Kolkata

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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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 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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Kolkata->Varanasi->Allahabad->Sultanpur->Lucknow->Delhi Road Review

Kolkata->Varanasi->Allahabad->Sultanpur->Lucknow->Delhi Road Review

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Road review for this journey or rather saying road review for NH2 in one word to say is simply awesome. It is advisable to start as early as possible in the morning so as to avoid the city rush.
Starting with the Durgapur Expressway from Kolkata, this is one of the best highways in India, there is absolutely no doubt in that. If you are actually driving in this highway, the road quality is so good and the greenery around are so nice, that you will just want to keep driving on this road. A maximum speed of 150 KMPH is no big deal in this highway and you can easily maintain an avg speed of around 90-100 KMPH.
Every now and then one can find decent places to have tea and snacks, there is not limitation on any kind of meals, whether its breakfast, lunch or dinner. Shaktigarh around 100 KM from Kolkata is one such ideal place to have a good breakfast. It’s known for its famous sweets (langchas). It’s also known as “langchagarh”.

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Kolkata to Delhi drive : Part 1

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Journey from Kolkata to Delhi through the awesome Durgapur Expressway, was something I had dreamt of since the time I went to Kolkata back in August 2007. I had my plans sorted out that I will be working in Kolkata not more than 2-3 years and then when I return back to Delhi, I will do that by road. It was January 1st week, when I got an offer in hand for a job back in Delhi, and I immediately had in mind, it’s now or never.

We were all set to start on the 4th of February 2011 for Delhi from Kolkata by road in my most loveable Santro.

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