The first thing we wanted to visit was an unusual
Hindu temple located quite some way from the city centre, so we set off
on the subway – yes, Kolkata has one, and it’s great! (not quite as
efficient as Singapore’s or Paris’ metro, but awesome all the same – and
it moves a huge number of people around the city). The other thing
about transport in Kolkata – the strange 3-wheeled trucks cutting around
the place. They’re used for transporting goods around, are one wheeled
at the front and contain a wooden rear tray, almost like a ute. Random!
The city also has trams, another legacy of the British. Overall, the
city’s transport system is excellent. On first impressions, it doesn’t
really seem to fit, but you soon realise just how much of a strong
influence the British had on this city, and it makes sense.
Once
we’d managed to get out there and jump on a bus, we made it to
Dakshineswar Kali temple. It was quite an amazing structure, strikingly
coloured in just two colours, cream and marone; and it looked almost
like it was built out of Lego from the curved, but stepped, domes that
flanked it. There were a great number of pilgrims milling about and
paying their respects to various Hindu deities.
We wanted to cross the river to visit another temple, but we’d unfortunately managed to finish our visit at the same time as the ferryman was having his lunch. So we hung out with the local kids until it was time to leave, and then cruised back into the city to look for our next sight: the strikingly red, grand old Writer’s Building on Dalhousie Square.
Originally the home of the British publishing elite, the Writer’s Building is now the home of Kolkata’s parliamentarians. Unfortunately, the building is off limits for all photography. But we learned this the other way around: first, NO PHOTOS – as every frantically waving policeman tried to tell us – but we didn’t know why until we’d found an English speaker who could tell us! The old Post Office is also located on Dalhousie square. Unfortunately the square was under renovation at the time of our visit, so we couldn’t see the extent of the colonial architecture that flanks it.
Kolkata is a really interesting blend of architectural styles. There are the grand old colonial buildings that flank squares and surround fountains, that are well maintained and important in the city’s history; but yet there are countless others that have not been maintained and are slowly crumbling behind their now grimy paintwork. You can look up on just about any street, and see a beautiful old dome or façade that clearly was part of the city’s past glory, but is now almost falling down. I was constantly amazed by the plethora of old, dirty and unloved buildings that were loftily perched above the craziness on the streets below.
There’s
the crumbling red brick facades of narrow apartments, with their steel
latticework and carved wooden window panelling, which sit above equally
narrow shop fronts on street level. Then there are the more recent
additions to the city; the horrible 1970’s-style boxes with glass louvre
windows that were modern in their day, but now look horribly slap-dash.
Everything is covered with a layer of grime and dirt, which reflects
the everyday hustle and bustle that occurs on the streets below. Many
people are still very poor here, even given the wealth that the British
brought to and made in the city (using poor Indians to make their
millions); unfortunately it seems they took a lot of it with them. But
the legacy of this wealth is reflected in the city’s well-planned
layout, tree-lined boulevards and parklands, good infrastructure and
elegant buildings – well-preserved or not.
There is also a blend of religious buildings; Muslim mosques and Hindu temples are dotted around the city. On our second day in Kolkata, which we spent most of trying not to be lost while hunting down various sights, we passed a beautiful Hindu temple in our wanderings, and were luckily allowed inside during prayer time by the caretaker who didn’t like the man who initially kicked us out! It was entirely constructed from white marble and had intricate human figures carved into its over-door showpiece. Another Hindu temple, unmarked on our map but still amazingly intricate and constructed from marble, we simply stumbled across, but were allowed to wander through and admire.
We also went to see Kolkata’s largest mosque, Mesjid Nakhoda. And was it big! This mosque is another gargantuan red masterpiece, with beautiful green domes. Again, we weren’t allowed to go inside because it was prayer time; but we actually preferred to be amongst the craziness of the crowded streets, winding alleyways and bustling markets surrounding the mosque itself, with its domes towering above us. This is how we spent the rest of the day, getting lost amongst the maze of streets and markets, trying not to get run over, under the gaze of the general population who don’t see many foreigners away from the tourist sites in the everyday hustle and bustle on the street. Plus a bit of shopping, which we didn’t really need, but was still fun… especially the general bartering which we so sorely missed in Bangladesh.
Once
we’d managed to get out there and jump on a bus, we made it to
Dakshineswar Kali temple. It was quite an amazing structure, strikingly
coloured in just two colours, cream and marone; and it looked almost
like it was built out of Lego from the curved, but stepped, domes that
flanked it. There were a great number of pilgrims milling about and
paying their respects to various Hindu deities.We wanted to cross the river to visit another temple, but we’d unfortunately managed to finish our visit at the same time as the ferryman was having his lunch. So we hung out with the local kids until it was time to leave, and then cruised back into the city to look for our next sight: the strikingly red, grand old Writer’s Building on Dalhousie Square.
Originally the home of the British publishing elite, the Writer’s Building is now the home of Kolkata’s parliamentarians. Unfortunately, the building is off limits for all photography. But we learned this the other way around: first, NO PHOTOS – as every frantically waving policeman tried to tell us – but we didn’t know why until we’d found an English speaker who could tell us! The old Post Office is also located on Dalhousie square. Unfortunately the square was under renovation at the time of our visit, so we couldn’t see the extent of the colonial architecture that flanks it.
Kolkata is a really interesting blend of architectural styles. There are the grand old colonial buildings that flank squares and surround fountains, that are well maintained and important in the city’s history; but yet there are countless others that have not been maintained and are slowly crumbling behind their now grimy paintwork. You can look up on just about any street, and see a beautiful old dome or façade that clearly was part of the city’s past glory, but is now almost falling down. I was constantly amazed by the plethora of old, dirty and unloved buildings that were loftily perched above the craziness on the streets below.
There’s
the crumbling red brick facades of narrow apartments, with their steel
latticework and carved wooden window panelling, which sit above equally
narrow shop fronts on street level. Then there are the more recent
additions to the city; the horrible 1970’s-style boxes with glass louvre
windows that were modern in their day, but now look horribly slap-dash.
Everything is covered with a layer of grime and dirt, which reflects
the everyday hustle and bustle that occurs on the streets below. Many
people are still very poor here, even given the wealth that the British
brought to and made in the city (using poor Indians to make their
millions); unfortunately it seems they took a lot of it with them. But
the legacy of this wealth is reflected in the city’s well-planned
layout, tree-lined boulevards and parklands, good infrastructure and
elegant buildings – well-preserved or not.There is also a blend of religious buildings; Muslim mosques and Hindu temples are dotted around the city. On our second day in Kolkata, which we spent most of trying not to be lost while hunting down various sights, we passed a beautiful Hindu temple in our wanderings, and were luckily allowed inside during prayer time by the caretaker who didn’t like the man who initially kicked us out! It was entirely constructed from white marble and had intricate human figures carved into its over-door showpiece. Another Hindu temple, unmarked on our map but still amazingly intricate and constructed from marble, we simply stumbled across, but were allowed to wander through and admire.
We also went to see Kolkata’s largest mosque, Mesjid Nakhoda. And was it big! This mosque is another gargantuan red masterpiece, with beautiful green domes. Again, we weren’t allowed to go inside because it was prayer time; but we actually preferred to be amongst the craziness of the crowded streets, winding alleyways and bustling markets surrounding the mosque itself, with its domes towering above us. This is how we spent the rest of the day, getting lost amongst the maze of streets and markets, trying not to get run over, under the gaze of the general population who don’t see many foreigners away from the tourist sites in the everyday hustle and bustle on the street. Plus a bit of shopping, which we didn’t really need, but was still fun… especially the general bartering which we so sorely missed in Bangladesh.
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