West Bengal Darshan

To enjoy a relaxed peaceful weekend away from the hustle and bustle of city life, one can easily head to Shankarpur. The solitary beach, 10 km from Digha, is a fishing harbor. This upcoming tourist attraction of West Bengal is a least crowded beach of the region. The beach lined with casuarinas plantation has every comfort you expect from a private beach. For details visit http://www.contai.info/sankarpur.php

A four-hour drive from Kolkata, Digha, located on the east coast of India, is the most popular beach of West Bengal. The calm shallow water of the Bay of Bengal is framed by casuarinas plantations. In most part of the year, the waters are safe for swimming. The flat hard beach of Digha is one of the widest beaches in the world. New Digha is the upcoming section of the beach town, where number of luxury hotels and resorts are located. The Science Center, the Amravati Lake, the Snake Farm and the Marine Aquarium are the popular attractions of New Digha. The Kapal Kundala Temple, the Lankeswari temple, and a Shiva temple are the ancient temples located near the beach town.

For further details visit http://www.dighabeach.com/index.html

Formerly known as Jheel Meel, Nicco Park is Kolkata’s only amusement park. Located on the eastern fringe of the city, this park is fitted with numerous rides, such as the water chute, tilt-a-whirl, water coaster, moon raker, cable car, roller coaster, river cave ride and many more. There is a food park and a water park. There are picnicking facilities, car parking area and banquet hall. For further details visit the official website of Nicco Park

The current Kali temple of Kalighat is about 200 years old. The original temple was a small hut tucked inside a dense forest. In fact, Kolkata is believed to have derived its name from this sacred site of worship. According to Hindu Mythology, this site is one of the 52 Shakti Peethams, or the places where the different parts of Sati fell. The idol of the goddess decked in expensive sari and jewelries and the architecture of the temple are the key attractions. The temple is quite crowded, especially on Tuesdays and Saturdays, the days traditionally reserved for the worship of the goddess. There are generally two queues for seeing the goddess – one allowing a glance of the idol from the veranda and the other taking visitors to the garbha griha or the sanctum sanctorum. If you are a religious person or if you want to catch a glimpse of the traditional Indian worship, visit this temple.

Dakshineswar Temple on the northern outskirts of Kolkata, was built by Rani Rashmoni, a zamindar of Bengal during the early 19^th century. The Rani, a woman landowner, a rarity during that time, was a benevolent administrator and a religious person. A dream of the Goddess Kali inspired her to build the temple on the bank of the river Ganga. Dakshineswar temple became popular when Sri Ramakrishna became its chief priest. Following Sri Ramakrishna’s presence, followers of this famous saint, started to gather in the temple premises, which paved the way for the foundation of the Ramakrishna Mission by Swami Vivekanada and other disciples of Sri Ramakrishna.

Besides the main Kali Temple, also known as the temple of Sri Jagadishwari Ma, there are a series of 12 identical Shiva temples and a Vishnu or Radha Kanta temple.

For further details of the temple visit http://www.dakshineswarkalitemple.org/

Science City is the sub-continent’s largest science center. It is comprised of the Science Centre and the Convention Centre. While the Convention Center with its Grand Theatre, mini auditorium, seminar hall building and open-air exhibition ground is a popular venue for seminars, cultural activities and exhibitions, visitors flock to the Science Centre largely to enjoy the attractions of the Science Center. The Evolution Theme Park, the Space Odyssey, Dynamotion, Science Park and the Maritime Centre are the main attractions of this place. You can hardly miss the sensation of the electricity and virtual reality displays, the mirror magic, the 3D vision theatre shows, and the Time Machine. Science city also has parking and picnicking facilities.

For further details visit http://www.sciencecitykolkata.org.in/

If you are visiting Kolkata then don’t miss Swabhumi – The Heritage Plaza. Despite the rich cultural heritage of Bengal and India, Kolkata for a long time missed something like the Dilli Haat, where you have the indigenous artworks and handicrafts arranged inside a single premise. Swabhumi is built on an artificial hillock and its architecture is inspired by the 19^th century Bengal household of the rich Kolkatans.

Swabhumi is divided in three parts –

• Sambhar – The Urban Courtyard
• Shilpagram – Traditional Zone
• Santushti – Food Court.

The Urban Courtyard houses an open-air amphitheatre where culture shows and theatres are staged nearly everyday. It also has a 60-seater digital movie theatre. Here you could shop for all sorts of Indian products that include Indian herbal products made by the renowned beauty expert Shahnaz Hussain, wrought iron furniture, handloom fabrics, handicrafts of Bengal, leather products made by local artisans, terracotta and ceramic products, art works by contemporary Indian painters and the list goes on.

