The last time I was there in Kolkata it was the 29th of May and the gentle rains had welcomed us (my father and I) to the city. The rains were a blessing considering the fact that the temperatures in north India were waltzing around the 40 odd degree Celsius mark. My first impression of the city was that intimidation courtesy of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, the giant imposing grey structure with freezing innards thanks to the over efficient central cooling vents.
On arrival we decided to ditch the prepaid taxi booth and thought we just might give the local taxi, the giant yellow monster a chance. Sure, the cabbie took us for a ride (a very long one at that) through the city to our destination. Although my father got a little antsy at that, I was having the time of my life craning my head out of the window staring at the tall imposing modern buildings and the strong regal and resilient neo-classical style old buildings.One of life's lessons that I learned while in Kolkata was,'you are not rich until and unless you have a genuine honest to god clock tower in you own mansion'. I guess Kolkata has the skyline that might make Howard Roark squirm but as far as I am concerned, these old buildings deserve a round of applause. They have survived the blows of time, nature, environment and human negligence and have almost decided to stay strong despite the aforementioned foes.
(the wonderful yellow monster)
The trip was a rather short one so I am going to present my take on what I liked in Kolkata and what I would have liked to do there:
1. COLLEGE STREET: This time around when I was in Kolkata, I had actually gone to appear and entrance test which was to be held in Sanskrit College.
which is on the Bankim Street. Thanks to its proximity to college street, Boi para, I did get the chance to score some books at throw away prices. This college street is not meant for idyllic book gazing, its about knowing your mind and telling the shopkeeper (who almost demands to know the name of the book) with precision what you require. Even if he can't find it in the shop, he would run down to the store house to look for your book. Relax the shopkeeper would still allow you ample time to look through his stash and decide what you may want. Even in the era of Amazon and Flipcart this 1.5 km of books stalls pack a strong punch offering rare books. So if you are in college street if you know your mind you can take your time.
2.INDIAN COFFEE HOUSE, ALBERT HALL: Bang next to college street is the Bankim Chatterjee Street where the Indian Coffee House stands tall. In fact Kolkata has a few more editions of the same chain, its the one here that is the most popular. In case you visit, make sure you try the cutlets, veg or otherwise they are good. And ofcourse the coffee (no point visiting otherwise). That's where we went next with out loot form the college street and spent the next half an hour looking intelligent (or trying or failing at it perhaps). This place has a lot of history to it, it used to be the hang out of Rabindranath Tagore, Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and many more. Do it for the coffee or history but try to be loud, the waiters tend to act as if you are invisible.
3.PARK STREET: Although its better to shop at New Market or Esplanade, but my epicurean self loves to ogle at the sights on park street. This time around I made it to Flurry's-fifth generation confectioner and an institution in its right. I tried the cheese cake there and something that goes by the name triple chocolate something. There would have been pictures but I simply gorged them at sight. Although I would recommend the cheese cake over the chocolate and cream disaster.
The park street is chock a block full of fancy eateries and massive chains. However in Kolkata the 20 rupees per plate rate is still a great option. In case you want breakfast every street has multiple shops selling puri (luchi) sabji, samosa, kachori and all other cholesterol laden goodies. But its the cup of tea that steals the show. The sweet cardamom scented liquid in the earthen cups is a great way to wake up at just 3 rupees.
So that's all I managed to accomplish in Kolkata within 72 hours. I know I missed out on a lot of different things but what are 'maybe next times' for?
(the wonderful yellow monster)
The trip was a rather short one so I am going to present my take on what I liked in Kolkata and what I would have liked to do there:
1. COLLEGE STREET: This time around when I was in Kolkata, I had actually gone to appear and entrance test which was to be held in Sanskrit College. 
which is on the Bankim Street. Thanks to its proximity to college street, Boi para, I did get the chance to score some books at throw away prices. This college street is not meant for idyllic book gazing, its about knowing your mind and telling the shopkeeper (who almost demands to know the name of the book) with precision what you require. Even if he can't find it in the shop, he would run down to the store house to look for your book. Relax the shopkeeper would still allow you ample time to look through his stash and decide what you may want. Even in the era of Amazon and Flipcart this 1.5 km of books stalls pack a strong punch offering rare books. So if you are in college street if you know your mind you can take your time.
2.INDIAN COFFEE HOUSE, ALBERT HALL: Bang next to college street is the Bankim Chatterjee Street where the Indian Coffee House stands tall. In fact Kolkata has a few more editions of the same chain, its the one here that is the most popular. In case you visit, make sure you try the cutlets, veg or otherwise they are good. And ofcourse the coffee (no point visiting otherwise). That's where we went next with out loot form the college street and spent the next half an hour looking intelligent (or trying or failing at it perhaps). This place has a lot of history to it, it used to be the hang out of Rabindranath Tagore, Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and many more. Do it for the coffee or history but try to be loud, the waiters tend to act as if you are invisible.
3.PARK STREET: Although its better to shop at New Market or Esplanade, but my epicurean self loves to ogle at the sights on park street. This time around I made it to Flurry's-fifth generation confectioner and an institution in its right. I tried the cheese cake there and something that goes by the name triple chocolate something. There would have been pictures but I simply gorged them at sight. Although I would recommend the cheese cake over the chocolate and cream disaster.
The park street is chock a block full of fancy eateries and massive chains. However in Kolkata the 20 rupees per plate rate is still a great option. In case you want breakfast every street has multiple shops selling puri (luchi) sabji, samosa, kachori and all other cholesterol laden goodies. But its the cup of tea that steals the show. The sweet cardamom scented liquid in the earthen cups is a great way to wake up at just 3 rupees.
So that's all I managed to accomplish in Kolkata within 72 hours. I know I missed out on a lot of different things but what are 'maybe next times' for?
1 comment:
nicely rendered sojourn, deliciously informative.
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