India’s second-biggest city is a daily festival of human existence, simultaneously noble and squalid, cultured and desperate. By its old spelling, Calcutta conjures up images of human suffering to most Westerners. But locally, Kolkata is regarded as India’s intellectual and cultural capital. While poverty is certainly in your face, the dapper Bengali gentry continues to frequent grand old gentlemen’s clubs, back horses at the Calcutta Racetrack and tee off at some of India’s finest golf courses. As the former capital of British India, Kolkata retains a feast of colonial-era architecture, albeit much in a photogenic state of semi-collapse. Meanwhile urban slums contrast with dynamic new-town suburbs and a rash of airconditioned shopping malls. Kolkata’s also the ideal place to experience the mild, fruity tang of Bengali cuisine. Friendlier than India’s other mega-cities, this is a city you ‘feel’ more than simply visit.
MAIN POINTS OF ENTRY The city has three major train stations Howrah, Sealdah and ‘Kolkata’ (Chitpore). The airport is well connected domestically and has a modest range of international fl ights. Buses arrive frequently from Bangladesh and regional destinations.
When you are planning three days to visit in kolkata,
On the first day admire the Victoria Memorial and surrounding attractions then visit India Tourism to grab a Marble Palace permit (to be used two days hence), before dining and dancing on Park or Camac Sts. On day two wander through the crumbling colonial era wonderland of BBD Bagh, experience the fascinating/disturbing alley-life of Old Chinatown and Barabazar and observe Howrah Bridge from colourful Mullik Ghat flower market. Refresh yourself with a beer at the Fairlawn. Day 3 visit Marble Palace and surrounding attractions, continuing to Kumartuli directly or by a vastly longer loop via Dakshineswar and Belur Math, returning by boat.
When you are planning One Week in kolkata
To the above, consider adding a day or more volunteering. Visit Mother Teresa’s Motherhouse, continue by tram to South Park St Cemetery and dine at Shiraz. Experience the contrasts of Southern Kolkata, its dawn laughing clubs, the great Bengali food, the goat sacrifi ces at Kalighat and the art galleries of Gariahat. Ponder the moral dilemmas of taking/not taking a hand-drawn rickshaw, of playing golf or of having a flutter at the racecourse. Join a tour to the Sundarbans in West Bengal.
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