Hi and Happy New Year! travellers 😍. I hope you all are doing fantastic 😊. Today I'm going to share with you all about my experience of visiting Kolkata, the city of joy that I went to last year, rainy season with my friend Jay.
Kolkata's Howrah Railway Station.
A brief history of Kolkata.
The three villages that predated Calcutta were ruled by the Nawab of Bengal under Mughal suzerainty in the late 17th century.
Following the Nawab's grant of a trading licence to the East India Company in 1690, the area was developed by the Company into an increasingly fortified trading post known as Fort William.
A crossing, while walking down the roads.
Calcutta was occupied by Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah in 1756, and the East India Company retook it the following year. In 1793, the East India Company was powerful enough to end native rule and take full control of the region.
Calcutta served as the capital of British-held territories in India until 1911, first under company rule and later under the British Rule. At the time, the British assessed their perceived geographical disadvantages, which were combined with growing nationalism in the country.
Following India's independence in 1947, Kolkata, once the centre of Indian commerce, culture, and politics, experienced decades of political violence and economic stagnation. Kolkata's culture is characterised by idiosyncrasies such as distinctively close-knit neighbourhoods and freestyle conversations.
Kolkata is home to the Agri Horticultural Society of India, the Geological Survey of India, the Botanical Survey of India, the Calcutta Mathematical Society, the Indian Science Congress Association, the Zoological Survey of India, the Institution of Engineers, the Anthropological Survey of India, and the Indian Science Congress Association.
Source: Wikipedia.com
Our experience in Kolkata 😍
My friend Jay and Me in glasses😋
One random day, I got a call from my friend Jay, saying that he was booking tickets to Kolkata and planning of going there after a week and asked me if I want to come with him. Without giving it a thought I just said ok I'm coming. So he booked the train ticket for both of us and we reached there after the journey of 16 hrs.
Kolkata's Yellow Taxi
This City uses 1960's Ambassador Car which feels very nostalgic when you're taking a drive of it.
Early in the morning is one of the best times to go exploring in Kolkata. Sitting in the back of an Ambassador Classic when traffic is light and the lights are gilded is an experience in and of itself.
Kolkata's hand pulled rickshaws (cart taxi)
Kolkata is one of the few cities in India — and one of the few in the world — where hand-pulled rickshaws still ply the streets.
This was really a fascinating experience for us to see this unique type of cart that only exist around the streets of Kolkata.
The Howrah Bridge
We were walking on that bridge in order to go to the other side to catch a bus. While walking, we faced a lot of vibrations whenever a vehicle crossed us.
I already heard of this bridge in my school days, so, while walking I instantly googled about it and found some interesting facts about it that I'll write below:-
- Commissioned in 1943 by the British government, Howrah Bridge is a cantilever bridge in West Bengal that spans the Hooghly River.
A cantilever bridge is one that is built with cantilevers, which are structures that project horizontally into space and are supported on only one end.
The bridge was built without nuts and bolts, instead riveting the entire structure together.
It carries approximately 100,000 vehicles per day and possibly more than 150,000 pedestrians, making it one of the busiest cantilever bridges in the world.
Tata Steel supplied 23,000 tonnes of high-tensile alloy steel, known as Tiscrom, for the construction of the Howrah Bridge.
The Hugli River
Just below the Howrah Bridge there flows a river named Hugli which is a holy river for Bengali people. Hugli River is the distributory of the holy river Ganga which is India's largest holy river, so this is why people pray alongside that river in the morning.
We reached there early in the morning and did the morning prayer too😍.
Victoria Memorial Museum
We went there on our 4th day of the trip. The Victoria Memorial in Kolkata is much more than a city landmark or a historical structure. This magnificent monument/museum serves as a reminder of the city's colonial and architectural history. This opulent marble memorial, nestled against lush green lawns, is also one of Kolkata's top tourist attractions.
History
The Victoria Memorial is a large marble structure in Central Kolkata that was constructed between 1906 and 1921. It is dedicated to Empress Victoria's memory and is now a museum run by the Ministry of Culture.
Following the death of Empress Victoria in January 1901, then-Lord Curzon proposed the creation of a fitting memorial. Lord Curzon proposed erecting a grand structure complete with a museum and gardens.
On January 4, 1906, the Prince of Wales laid the foundation stone, and it was formally opened to the public in 1921.
Source: Wikipedia.com
The 42(India's tallest Skyscraper)
While visiting the Victoria Memorial Museum our eyes got struck at this beautiful building named "The 42". We weren't knowing the name of it so we asked the locals about it and found out that this building is one of the tallest buildings of India after Mumbai.
The 42 is a 65-story tower with a triple-height entrance lobby, 1 club level, 60 apartment floors, and 3 service floors, with one 4-5 BHK apartment per floor. There are 10 floors in between, with 5 duplex and 4BHK compact apartments on each.
Foods😋
Non veg Rolls and Sweets are one of the famous and delicious Street foods of Kolkata. I really liked eating Chicken egg roll that you can get in almost every street.
Chicken egg roll
The sweets especially Rosogolla(round black sweet balls dipped in sugar syrup, is the speciality of Kolkata.
Back to home
On 7th day of exploring Kolkata we headed back to our home with a lot of good memories.😍
So, this was our experience of visiting Kolkata last rainy season. I hope you all liked it ✌️🥰.
I took the help of Wikipedia and Google at some places.