Among the many shops spread across this heritage plaza, my personal favorites are the Karigarer Haat and the Meena Bazaar of the Shilpagram. The dainty shops, selling earthenware, potteries, handicrafts, jewelries, depict the shops of rural Bengal. In its effort to reinvent the 18^th century Meena Bazaar, this zone also has astrologers, street magicians, mehendi artists and micro calligrapher who would write your name on a grain of rice.

The food court serves all types of Indian foods in the traditional Indian style

The culture of modern Bengal is incomplete without the Tagore family of Jorsanko. Built by Prince Dwarakanath Tagore in the 18^th century, the Jorashakor Thakurbari (home of Tagores of Jorashanko), is the palatial residence of the Tagore family. It is currently an art museum. The Tagore family was full of luminaries, who made immense contributions in the field of art and literature. Rabindranath Tagore, the first noble laureate of India, lived in this house. In 1961, this building was converted into an art museum, known as the Rabindra Bharati Museum. The exhibits of the art gallery include paintings by Rabindranath Tagore and Abanindranath Tagore. There are also several paintings belonging to the Bengal and the Anglo Indian schools, photographs, personal belongings of Rabindranath and manuscripts of the poet. Admission fee is Rs10 per person and Rs5 for students. It is open on weekdays from 10AM to 5 PM and between 10AM and 1.30PM on Saturdays. The museum is closed on Sundays and on public holidays.

Address: 6/4 Dwarakanath Tagore Lane

Located in north Kolkata, the Marble Palace was built in 1835 by Rajendra Mallick. The palatial mansion derived its name from its marble walls and floors. Built in the neoclassical architectural style with traditional open courtyards, this building is a wonderful blend of traditional Indian and classical European architecture. This is a popular art museum of the city. The art gallery housed in the palace has a stunning display of the original as well as copies of oil paintings by renowned artists and European artifacts. The prized creations of renowned artists including Reynolds, Rembrandt, Van Goyen and Rubens are a part of the exhibit. The palace also has a small zoo housing various species of birds, including peacocks, cranes, storks and toucans.

The Indian Museum is the ninth oldest museum in the world, and the oldest such institution on the Asia Pacific region. Currently it is the largest repository of museum objects in India. Founded in 1814 by Dr. Nathaniel Wallich, a Danish botanist, the original museum was located in the Asiatic Society building in Park Street, Kolkata. It shifted to its present location in 1878. Spread over 10,000 square feet area, the Indian Museum has more than sixty galleries on art, anthropology, archeology, geology, zoology and botany. For further details visit http://www.indianmuseumkolkata.org/

In 1963, when the M.P. Birla Planetarium was inaugurated for the public by the first Prime Minister of India, it was the second major Planetarium in the commonwealth countries, the first such planetarium having been founded in London only a few years back. Regular shows are held in English, Hindi and Bengali, introducing viewers to the mysteries of the Solar System and the distant galaxies. Seven shows are held every day between 12:30 and 6:30 PM. For details of the show and the various astronomy courses conducted here visit the official website of M.P. Birla Planetarium http://education.vsnl.com/planetarium/

The Victoria Memorial is perhaps the most grandiose landmark of Kolkata, remnant of Kolkata’s colonial past. After the death of Queen Victoria, the Empress of British India, Lord Curzon, the then Viceroy of British India, decided to set up a majestic monument as a tribute to the memory of the deceased British Queen. The princes and the people of the country overwhelmingly acceded, and the foundation stone for the monument was laid by King George V, who was then the Prince of Wales, on January 4, 1906. Victoria Memorial was finally open to the public in 1921.

Designed by Sir William Emerson, President of the British Institute of Architects and constructed by Martin & Co. of Calcutta, the architecture of this art museum of Kolkata is worth admiring. Set up on 64 acres of land, the main building 184 feet high occupies an area of 338 foot x 228 foot. During that time, the construction of the memorial cost INR10, 500,000. Curzon had insisted that the memorial be built of white marble, similar to the Taj Mahal of Agra. Accordingly, white marble was brought from the quarries in Makrana in Rajasthan, from where Shah Jahan obtained stones for the Taj. The memorial is a curious blend of Mughal and European architecture. Housing stunning art galleries, impressive sculptures and surrounded by a wonderful garden, Victoria Memorial is a popular tourist destination.

For further details of its latest exhibits and information, visit the official site of Victoria Memorial http://www.victoriamemorial-cal.org/

West Bengal is an eastern state of India. It is the only state in the country, which is framed by the snowcapped Himalayan range in the north and its southern part is splashed by the water of the Bay of Bengal. This state is dotted with forests, rivers and expansive plains. Hoards of attractions await you in this sprightly Indian state. This blog aims to guide you in discovering the natural beauty and the historic marvels of this state and introduce you to the traditional and contemporary lifestyle of the people of West Bengal.