a trip to the city of joy

Tripoto
13th Jan 2014

Kolkata is called the culture capital of india and ''culture'' was the first thing that struck me as i got down from the train.As i started walking i saw some beautiful buildings along the way,the architecture was such that almost every important building looked like a church.One of the most magnificent buildings that i saw in Kolkata was the Town Hall built in doric style of architecture.A few steps away is the High Court which is also a must watch for everybody who has a certain kind of interest in architecture as i do.The thing that was mindboggling was the fact that some of the most well built buildings that i saw werent painted.This gave me a sense of the economy of the state and also a hint of how people are over there.The dulcet whispers of history echo through the old mansions of hindu aristocrats in North Kolkata.One such old house,Tagore House at Jorasanko,is the birth place of Rabindranath Tagore,Indias greatest modern poet.Cricket lovers are in for a treat as people of Kolkata are crazy about the game and they need a reason to talk about Cricket.The interest in cricket is also stated by the fact that Kolkata has the biggest stadium in India called the ''Eden Gardens''. which has a capacity of around 64000 viewers.Other places to visit incluse the Dakshineshwar Temple and The Victoria Memorial.The latter being a brilliant exhibition of a building made of marbles.

One of the most pleasant experiences was visiting the ''College Road'' in Kolkata consisting of colleges like the Presidency College and the Jadavpur University.One thing that i noticed was that the students there werent scared to show their political stand.As soon as i entered Presidency College i saw walls with graffiti on them which said ''Long Live Communism'' in red.Sipping coffee in the coffee house over there really makes u feel like a student again and gets you all nostalgic and makes you want to visit your college again.

But the one thing that i absolutely love about Kolkata is its food.This is like the ''paradise city'' for all the foodies out there.The non veg food,especially the mutton that i tasted there was out of the world.One dish that u must try there is the ''mutton chaap''' and the best place to get it is a restaurant called ''Royal''.The calcutta biryani that i tasted was also something different.The taste was nothing like hyderabadi biryani or lucknawi biryani.The calcutta biryani also consists of eggs and potatoes along with mutton and rice.Needless to say,this was the heaviest biryani that i have had in my life.The best place to get it is a restaurant named ''Arsalan''.The street food you get there is also something that you should definitely try,from shingadas to rasgullas.And the best thing about the food over there is its price.Even if you have 20 rs in your pocket,the city still makes sure that ur tummy is filled.''Jhal Muri'' along with phuchkas(the bengali golgappa) is also one of the most popuar items there.If you have a sweet tooth dont forget to try the panthua or roshomolai.Perhaps the most overrated place(in my opinion) that i went to was this bakery called FLURYS.I had heard so much about this place and have also seen a lot of cultural referrences.This was certainly not worth it.The pastries were hard and the food was overpriced.Bengali food is centred around fish.Macher Jhol is a wattery fish curry that goes with rice.Hilsa,lightly marinaded in mustard and steamed is up there with the best dishes of the world.

I would advice everybody to use public tranport rather than private transport because that is also a very important feature of the city.I had a blast riding the bus,the rickshaw and the metro.Remember Calcutta was the first place in the country to have a metro.The trams are also very popular but the dissapointing thing in tram is its speed.One of the visuals thats gonna stay with me for the long haul is the human pulled rickshaw.The boat rides are also a beautiful experience.The thought of travelling in a boat after work is something that i always dream of.

To sum up,Kolkata is a must visit for people who love art and food.Kolkata is also a place where theatre cinema art and music is given much more importance as compared to the other states.The bengali theatre style called the ''Jatra'' is also a must watch