Since 2001, the second largest city of the subcontinent has been renamed Kolkata, but the evocative spirit, the charm and the tragic memories of the recent past remain inextricably linked to Calcutta, capital of the British Raj until 1911 and today considered the cultural capital of the country.
This is a city that is home to Asia's first and oldest luxury hotel – built in 1840 as the Auckland Hotel and now known as The LaLit Great Eastern, and the first metro (built in the 1980's more than 20 years before the rest of India caught on) and only tram in India.
Kolkata is not really a easy city to visit, and its not a city where you can nip around taking in the sights and feel like you have done it in a day. There are a few iconic sights, like the colonial grandeur of the Victoria Memorial and the Howrah Bridge one of the world's busiest and largest cantilever bridges, but I was told Kolkata is more a city that you feel.
The aftermath of the cyclone that had hit the southern coast of Coromandel just a week before our arrival has reached the skies of Bengal, unusually overcast for this time of year. The airport still has a 1960s feel, but plans to build a state-of-the-art international hub are now close to completion.
Our taxi is waiting at the exit to take us to the hotel. It's past 11 pm and the roads are mostly clear of the traffic that has clogged them since the early hours of the morning. New roads and huge flyovers are under construction and the outlines of large buildings intended to house the city's overabundant population can be glimpsed in the outskirts.
Small shacks covered with tarpaulins on the sides of the roads still bear witness to the living conditions of some of the inhabitants, however the first impression is that things are rapidly changing even in Calcutta, the city sadly known to the world for its falling hygienic and sanitary conditions.
We get up quite late due to the tiredness of the long journey and the jet lag and begin exploring the city of joy. The hotel is twenty minutes away from the Victoria Memorial, perhaps the most famous monument that we decide to reach on foot.
The streets are clogged with traffic and the horns of the colourful buses and the characteristic yellow taxis honk continuously. The sidewalks are narrow and full of people, as well as being blocked by the small shacks that serve food to customers in the midst of the commotion.
The weather is rather gloomy, a persistent drizzle falls from the sky at times, the humidity is sky-high. It almost seems like we are in the middle of the monsoon season. We cross the intersections with difficulty, preferably joining the other groups of people, the smells of spices, the scent of betel and the smells of smog blend together as we cross Calcutta, a city vibrant in its street life.
Victoria Memorial
The Victoria Memorial is immersed in a large tropical garden, in which the noises are muffled, seeming like a distant memory. After paying our ticket, we begin to visit this grandiose colonial-era building, celebrating the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria, Empress of the Indies.
The profusion of white marble and the domes highlight the influence of the architecture of the Taj Mahal, even if the eclectic style of the building is mostly neoclassical. A grand bronze statue of the queen sitting on the throne is on display and many Indian visitors stop to take souvenir photos.
The interior houses a nostalgic collection of colonial-era memorabilia including statues of governors, old prints and oil paintings that portray a world that was distant in time (and incredibly fascinating), and which has only partially reached us.
Under the main dome, there is another statue of a young Queen Victoria surrounded by a display of old photographs depicting the various seats of colonial government that arose in the most diverse parts of the country.
The building seems to have remained exactly as the English left it and resounds with the voices of the numerous local visitors. It is strictly forbidden to take photographs inside, a ban that has now extended to most tourist and religious buildings and is absolutely reasonable, otherwise, it would be a real chaos of shots and flashes.
A last look at the reflection of the Victoria Memorial on the water mirrors of the gardens with its domes over which flocks of large crows flew, before heading towards other colonial buildings including St. Paul's Cathedral and the Birla Planetarium and returning to the hotel, experimenting with the metro line (which we would not use again for our subsequent trips).
South Park Street Cemetery
Among the most striking places in the city, the old colonial cemetery on Park Street is perhaps worth mentioning. The area around the cemetery was once marshy and isolated, and here the British colonists and the most prominent figures of the city were buried starting from the end of the 17th century.
In the midst of lush tropical vegetation, there are many neoclassical tombs in the shape of a dome or obelisk, often covered with moss or vines. The young age of the deceased reminds passers-by how difficult the living conditions must have been at the time, since many did not live past the age of 30.
Opened in 1767 and closed in 1790, it was one of the largest Christian cemeteries outside America and Europe in the 19th century. Today it is a large park open to the public and is part of the national heritage. Here you can find European-style structures, obelisks, Roman columns and some tombs of famous names such as Captain Edward Cooke, Charles Dickens' son, poet and teacher Henry Louis Vivian Derozio.
Mother House
Then, a visit to what everyone knows as the Mother House, the burial place of Mother Teresa, is a must. We reach it on foot, making our way through the hardware shops that occupy most of the sidewalks and the shacks.
The Sisters of Charity welcome us smilingly into their mother house, inviting us to visit a small museum, located next to the tomb, which preserves objects of daily use and bears witness to the living conditions in the streets. Give your hands to serve and your hearts to love is the message in English written with petals on the white tomb of the Mother that inevitably involves and moves even the most secularized souls.
