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Approval to Posco SEZ in Orissa
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07. TRAVEL |
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West
Bengal |
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West Bengal is where
the holy Ganga meets the ocean. It is home to the intelligent, sensitive
and cultured Bengalis, the ‘Bhadralok’, as they are called.
Equally passionate about religion, literature, music, football and
cricket, they adore their saintly personages, Sri Aurobindo and Sri
Ramakrishna, and Nobel Laureates Rabindranath Tagore, Mother Teresa
and Amartya Sen, who was honoured in 1998 for Economics. |
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KOLKATA
In 1687, the Mughals granted permission to the East India
Company to set up a base at Sutanati, near the fishing
village, Kalikata, on the banks of the river, Hooghly.
Old Fort Willium, built at the site in 1696, became the
origin of the city of Kolkata, named after the village
whose lands had become part of the settlement. Kolkata
grew to become the capital of British India till 1911
when New Delhi was built and the seat of power shifted
there.
Today Kolkata is India’s largest metropolis. Splendid
structures intended to reflect the majesty of the ‘Empire’,
the buildings of Kolkata evoke a flavour of the Raj. Notable
among these are the Writer’s building, the seat of
government; the silver-domed General Post Office and St.
John’s Church, which has a memorial to the city founder,
Job Charnock.
The imposing white marble building, Victoria Memorial,
built by the British in 1921 and modeled on the Taj Mahal
also lies nearby. A stately, bronze statue of Queen Victoria
stands at its entrance and wrought-iron street lamps light
up its manicured lawns every evening, presenting a charming
picture.
The Botanical Gardens, laid out in 1786, lie on the banks
of the river in Howrah. There is a great variety of flora
and fauna, all carefully classified.
A great tourist draw is the 200-year-old Banyan tree with
mind-boggling circumference
of 400m.
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Often
jam-packed, Howrah Bridge is a vital link across the Hooghly.
Bright yellow taxis are driven by ‘sardarjis’
speaking chaste Bengali! You can get a better view of
this huge cantilever structure, an engineering marvel
of its day, if you abandon your taxi and take the faster
mode of travel – your legs! A new bridge across the
Hooghly, the Vidya Sagar Setu, is the longest cable-stayed
bridge in India.
Kolkata’s Metro is India’s first underground
rail. It rockets along, completing its journey of sixteen
kilometres and seventeen stations in about half an hour
- a welcome change from the bumper-to-bumper crawl on
the roads!
Lying to the north, the headquarters of the Ramakrishna
Mission, Belur Math, is built to look like a temple, a
mosque and a church from different angles.
The main religious festival is the ten day Durga Puja
in September to October, when Goddess Durga is worshipped
and the victory of good over evil celebrated. There is
much excitement as people throng the specially erected
pandals in every locality where beautiful images of the
goddess are installed for the ceremonies.
Darjeeling (2134 metres), the ‘Queen of the Hills’,
is 665 kilometres north of Kolkata. Famous for its tea
and crafts, the breathtaking scenery and the ‘toy
train’ that goes up from Siliguri, it provides an
excellent view |
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of Mt Kanchenjunga, the third highest peak in the world. The
world-famous Himalayan Mountaineering Institute also located
here. Kalimpong (1250 metres), is a quieter and smaller town,
sixty kilometres to the east, famous for its orchids and nurseries.
Both Darjeeling and kalimpong offer some excellent treks and
river rafting on the tempestuous Teesta river that lies between
the two towns.
FOOD
Bengalis love sweets. They often put jam even in their daal-bhaat
(salted rice and lentil curry)! There is a vast array of sweetmeats,
prepared from milk, which originated in Bengal. One can get
the light and spongy Rosogulla and mouth-watering Sandesh sweets
all over India, but nowhere do they taste as they do in Kolkata.
Shops in other parts of the country establish their reputations
just by calling themselves ‘bengali Sweet House’.
If you are in Kolkata do remember to try the delectable Mishti
doi (sweet, rich yoghurt).
Great fish eaters, the true-blue Bengali is the one who can
crunch fish bones without letting them stick in the throat!
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SHOPPING SPECIALITIES
IN KOLKATA |
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Central Cottage
Industries and various state emporia offer handicrafts
and fabrics from all over the country.
Delicate fabrics like
Tangail - Burra Bazaar
Exquisitely crafted
gold jewellery - B.B. Ganguly
Street
Leather shoes from
Chinese shoemakers - Bentinck
Street
Fine porcelain - Old
China Bazaar
Everything from flowers to jewellery - New
Market (the oldest market!) and Dakshinapur |
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