West Bengal

A Road Trip from Delhi to Kolkata

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In an August morning of 1888, Mrs. Bertha Benz driven a distance of 106 Kms with her teenage children to visit her mother. With a maximum speed of 10 mph, it took hours for them to reach the destination and the car broke down several times during the journey. Today that road trip is recorded as the first road trip ever made by the first patented motor car ‘The Benz-Patent Motorwagen’. The car was never meant for that long trip but generated a huge publicity pioneering the journey of the automobile industry. 124 years later sitting in a Volkswagen Polo 1.6, I was driven by none other than curiosity to be a part of the road saga where it tells you stories about the ‘river of life’ and the settlements alongside when a road ends to meet another. For next couple of days I dug deep into the travelogues and road trip forums, spent a couple of sleepless nights in impatience. I recall, that was the only time I studied the map seriously as by then I realized, to make a road trip from Delhi to Kolkata through the great Grand Trunk road you need to spend more time with history than geography !

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My first solo drive on NH-2 (Del-Kol-Del)

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It was towards dusk, when I reached Chauparan and I was desperate to reach at least Dhanbad, which is approximately 150 km from there. Twenty hours since I started my journey – my eyes started paining and at times, it was difficult to keep my eyes open. I realized the situation and slowed down, till I reached a safer place. One truck driver offered help and asked to follow him. After reaching Dhanbad, we exchanged Diwali Greetings and offered him some sweets. He was coming from Jallandhar and learnt that he has to cross this stretch (NH-2) at least twice in a month. It was 10:30 at night and 24 hours since I started driving. I didn’t want to spend another day on road, since my home is around 200 km from Dhanbad – ‘I have to reach home today’.

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Durga Puja – The biggest festival in our life – Part – III

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Puja without ‘Adda’? Bengalis are famous for their addas. Adda is nothing but a form of intellectual exchange among members. During Puja adda, the topics can be practically anything and everything. (informal chats where topics range from politics and popular or unpopular teachers and professors to movie-, cricket- or soccer-stars and the latest hit songs – the sky is the limit We have the license to kill our time in whatever way we wish to. Children make plans for each of the Puja days to hang out with friends and family. Some-everlasting relationships grow during this time.

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Durga Puja – The biggest festival in our life – Part – II

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Durga Puja is also known as Sarodautsav. It’s also time to buy and read Sarodia Magazines. All the major publication houses in Kolkata publish a special magazine before Durga Puja, which contains novels, stories, fictions, travelogues from all the famous writers. These magazines are also being used as a launchpad for the new writers. Magazines hit the stand before Mahalaya and find a home almost immediately.

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Kolkata- Fun and Food Capital- “Aami Shotti Bolchi”

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I came of out the memorial premises and after sipping a local tea for 3 bucks, I also wanted to feel like a Chancellor. I hired a chariot car drawn by 2 white horses for my Royal Evening Stroll. I guess, the chariot driver murmured faintly (in English).. “Your Highness, step up please”. I was almost in seventh’s heaven by then, but when I looked at him, I could figure out his speechless angry face almost saying (in Hindi)..

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Summer Vacation – A trip to Bakkhali, the Delta of Ganges & my childhood place

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After a full 3 hours in the sea and breakfast, we went to visit Henry’s island (2 km) – a must visit place. During 1980s, the West Bengal Fisheries Department took the initiative of turning Henry’s Island into a tourist spot. More than 50 ponds were dug under pisciculture project, occupying over 25 bigha on 100-hectare of land. Fresh fish and shrimps straight out the ponds are a must try for the visitors. Trees such as gora, kankru, palm, naturally growing sundari and hetal have been planted.

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Summer Vacation – a wonderful run through NH-2 from the Ghats of Varanasi to Home – Part II

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I went to check whether they washed the car or not, as promised yesterday. The outer body of the car looks like we just finished, sorry ‘Won’ the cross-country rally…several layers of dust all around the body and required a considerable amount of time and efforts to bring it back to its’ original colour. The security guard was of immense help and cleaned the car within next half an hour.

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Heart of Kolkata – Experiencing the Rich Heritage

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Kolkata(originally known as Calcutta), capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, former capital of India, is one of the 6 metros of India. Also known as the cultural capital of India, sometimes city of joy, city of festivals, Calcutta as a city still depicts as a true cultural, political, festive and an antique city in India. Almost 300 years old, Calcutta has really grown with ages and diversities, and is currently trying to compete head to head with other metros in India in terms of development too.

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A short write-up on Digha

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Known for the beauty of the beach and the special sea-side food hubs, Digha is a wonderful visiting paradise for the visitors. Tourists mainly spot two places, the old Digha beach and the new Digha beach.
New Digha is much much more crowded compared to the old Digha. And as expected we visited both the beaches.

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From Kolkata to Mandarmoni Beach (December 2009) – Road Review and Trip Report

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Kolkata has a lot of places within the proximity of 4-5 hours that could be considered as ideal places, for thoroughly enjoying weekends with total peace of mind far away from the hustle and bustle of the crowded city. One of them is the Mandarmoni beach which is around 180 KM from Howrah and is arguably the longest drivable beach in India. Located very near (within 30 KM) to the famous Digha beach, Mandarmoni is very easily accessible and reachable from Kolkata.

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