The city of Joy!

It may be named after a novel but I believe it is the city of joy because people find happiness in every little thing... which varies in every dimension!

City of Joy, Capital of West Bengal, Formerly known as Calcutta.Yes, i am talking about Kolkata. 

An abrupt plan of travel to the city from Mumbai was just the work of an idle brain :) and yes, i just booked my tickets and left Mumbai very abruptly. 

I had till now just imagined about the city and seen it through the movies.. The British architecture, the big bungalows, the traditionally dressed Bengali woman.. It was just in my thoughts and it all seemed to be another world which was indeed very fascinating.

To my surprise, when i got there, the city had a different feeling all together. It was not just 'any' city with some architecture. It was one of the most beautiful cities i have been to.

As soon as i entered the city, the very first thing that caught my eyes was the famous Yellow cabs.

The old model of ambassador cars converted  to Cabs are one of the convenient public transport which are pocket friendly also. 

It was just one type of public transport out of so many that were available in the city. I got to see the Auto rickshaws, the underground metro, buses, hand pulled rickshaws, cycle rickshaws, Ferry and of course.. the Tram... Phew!! 

Hand pulled rickshaw-as seen in the old city

The ferry which connects Howrah to Kolkata and charges just Rs 5 for the ride is an experience not to be missed!

The one and only place in India where you can see a tram!

 As i had never seen a tram i was super excited to see it... so we specially went on a day just to take a ride of this heritage tram and trust me it was a fun filled experience.. one of its kind and once in a lifetime for those who do not stay here :)

The city looked so beautiful that i didn't want to miss out on anything and so the very next day me and my friend left the house to explore the city.

Since i had just jumped in out of nowhere, my friend who stays in Bhubaneshwar already had her own plans and had come to Kolkata for some sourcing (Ah! Yes.. she owns a brand and works for it). So i just tagged along... Our very first visit was the New Market on Lindsay Street.
It was earlier an enclosed market but now it has many more shops around.

Being the first day of exploration we wanted to have the famous "Puchkas" popularly known as gol gappas or pani puri... annnnd being a vegetarian foodie..it was something i would never want to miss out so as we stepped out of the metro station we just  hogged onto them... hmmm YUMM...simply amazing.. and very different from the pani puri of other places that i have had till now...

New Market at Lindsay street

We went on with the sourcing work and finished it by evening.. we had to go back.. super tired and exhausted.. we took the metro and got back home.

Next day i had called another friend of mine to visit the Dakhineshwar kali temple located on the eastern banks of river Hoogly. It was a little off the city so we had to drive there.

Goddess kali is widely worshiped in this city and holds a huge importance among the people there.

Dakhineshwar Kali temple

Ghat of Dakhineshwar temple (hoogly river- also called adi ganga) where people take holy bath

The temple was amazingly beautiful and very peaceful...
and then after the darshan we had these amazing aloo ki sabzi and kachori for breakfast :D 

Since it was end of April it was getting too hot in the day time so i just decided to relax at home in the afternoon...

In the evening me and my friend went to another place called the Burrabazaar (spelt as bara bazaar). It had the charm of the old calcutta...the one that i had seen in the movies..like i had imagined it would be..
It was amazing how one city had so many versions.. so many different views to look at..

Busy streets of Burrabazaar

Old architectural buildings in Burrabazaar

How can we miss the bhelpuri :)

 Burrabazaar (spelt as bara bazaar) is one of the largest wholesale markets of India!

 Our trip for the day ended with some fabric shopping and having the famous "Roshogulla" from one of the sweet shops in burrabazar.

Next morning we had a tight schedule as it was the second last day of our trip and we had to cover so many places..

The very first place that we went to was the famous "Indian Museum" which is the oldest and the largest museum in India. It was recently renovated and had the fresh paint smell and absolute white clean walls..

The Indian Museum

After seeing the museum, i realized that no matter how much you learn from the internet, see all the details and everything but nothing can beat the hands on experience.. the joy of seeing everything and remembering each and every detail is hardly possible through internet or the books..

We saw an array of beautiful textiles from the past.. ornaments and other items that are beyond explanation.

Begging bowl :)  Truly amazed to see such a beautiful and intricately designed begging bowl

Next destination was THE Victoria Memorial which is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria and is now turned into a museum. It was built after the queen died for people to remember the history!

We then moved on to the very famous temple of Kali.. the Kalighat temple after which the city was named 'Calcutta'. The small streets crowded with shopkeepers selling prasad was like a mini Kolkata was fitted in there.. feel of the entire city was squeezed in those small bylanes..

Streets around the Kalighat Temple of Goddess Kali

Man preparing mithai (sweets) for prasad

"Kulhar wali chai" - Tea in claypot which has a different aroma altogether.
Kulkar- Made of Clay are widely used for drinking tea.
Also, the claypots used are broken after usage.

After the tea how could we miss the shopping of sarees from Kolkata :) so we went to one of the stores and bought beautifully crafted sarees available in every color that you would have known.


Our Last destination on our last day of stay was none other than the famous Indian coffee house and we had to travel in the tram too :) so we just planned to have our dinner at the Indian coffee house.

The place was a meeting place for many poets, artists, writers & students. It is situated near the presidency college and is famously called as the coffee house at college street.

The building is old and looks very dilapidated yet it still holds its charm and is still the most famous coffee house.

Indian Coffee House 

Finally our journey of the day ended with a ride on the tram..and so i could cut one thing off my list :)

 View of tram from inside

I left the city the next day with beautiful memories and amazing history of the city..
On the way to the station and As i sat waiting for my train at the station... I saw one of the most amazing sites.. the night view of Howrah bridge

This site just completed the journey and i left the city with experiences of a lifetime!!
And i promised myself to come back as this city had much more to offer!