Having childhood spent in various parts of India, and then landing finally to Kolkata makes me lucky enough. As it is truly said Kolkata is not merely a place, its an emotion, it's streets tell us the story of pre-independence, its buildings bring the nostalgia, the tea shops become the platform for ted talks . Describing Kolkata in words is not possible.
it was already 4 pm , now my stomach started calling me for help, so I went for a bengali cuisine restaurant - Kasturi. You can find restaurants, motels of various ranges. One can find a fish thali , dosa, egg roll in 50 rs, or a 5 star restaurant billing you around 1000/2000.
Best time to visit Kolkata is September to March, as from April Kolkata becomes hot balloon, from July it becomes a drowning city. But even during these off time Kolkata doesn't loose its beauty. As I prefer to visit Kolkata by foot and Local transport, I started my journey from Dakshineshwar Temple. I reached there by bus from my place. Dakshineshwar temple is a kali temple, having a very beautiful and peaceful environment. It is situated on the banks of river Ganga.
After getting the blessings, I started the journey towards Dum Dum station by local train. It is 10 minutes ride. As I needed some energy for the day I went to a tea stall, had some excellent tea in matir bhad. Filled the stomach with some biscuits and bread toast, costing around 30 rs only. the next destination was Maidan, reaching there by Metro from DumDum. Maidan is the place where you get to see Birla Planetarium, ST Paul's Cathedral Church, Victoria Memorial all in sequence. In total if you are interested in watching the movie show in birla planetarium (movies shows are in 3 languages) and the museum of victoria memorial it will take around 3-4 hours in these 3 locations. In victoria memorial you can also spend time in the green if you are not much interested in history.
After visiting the great british architecture in Maidan, I started walking towards Rabindra Sadan metro station. Reached NANDAN - the government-sponsored film and cultural centre. Had some clicks there, and moved towards the metro station. boarded metro for next destination - Esplanade. it is the shopping hub of Kolkata. New Market is the place where you can find anything of any range starting from a 150 rs sandal to branded shops like woodland.
As it was late I had to cut short my trip to Princep Ghat, but ended the trip at Babughat. Took a yellow taxi to Babughat. The cold breeze welcomes me with a hug. Spent some time in the ghat thinking about next trip and said ADIOS!!
