Kolkata formerly Calcutta is one of the four metropolitan cities of India located in the eastern part of the country with a great history and culture. Set on one side of the city is the enigmatic Taj Bengal Kolkata while on the other side, you have a beautifully flowing Hooghly River. For those interested in a more comprehensive and memorable Indian experience, here are eight convincing arguments to visit Kolkata next time you go on vacation.
1. Colonial architecture
Kolkata has always been an important city and was the capital of British India for more than a hundred years, as a result of which there are many beautiful buildings here. Take a leisurely walk on Park Street to see some of the most significant buildings which include St. Paul’s Cathedral, City Centre 1 shopping complex and Raj Bhavan which is the official residence of the governor of West Bengal. Adjacent to the Dalhousie Square now known as B. B. D. Bagh, many colonial establishments like the General Post Office, the High Court, the Town hall and the prestigious Writers Building are located. Southeast of the New Market, you come across some of the oldest pieces of Gothic architecture such as St. John’s Church and the Indian Museum, which was established in 1814. Arguably, no list of key architectural landmarks in Kolkata can be complete without the Victoria Memorial – a white-marble complex and museum that dominates the park area with its majestic colonnades.
2. Shop Til You Drop
Modern markets, street shops, booth shops, shopping malls, handicraft shops, and many more make Kolkata a shopping lover’s paradise. There are more than 2000 shops in New Market which sell traditional dress materials, jewellery, leather products, utensils, etc; You should be ready for a little bargain here. It is also cheap and provides locally favoured cotton and silk wears that can be bought by the tourists. Beside them, serious college students browse through the quiet book stores of College Street looking to buy second-hand books and those hard-to-find titles. If you feel you need a break from beautiful faces, passionate arguments await you at 19th century Indian Coffee House and cheap food too! Fashion conscious people can shop at South City Mall or at Quest Mall where they can buy apparels and accessories of their choice from some of the reputed brands in the world. Traditional Bengali crafts such as Dhokra metal casting, Bankura Horse in terracotta or hand-woven fabrics, one can have them from stores namely, Crafts Forever or Chetla Hat.
3. Bengali foods
When it comes to desserts, they are rich and creamy; for dinner, the fish curry would make you feel blessed to be Bengali. Food enthusiasts in the region kick start their day with luchi, puri bread eaten with alur dum, spiced potato curry. Hot street stalls served crunchy jhalmuri which is puffed rice with spices, nuts and onions. The sweetshops are filled with mountains of langchas fried golden brown, pantuas and spongy rasgullas dipped in sweet syrup. Cafes offer genuine fish prepared in curry or sweet nolen gurer payesh, which is rice pudding made with palm jaggary. It would be a shame to leave without ordering melt in mouth mishti doi, yummy jaggery sandesh and soft warm gulab jamuns. Some of the best, including Kewpies and 6 Ballygunge Place copy the elaborate Bengali fare to the most while Oh! Calcutta infuses European twists. Chai addicts – get a tad of ginger to your beverage in the form of bhaaph (foam) from a roadside chai wala. Continue the same way as the locals do and have a digestive called paan after the final meal of the day from the paan-walas stalls.
4. Festivals Galore!
From noisy neighbourhood puja to complex jatis – nothing is taken lightly during Bengali festivals. Durga Puja itself is the largest festival with more than 30 thousand open-air platforms for ritual constructions of huge goddess statues filled with large crowds. Houses feel alive with the beats of dhakis, fairy lights, and yummy food stalls lining the streets. Start the night just like the locals, indulging in their much-cherished ‘adda’ sessions while pandal hopping. Kali Puja: Same as the previous one, this too goes on in the months of October/November Most famous is the Jagadhatri Puja – clay models of the deity are quite magnificent. When winter draws nearer, homemade sweets are the cynosure of all eyes at Lakshmi Puja and lively processions during Christmas. As soon as the Bengali new year – Come Poila Baishak – is celebrated in mid-April, the entire city comes alive with colours red and white and lots of singing and dancing – in the form of Alpana. Do not miss taking photo sessions on the backdrop of magnificent masterpieces by sculptors- that is what each festive event here provides.
5. Intriguing History
Delhi, the capital of modern India was founded by Mughals in 1639 while Calcutta, now known as Kolkata was founded by a British merchant in the year 1690 and has been the intellectual, artistic and revolutionary capital of India for over 300 years. Get acquainted with the early colonial history of the region from Fort William, Victoria Memorial and St John’s Church buildings while Writers Building was a significant site during the freedom movement. When you see the statues of freedom fighters such as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose or Khudiram Bose at different memorial sites across the city. Calcutta was slowly transforming into the ‘Second city of the Empire’, and is reflected through the 19th century Marble Palace and ruins of Charnock’s tomb. After independence, luminaries of different fields including Rabindra Nath Tagore, Satyajit Ray, Mother Teresa and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen ruled the roost in Kolkata and made influential contributions to the Indian socio-cultural & economic fabric. Visit the oldest tram carriages and the buildings in the Mumbai-styled Victorian architecture along with the cemeteries from the British colonial period to have a glimpse of the bygone era. Don’t leave the city without visiting the Howrah Bridge and the ancient temple of Dakshineshwar which is associated with Sri Ramkrishna Paramhansa and his disciple Sarada Devi.
Conclusion
We have included the best of the attractions in Kolkata that any traveller would love to explore like architecture, food, history, and culture. The friendly communities with countless social hubs, aggressive knowledge, and warmth as the key attributes guarantee that you will have a lot to remember when you book your stay in Taj Bengal Kolkata. So come and get yourself surrounded in this city full of heritage and feel the nostalgia of its sonar Kolkata that is set to join the bandwagon of the next iconic structures!