is situated on
Cathedral Rd, east of the Victoria Memorial. Open 9 am to noon and
3 to 6 pm. Sunday services: 7.30, 8.30, and 11 am, and 6 pm.
Birla Planetarium
Located across from the Government of India Tourist Office (2223-1516),
north of St Paul’s, the planetarium is one of the largest in
the world. Every day but Monday there are shows in English between
12.30 and 6.30 pm, but times change daily. Admission Rs 10. Be careful
of pickpockets while waiting in the queue for tickets.
Academy
of Fine Arts
The Academy of Fine Arts, Cathedral Rd, just south of St Paul’s
Cathedral, on Cathedral Rd, has different artist exhibitions of Bengali
contemporary artists, such as Rabindranath Tagore, Jamini Roy, and
other Bengali School painters. In the evening there are regular performances
of Indian classical music. Open daily except Mon, noon to 6.30 pm
Admission, Rs 7.
Nandan
is the film center next door, which has a library, archives, and an
auditorium. It was designed by Satyajit Roy, a well-known filmmaker.
Nehru
Children’s Museum
This is an interesting doll museum, featuring doll exhibits illustrating
the pastimes of the Mahabharata and Ramayana. It is located at 94/1
JL Nehru Rd. (Chowringhee Rd), near St Paul’s. Open daily except
Mon 11.30 am to 8.30 pm. Admission, Rs 7.
Central Calcutta
Asiatic
Society
Located at 1 Park St, the Asiatic Society, established in 1784, contains
a library of 150,000 books and 60,000 manuscripts, some dating back
to the 7th century. It has a museum, which was opened in 1814, that
contains a coin collection, one of Ashoka’s rock edicts, and
a painting collection, which includes paintings by Rubens, Canaletto,
Reynolds, and Guido. Open 10 am to 5 pm; admission is free. There
is a reading room open to the public Mon to Fri 10 am to 8 pm, Sat
and Sun 10 am to 5 pm.
South
Park St Cemetery
Near the southeast end of Park St, at the corner of AJC Bose Rd, 2km
from the Maidan, is South Park St Cemetery, where British residents
were buried between 1767 and 1830. It has some interesting tombs and
inscriptions, which tell an interesting story of the times. Many important
British personalities including Colonel Kyd, the founder of the Botanical
Gardens, were laid to rest here. There is a good guidebook (Rs 25).
Open daily 7 am to 4 pm. Admission free.
ISKCON Temple
The Calcutta ISKCON Temple (247-6025; fax 247-8575) is located at
3C Albert Road, in the center of the city, near the junction of Camac
Street and Acharya JC Bose Road. If you get on Camac Street, people
will know where the xe "Hare Krishna:Calcutta" Hare Krishna
Mandir is located. It is located in an old building with Gaura-Nitai,
Jagannath, and Radha Govinda Deities. They have recently opened guest
rooms in a new building behind the temple. Guests must follow ashram
rules.
Ratha-yatra
is held each year in June/ July. It is said that well over a million
people attend this colorful event.
There
is a bus to Mayapur leaving almost every day from the temple at 6
am, returning to Calcutta at 9 pm. It is a good idea to reserve the
bus a day in advance (call 247-3757 or 247-6075 for reservations).
The bus costs Rs 100 (one way) and is a convenient way to get to Mayapur.
BBD Bagh Area
BBD
Bagh (Dalhousie Square)
This square, located a few blocks north of the Maidan, was previously
known as Dalhousie Square. It was renamed after Benoy,
Badal, and Dinesh, three freedom fighters who were hung by the British
during the protests against the partition of Bengal in 1905. In the
area around the square there are many important, old buildings which
were used by the British while Calcutta was still the capital of India.
The large red-brick Writers’ Building (1880), is on the north
side of the square (clerical personnel were known as writers). It
is now the West Bengal Government Secretariat.
