Blogs from Kolkata, West Bengal, India, Asia - page 2

Geo: 22.5579, 88.3528... read more

Although I had visited Kolkata many times in past I was occupied in other responsibilities and was never free for a whole hearted sight seeing program. This time when I was visiting Bhutan I had to change train at Kolkata and got one full day beak in Kolkata while going and another full day too while coming back. Bangalore Howrah express reached in morning 6.30 and Kanchanakanya express left in 8.30 in the night, thus giving us the full day to spend in Kolkata. We kept the luggage in railway cloak room (platform no 23 in howrah station) and started our journey for kolkata sight seeing. Belur Math Our first destination was Belur math. From Howrah station we went by a town bus and got down at Belur. The math was about 200 meters from the ... read more

There are many Kali temples in Kolkata, out of which two are quite famous. One is Dakhineswar Kaali temple and another is Kalighat Kaali temle. Dakheneswar kaali temple is situated at the northern side of Kolkata while Kalighat Kaali temple is at the southern side. Dakhineswar Kaali temple is famous because Ramakrishna Paramahansa was associated with this temple. Kalighat kali temple is famous because it is old and considered to be more sacred from religious angle. For tourists, Dakhineswar kaali temple is more attractive. It is not only beautiful but also comfortable (as there are no dalals). There is a distance of about 16-18 kms between the two temples. Kalighat is easily accessible. You can go to kalighat by town bus or by tram or by metro train. There is a metro station called Kalighat metro ... read more

Birla mandir is situated in Ballygunge. It is located on the side of the main road (Queens park road near old Ballygunge road). It is built by the industrialist Birla family. Many town busses go by that route. It is about 9 kms from Howra staion. Yes town busses are available from Howra to this place. We first visited the Kali temple in Kalighat and from there went to Birla temple. In Google maps it appeared to be close (1.5 kms) to Kali temple. When I asked a hand pulled rickshaw he asked for 200 rupees. I was surprised as a taxi would even be cheaper. Later we came to know that taxis/auto rickshaws were not available in that place. Then another hand pulled rickshaw told he would drop us in Hazra for 100 rupees where ... read more

I left Singapore after leaving loads of my personal things especially cutlery which was home warming gift from my sister. I took a photo of it for memories. I was not in a position to carry excess baggage and Silkair was strict. Flight was uneventful as I was angry at the helpless of my situation. This changed when I entered the brand new Kolkata airport. It was clean and tidy. My check in luggage arrived in a jiffy and I was so delighted to meet my cousin at Kolkata airport. At home, my bed was ready and I went off to sleep. Next day was famous Arsalan Biryani day with cousins. Subsequently, we visited Nehru Doll museum and to spot the exact location on google map, I had to turn my cell phone upside down! It ... read more