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Time of India
24-05-2025
- Time of India
Kolkata chronicles: A day in the cultural capital
Welcome to Kolkata—widely referred to as the 'Cultural Capital of India,' where old trams rattle through colonial streets, scents of freshly fried telebhaja mix with incense wafting from roadside shrines, and the Hooghly River sparkles like an eternal eyewitness to the city's multiple layers. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now This city offers you chaos and charm at the same time through its colonial alleys and pastel-shuttered windows. Here, art isn't confined to galleries, but transcends onto walls, conversations, and even across steaming plates of biryani. Spend a day in the cultural capital, and you'll get to meet poets in paan shops, philosophers in fish markets, and stories in the folds of handloom sarees. Kolkata isn't a place, it's more of a mood. Here's how to spend a day here. Where to begin? Kumartuli : Start with Kumartuli, which is a potters' area settled away in North Kolkata, to experience the soul of the city. Artists here carve out magnificent straw and clay idols of gods and goddesses, especially during Durga Puja time, when the whole city turns into an open-air gallery. Seeing these craftsmen bringing these idols to life is a sight to behold for sure. College Street : A short drive away is College Street, more popularly called 'Boi Para' or Book Lane. The literary heaven has hundreds of improvised bookstalls and second-hand goodies piled up to the heavens. Amid these is situated the fabled Indian Coffee House, which used to be the favorite haunt of well-known people like , Amartya Sen, and Manna Dey. Sip a steaming cup of their iconic coffee while waiters in colonial attire move between the discussion of politics, poetry, and cricket. Victoria Memorial: From there, it is possible to walk to Victoria Memorial, a beautiful white marble building recalling British imperial majesty. The gardens surrounding it provide a serene oasis in the heart of the city. Maidan: Often referred to as Kolkata's lungs, it lies nearby, sprawling over acres, where you might get to watch a game of cricket, ride on horse-drawn carriages, or just recline under a centuries-old tree as hawkers sell jhal muri (spicy puffed rice). Tired of too many ads? go ad free now What to do next? Park Street: By midday, hunger will lead you to Park Street, the former hub of colonial nightlife and still full of cafés and restaurants that mix old-world charm with modern menus. Have a traditional Bengali lunch of shorshe ilish (hilsa in mustard curry) and mishti doi (sweet yogurt) at a local restaurant, or try colonial-style places like Chelo Kebab. Dakshineswar Temple : No trip to Kolkata is complete without a visit to its temples and holy places. The Dakshineswar Kali Temple, along the Hooghly River, is as much a pilgrimage center as it is an exercise in architectural elegance and peace. Go for the boat ride across to Belur Math, headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, where river, spirituality, and philosophy converge. : As the day starts to slow down, walk towards Prinsep Ghat, a dreamy riverside promenade. Whether you stroll along its Greek and Gothic pillars or take a sunset cruise, the golden light in Kolkata bathes everything in a warm, nostalgic light. The sounds of street performers, food stalls, and laughter pervade the air, and it is the ideal place to sit and ponder the day. Howrah Bridge : At night, the city changes once more. The Howrah Bridge, bedazzled with light, dominates the city like a steel sentinel. New Market's shopping streets, with shoppers and hagglers, throb with life. Kolkata's nightlife, subdued though it has its beat—jazz performances in old bungalows, experimental theater in basements, and chai in the dead of night at road stalls. Image credits: Canva
Hans India
21-05-2025
- Hans India
WB bloggers in friend list of ‘spy' Jyoti under agencies lens
New Delhi: West Bengal's travel bloggers -- whose names surfaced in the friend list of Jyoti Malhotra, a Haryana-based YouTuber arrested on espionage charges -- were now under the scanner of the intelligence agency. Sources said West Bengal-based travel bloggers, who were spotted accompanying Malhotra in different parts of the country in pictures and videos on her social media accounts, were under scrutiny. What has kept the sleuths quite worried is that during her visit to Kolkata and the outskirts in February this year, before going to Pakistan in March, Malhotra made video shoots not just at some popular food joints in the city and outskirts, but also at some busy junctions which remain heavily-crowded almost round the clock. Some of these busy junctions were Howrah and Sealdah Stations in Kolkata, the iconic Kali Temple at Dakshineswar in North 24 Parganas, and the roads adjacent to the Indian Army bases and West Bengal Police Academy at Barrackpore, also in North 24 Parganas. At Barrackpore, she also did a video shoot at a popular Biriyani joint there. The sources added that intelligence sleuths have collected this information from Malhotra's social media accounts and a couple of travel bloggers in West Bengal, whom she met during her Kolkata visit in February this year. Also under scanner is another travel blogger from West Bengal, whose marriage function at Liluah in Howrah district was attended by Malhotra in February. Now, the sources added, the investigating officials are wondering whether the videos and pictures available on her social media accounts are the entire lot she had in her collection, or there is more such stuff that she might have handed over to the Pakistan spy agencies. Malhotra visited Kolkata in February this year. After going back from the city, she visited Pakistan in March. There, too, she made YouTube blogs at various popular places, as was evident in her social media accounts.