St Andrew’s Kirk (1818), a Scottish church,
is on the northeast corner of BBD Bagh. East of BBD Bagh, on RN Mukherjee
Rd (Mission Rd) is the Old Mission Church built in 1770.
On
the west side of the square is the white-domed GPO
(1868), and on the east side is the West Bengal Tourist Office. There
is a Stamp Museum next to the GPO.
The
original Fort William was located where the GPO is
now located. There are brass markers near the GPO, which mark where
the fort’s walls used to be located. The “Black
Hole of Calcutta,” actually a guard room, was located
at the northeast corner of the post office. Over 100 people were held
prisoner there by Siraj-ud-daula on a hot June night in 1756. The
room had only very small windows and it is believed that many of the
prisoners suffocated overnight.
About
three blocks north of BBD Bagh, near the Howrah Bridge, is the Armenian
Church of Our Lady of Nazareth. Founded in 1724 by
Cavond, an Armenian from Persia, it is the oldest church in Calcutta.
St John’s
Church
This little church dating from 1787 is one block southwest of BBD
Bagh. It has an interesting cemetery, which contains the octagonal
mausoleum of Job Charnock, who died in 1692. Also buried here is Admiral
Watson, who helped Clive retake Calcutta. The monument dedicated to
the British who died during the “black hole” incident
was moved here from its old location near the GPO. Open Mon to Fri
9 am to noon and 5 to 6 pm. Services with a pipe organ, Sun 8 am.
Admission Rs 10.
South
of BBD Bagh
At
the north end of the Maidan, there are some interesting old British
buildings. Diagonally opposite St John’s Church is Raj
Bhavan (Government House), the one-time home of the British
Governor-Generals and Viceroys. The governor of West Bengal now lives
here and it is not open to the public. The interior is richly decorated
and contains some interesting items, such as Tipu Sultan’s throne.
Next
to Raj Bhavan is the Town Hall. A few blocks west
of Raj Bhavan is the Gothic-style High Court (1872),
which has a 55m tower. Southwest of Raj Bhavan is Vidhan Sabha,
the State Legislative Assembly.
North Calcutta
Howrah Bridge, a single span bridge crossing the
Hoogly River, is said to be the most used bridge in the world—with
over 60,000 vehicles and unlimited pedestrians crossing it daily.
Expect delays of at least half an hour if trying to cross the bridge
during rush hour. The bridge is located next to the Howrah railway
station.
South
of the Bridge is Armenian Ghat, which is one of the
busiest bathing ghats along the Hoogly.
Nakhoda Mosque
This
huge red sandstone mosque was built in 1926 to accommodate 10,000
people. It has two 46m high minarets and was modeled after Akbar’s
tomb in Sikandra (near Agra). The mosque is located north of BBD Bagh
and is open from 6 am to 8 pm.
Marble Palace
The Marble Palace (1835) is the old home of the rich Bengali zamindar
(landowner), Raja Rajendro Mullick Bahadur. It is located north of
MG Rd, on Muktaram Babu St, a small road off Chittaranjan Ave, This
lavish mansion is impressive. There are some important statues and
paintings on display here, which include the works of Rubens, Titian,
Gainsborough, and Sir Joshua Reynolds. There are also beautiful chandeliers,
European antiques, Venetian glass, old pianos, and blue china vases.
There is a small zoo here. To enter you need to get a free pass at
the Government of India Tourist Office. Occasionally you can gain
admission by offering baksheesh to the caretaker. Open daily except
Mon and Thurs 10 am to 4 pm.
Asutosh
Museum of Indian History at Calcutta University has a Bengali
folk art exhibit, handicrafts, and old Buddhist manuscripts and statues.
It has terracotta figures and textiles. Open weekdays 10.30 am to
4.30 pm, and on Sat 10.30 am to 3 pm. Admission free.
Established
in 1857, Calcutta University was the first university
opened by the British in India.