The heart of the colonial city is found near the Esplanade and its immediately northern neighborhoods, with its grand, decaying Raj-era buildings and the Oberoi Grand Hotel, a true oasis from the relentless bustle just outside its perimeter.
Indian Museum
A short distance from the Grand Hotel, the Indian Museum welcomes visitors into its immense halls built by the English in the 19th century. The fans, the statues from the southern regions, the endless collections of fossils and minerals preserved in the dusty wooden display cases characterize the exhibition spaces immersed in a timeless atmosphere.
New Market
Nearby, stands the bustling, eighteenth-century New Market, with red brick walls that no one seems to have taken care of since its construction. Particularly dark, the slaughterhouse area is overlooked by the omnipresent large black crows, their cawing is in fact a sound leitmotif as characteristic of the city as the noise of the traffic.
Hand Pulled Rickshaws stand at various street corners waiting for customers. Calcutta is now the last city in Asia to still host this obsolete means of public transport. The government has formally abolished it, but the law is not being enforced so as not to deprive the poorest sections of the population of their only source of income.
Rickshaws entering the busy streets are a characteristic image, with the tinkling bell that announce their presence to other vehicles and which now plays a superfluous role, being drowned out by the sound of horns.
Dalhousie Square
The area of BBD Bagh (or Dalhousie Square, as many still call it) is decidedly quieter, considering how many streets are closed to private traffic. Many of the buildings are dilapidated. The owners have in fact lost interest in their maintenance due to the low rents imposed by the government.
Plaques on the walls recall the functions that were once held there by public employees, lawyers, professional clubs and scribes. In the centre of the square there is a large rectangular lake, once the main water reserve around which the first nucleus of the city arose.
Job Charnock, the English merchant who founded Calcutta, is buried in his mausoleum a short distance away, inside the garden of St. John's Church.
Kali Ghat
It is getting dark, we take one of the yellow taxis in front of the old seat of the British governor and head to Kali Ghat, that is, the temple of the goddess Kali, particularly frequented by the faithful towards sunset.
Next to the temple, stands the Nirmal Hriday, now abandoned, that still stands next to a crucifix on the other side of a dome. It is practically impossible to escape the guides when entering the temple, but our companion is kind enough and explains the functions that take place inside the sacred enclosure.
The building is not of particular interest from an architectural point of view, so we prefer not to take off our shoes to enter. The crowd is such that it is impossible to see the idol, the faithful with offerings in their hands push each other and seem to fall into a trance in its presence.
Our "guide" tries to show us other interesting areas, but we manage to lose him in the crowd and reach our taxi to return to the hotel.
Nevertheless, Kolkata is a fascinating city to photograph, all of life is on the streets and there to capture. Now, when I look back on my photos I think more positively of my experience in Kolkata without the heat, dirt, noise and crush of people.
And now we recommend you the best places of interest to see in Kolkata:
Malik Ghat Flower Market
The flower market is simply unmissable. It will offer a glimpse of the real India, the India that wakes up at dawn to pray and offer flowers to the deities in the thousands of temples. It is located exactly under the Howrah Bridge, on the opposite bank to the train station.
Wake up at dawn, take a taxi or Uber (about 150 rupees from Sudder Street) to the market entrance. You will be intoxicated by the scent of the thousand varieties of flowers and struck by the colors. It will be a triumph of yellow, orange, red, pink, white. Everywhere a swarm of people and vendors completely dressed in garlands.
Get lost among the many stalls until you reach the ghats that lead directly to the banks of the Hoogly river. Here you will find people busy doing the most varied things, but that will make you come into contact with the true essence of India. In a few meters you will meet animals, flowers, those who wash, work, pray, those who wash clothes. It will be an unforgettable experience.
The Flower Market is a bomb of colors, smells, sounds, lives, smiles, smog. It is India as we imagine it.
Howrah Bridge
At the top of the attractions in Kolkata, the Howrah Bridge cannot be missed. Crossed every day by more than 150,000 vehicles and 100,000 people and animals, it is considered the busiest bridge of its type in the world.
Crossing it by taxi, or at least partly on foot, is an experience that will take you through one of the symbols of Kolkata. It was built during the Second World War by the British military to cross the Hooghly River, a tributary of the Ganges, connecting the city of Kolkata to the railway station and the Howrah district.
We recommend walking at least part of it , starting from the flower market, which is located just under the bridge on the opposite bank to Howrah station. Pedestrians have dedicated lanes, so you won't run into any traffic hazards.
The feeling will be that of walking in the middle of an anthill witnessing a river of people, motorbikes, carts, animals, buses, rickshaws and you will feel an integral part of the real Calcutta. We point out that it is forbidden to take photographs on the bridge.
If you don't feel like walking it, it's still a fascinating experience to see the river of people crossing it in a taxi starting from the flower market.
Kumartuli
This neighborhood is a maze of pedestrian alleys where artisans handcraft hundreds of clay statues of deities that, once colored and adorned, will be used in various pujas. Entering the neighborhood, calm will reign supreme and it will not seem like you are in chaotic Calcutta.
