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Welcome to THE CITY OF JOY – Kolkata.

Brief History of Calcutta (kolkata)

Kolkata is capital of West Bengal situated at the bank of river Hooghly. It was capital of British India .Calcutta city established in the year 1686, as a result of expansion plans of British Raj. Calcutta derived its name from the name of a village kalikata.

The period between 1820 and 1930 saw the growing of seeds of nationalism that reached its height in 1905, when people stood against Lord Cruzan’s plan regarding the partition of Bengal. Rabindranath Tagore led the nationalist anti partition movements. The Partition was repealed in 1911, followed by the shifting of capital of India from Calcutta to New Delhi.

In 2001, Calcutta was officially renamed Kolkata.

I got an opportunity to attend a training in IIM – Kolkata . Although there was a tight schedule, but I along with other trainees got a chance to visit Kolkata for half a day.

Kolkata is a rare blend of tradition & modernity.

On the roads of Kolkata you will find the old buses with antique designed wooden windows running & on the other side speeding up the Volvo buses. One can find tram as well as metro, taxi/auto as well as rickshaws pulled by man.

Kolkata Tram

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In August I visited Kolkata along with my parents. Our schedule was just full of meeting friends and relatives. We had just one day to do sightseeing around Kolkata. So here is an account of my trip.

Day 1 – 13th Aug 2009:- Mumbai Howrah Mail reaches Howrah at 5.50 am as per Indian Railways. But the moment it entered Howrah’s  nearby region, there was no line clearance and the train started moving at snail’s pace. We reached at 8.30 am!!

Then there was the long queue at the prepaid taxi booth. (If you don’t go by prepaid, the taxi drivers will fleece you).

That is a view of the red building of Howrah Station and The Howrah Bridge

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It was always on my wishlist to visit a place which had snowfall, beautiful lakes and nice dense forests. I used to wonder if any one place had a mix of all this! I was surprised pleasantly to find this great combo on our trip to the North-eastern part of India covering Kolkata, Sikkim and Darjeeling!

We chose the best time – Autumn, to visit this spectacular place. Our journey started from Bangalore, reached kolkata the same day (through flight) , stayed over night at Kolkata.

I was simply thrilled to see the people there!!Each one had a similar looking face- square jaw-lines and small fish-like eyes- so typical of the people in North-east! It was an amazing welcome at the airport by our tour guide who led us to a hotel near Howrah bridge.

It was about 11 in the night and we headed out to by the famous Rosagulla at K.C Das. It was truly amazing to eat a tin full of it at that hour- we just dint wanna miss Kolkata’s delicacy.
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After Gangtok, our next destination was Darjeeling in West Bengal. We started driving around noon and it took 6 hours to reach another beautiful city on the hills. On the way we stopped the car at a location from where we could catch a glimpse of the famous Teesta river that seems to be carving out from the mighty Himalayas and wading along with the most elegant gait. Teesta river is said to flow across the length of Sikkim and is one of the most scenic rivers of Eastern India. After clicking a few pictures we moved on.
The hilly terrain up to the city was, needless to say, another enthralling drive among ridges and woods drenched in the monsoon rains. It was almost a roller coaster ride with lot of hair pin bends and steep curves on the way. The chill increased with the elevation and our frequent stops to enjoy special Darjeeling tea in local tea stalls on the way made it a perfect rainy day.

Darjeeling lies in the Shivalik Hills (the lower Himalayan range). This hill station boasts of its expansive tea gardens and one of the best and uninterrupted views of Kanchenjunga – world’s third highest peak. It also occupies a distinct place in Indian history.

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