Paresnath
Jain Temple
This temple, built in 1867, is dedicated to Sitalanath, who was the
10th of the twenty-four Jain tirthankaras. The inside is ornately
decorated with Venetian glass mosaics, chandeliers from Paris and
Brussels, a gilded dome, stained glass windows, and mirror inlaid
pillars. There is a group of temples here in a nice garden. Open daily
6 am to noon and 3 to 7 pm. The temple is located northeast of the
downtown area, near the Belgachia Metro Station.
Rabindra
Bharati University
Tagore
House, off Rabindra Sarani, north of BBD Bagh, is
a cultural center for Indian music, dance, and the arts. Rabindranath
Tagore, India’s most famous modern poet, was born and died here.
He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913. Also located here is
the Rabindra Bharati Museum, which has an exhibit depicting the story
of the Tagore Family and the Bengal Renaissance with a collection
of memorabilia and art. It is located on Dwarkanath Tagore Lane in
North Calcutta. Open weekdays 10 am to 5 pm, and on Sat 11 am to 1.30
pm. Admission Foreigners/Indians Rs 50/5.
Sound-and
Light Show Tues-Wd, Fri-Sun starting 7pm from Feb-Une and at 6pm Nov-Jan.
Admission Rs 10. First show is in Bengali and the second in English.
Belur Math
The Belur Math is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, which
was founded in 1899 by Swami Vivekananda, a disciple of Ramakrishna.
The temple here, built in 1938, is a mixture of Hindu, Islamic, and
Christian architectural styles. It is located north of the Howrah
Bridge, on the other side of the river. There is also a museum exhibiting
Vivekananda’s personal effects, and a riverside park. Open Oct
through March 6.30 to 11.30 am and 3.30 to 6 pm; April through Sept
6.30 to 11.30 am and 4 to 7 pm.
Dakshineswar
Kali Temple
This is the Kali temple where Ramakrishna was a priest, and where
he realized the unity of all religions. Rani Rashmoni built it in
1847. No pujari (temple priest) would do the worship in the temple
because Rani Rashmoni was from a low caste. Ramakrishna’s brother
became the priest, then later, Ramakrishna himself accepted the position.
There are twelve temples dedicated to Lord Siva and Radha Krishna
along the nearby riverbank. Ramakrishna’s bedroom has been turned
into a museum containing his personal effects.
It
is located on the east bank of the Hoogly, across the river from the
Belur Math, near the Vivekananda Bridge. It is 3km north of Belur
Math and about 20km north of Sudder St. This temple can be reached
by bus #32 from the Esplanade bus stand. Open 6 am to 9 am.
South Calcutta
Zoo
The Calcutta Zoo has on display white tigers and other animals. Open
6 am to 6 pm; admission Rs 2. It is located south of the Maidan in
Alipore.
The peaceful Horticultural Gardens are located half a km south of
the zoo on Alipore Rd. There is an interesting flower show here at
the end of February. Open 8 am to 5 pm; admission Rs 7.
National
Library
The National Library was the home of Bengal’s former Lieutenant
Governor. It is built in the Renaissance Italian style and is the
largest library in India, with over 2,000,000 books. The old Banquet
Hall contains over 10,000 reference books and Gazetteers. The library
is situated just south of the Maidan in Alipore, on Belvedere Rd.
Web Site: http://wwwindev.nic.in/asiatic
Kali Temple
This interesting temple, 6km south of Sudder St, is dedicated to Kali,
the patron goddess of Calcutta. Kali means “black.” The
tongue of the deity of Kali drips with blood and she wears a garland
of skulls. This temple is said to be where Sati’s toe fell after
her body was cut into fifty-one pieces by Lord Vishnu while Lord Siva
was carrying her. Kali is the destructive side of Lord Siva’s
consort, Parvati.
The
present temple was built in 1809 on the site of a much older temple.
It is said that humans were once sacrificed here. Now they offer goats
daily to the temple deity.
Foreigners
are permitted limited access in the temple. Open 3 am to 8 pm. There
is a stop on the underground metro for the temple at the Kalighat
station.