In the streets of Kumartuli you will find thousands of statues of Devi Durga on her lion, Ganesh and many other divine figures. It will be a wonder to stop and watch these artists create their works. You can ask for permission to enter the workshops, the artists will be proud to show you their work.
The workshops are open throughout the year, but the best time to visit Kumartuli is September, when all the artisans are busy completing the statues for the upcoming Durga Puja in October. During this festival, the statues are then thrown into the Hoogly River as an offering, and then dissolve in its waters.
The artisans are very proud of their works, which are strictly handmade, and will be happy to be photographed at work.
Dakshineswar Kali Temple
It is the temple dedicated to the goddess Kali and one of the most important in Kolkata. A visit is a must if you want to experience a central aspect of Indian daily life: religion. Devotees from all over India come to offer their offerings to the Goddess Kali throughout the year.
You will therefore often find it very crowded, but this is also where its charm lies. Seeing the pilgrims who bring gifts of flowers, incense, ghee, coconut is fascinating and will make you savor the devotion of these people.
The complex has a large internal courtyard around which there are small temples dedicated to Shiva that overlook the Hoogly River, where pilgrims perform their ablutions. On some days of the week, animal sacrifices are performed outside the temple, so we recommend that you inquire on site if you prefer to avoid being there by mistake.
You enter the temple barefoot, leaving your shoes in storage at the kiosk outside for about 10 rupees. Please note that photography is prohibited and you cannot enter with backpacks or bags, for which there is no storage. If you are more than one person, we recommend organizing yourselves by alternating in groups.
Maidan
The Maidan is the green lung of Kolkata, the largest park where you can take a few hours to relax. You will meet people doing yoga in the early morning, those taking a carriage ride, those reading and those improvising a game of cricket.
It is located next to the Victoria Memorial and inside you can find several playing fields, statues and monuments, such as Fort William, not accessible to the public. Continuing along the park you will arrive on the banks of the Hoogly River up to the Prinsep Ghat and, further north, up to the Eden Gardens.
Prinsep Ghat
You will arrive at Prinsep Ghat by walking along Edens Gardens near Fort Williams. It is a meeting point for families and couples of modern Kolkata who spend their free afternoons walking along the river. There is a jetty here where you can take small boats for a ride on the river, very nice at sunset.
College Street
An old saying goes if you don’t find a book on College Street, that book doesn't exist or hasn't been published yet. As you might imagine, here you will find countless stalls selling books, handouts and school supplies for the students of the colleges in the area.
You will be able to witness a cross-section of modern India of young university students and intellectuals. Take a break at the Indian Coffee House with its large tea and coffee rooms. Don't be intimidated by the rather suspicious entrance and the old and dilapidated colonial building and enjoy the nostalgic air of this area.
Park Street
Park Street is the emblem of Indian contradiction. In the street next door, in the New Market, you will find people sleeping and living along the sidewalks, or men pulling people with their rickshaws, while here it will seem like you have suddenly returned to modernity.
Classic shopping street, with luxury restaurants, clothing chains and cafes that lights up in the evening for a party. If you are not looking for the luxury life, you can easily do without it.
Botanical Garden
South of the city, on the banks of the Hoogli, is this huge botanical garden built during the English colonization to try to grow tea plants. There are thousands of varieties of plants and flowers, but it will be the gigantic banyan tree, more than 200 years old, that will leave you speechless.
If you have time, you can plan an afternoon or a day in this peaceful oasis for a picnic or just a break from the chaos of Calcutta.
Sudder Street
If you have read the book The City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre, these names will bring to mind Hasari Pal and his rickshaw. To taste the real India we absolutely invite you to visit this area, perhaps sleeping in a guesthouse on Sudder Street.
In our opinion, it is the beating heart of Calcutta. The Calcutta that we expect in our imagination, that of the many backpackers who travel the world.
Even in big cities like Calcutta it is normal to find the cute little goats, like here in Sudder Street.
Jain Temple Complex – Pareshnath Jain Temple
This complex of Jain temples (five in total) is located in a quiet and Hindu neighborhood and is the quiet place that you do not expect in Calcutta. The largest and most important temple is the Pareshnath Jain Temple, a very fascinating building, full of mirrors and inlaid columns , with very well-kept gardens and fountains.
Unfortunately, it is possible to photograph only the exterior of the building. The other temples are Sitalnath Ji Temple, Chandraprabhu Ji Temple, Mahavir Swami Temple, Dadawadi and Kushal Ji Maharaj Temple, all in the vicinity of the main one.
Floating Market, Patuli
Located in Patuli, a suburb in southern Kolkata, it is a small floating market with fixed boats connected by walkways. You can take a pleasant walk and buy groceries, street food, drinks, fish, poultry. Very busy on weekends and in the evenings, when young people meet to go out and eat at reasonable prices. It is not very big, but very nice and unique.
For any questions or doubts, write here in the comments, we would be happy if we can be helpful. When you return from Calcutta we would like to know how it went, if you managed to live it, if it shocked you, if you fell in love with it, if you hated it, or all of these things together.
Thank You very much.