The
area where the temple is located is an interesting busy area. A little
south of the temple are the burning ghats.
Mother Teresa’s
Homes
Located next to the Kali temple is Mother’s Teresa’s Hospital
for the Dying and Destitute. Mother Teresa was born in 1910 of Albanian
parents in Skopje, now in Macedonia. She received the Nobel Peace
Prize for her selfless work in 1979. She came to teach in Calcutta
in 1931 as a Loretta Sister. With the Pope’s permission she
began the Order of the Missionaries of Charity to help the dying and
destitute. Nuns of this order wear white cotton saris with blue borders
In
1952, she opened her first home, which she called Nirmal Hriday (literally,
“pure heart”). There are now nearly 200 such homes. The
office in Calcutta is at Mother House, 54A AJC Bose (Lower Circular)
Rd. If you would like to give a donation for this worthy project,
please give it there. Do not give one to someone on the street, as
they do not collect in this way.
Other
Places
Birla Industrial and Technological Museum, (2247-7241)
19A Gurusday Rd, at the corner of Gariahat Rd, is open daily except
Mon 10 am to 5 pm. Admission Rs 10. It may be of interest to children.
Near this museum is situated the Lakshmi Narayan Temple, Ashutosh
Chowdhury Rd, suburb of Ballygunge, built by the Birla family in the
Orissan style. It has three sikharas (towers) and is open from 5.30
to 11 am and 4.30 to 9 pm.
The
Birla Academy of Art and Culture, 109 Southern Ave,
has a good exhibit of modern and old paintings and stone sculptures.
On display there are Kalighat paintings, terracotta, textiles, and
miniatures. Open daily except Mon 4 to 7 pm. Admission Rs 5. They
occasionally hold concerts and dramas in the auditorium.
Netaji
Bhawan, the home of Subhas Chandra Bose, hero of the Bengali
independence movement, is located on Elgin Rd near Chowringhee. Bose
started the Indian National Army during the Second World War, who
allied themselves with the Japanese to fight the British. There is
a small museum here. Open Tues to Sat 1.30 to 4.30 pm. Admission Rs
5.
Maritime Museum at Man-O-War Jetty, Stand Rd, is
on a steamer boat.
Botanical
Gardens
The extensive and peaceful Botanical Gardens are situated on the west
side of the river (the same side as Howrah Station). It is an interesting
and peaceful tree garden with many rare species. The gardens cover
over 250 acres of land, and stretches for over 1km along the riverfront.
They claim to have the second largest banyan tree in the world (the
largest is in Andhra Pradesh), which is over 200 years old. Despite
losing its central trunk, the banyan tree covers an area of over 10,000
square metres. It is 420m (1386 ft) in circumference. The original
trunk was struck by lightning in 1919. To find the tree, take the
right path upon entering the park.
The
palm house in the center of the park is interesting. It is crowded
on Sundays and public holidays. The gardens are 10km south of Howrah.
The white-orange CTC buses (the large buses, not the mini ones) from
Esplanade drive over the new bridge and take about half an hour to
arrive at the gardens. The buses driving over the Howrah Bridge take
longer. From the Chowringhee area take the #55 or #56 bus. The ferries
that used to depart from Chandpal and Babu Ghats are no longer running.
Entertainment
Calcutta This Fornight has a list of events for Calcutta.
The publication is free at the tourist offices.
Rabindra
Sadan (247-2413), Cathedral Rd, at the corner of AJC Bose
Rd, has dance, Bengali poetry reading, and drama performances.
At the Drama Theater at the Academy of Fine Arts
(248-4302), there are daily shows at 6.30 pm and Sat at 10 am and
3 pm; Admission Rs 10 to Rs 30.
The
Dover Lane Music Festival, is held in January-February
in South Calcutta. Some of the best musicians in India perform.
The
Taj Bengal, Hindustan International, the Park and Oberoi Grand allow
non-guests to use their pools (Rs 150–200).
