Kolkata's
Prime Attractions
Kali Temple
The ancient temple, which was reconstructed in
1809 in its present form, is also known as the
Kalighat temple. The city was named Calcutta or
Kolkata after this temple as an anglicized version
of Kalikata.
BBD Square
The memorial dedicated to the three brave Bengali
martyrs known as Dinesh, Badal and Binay, is also
the commercial centre of the city. It is also
known as the Dalhousie square and houses Raj Bhawan,
Assembly house, High Court and General Post Office
along with the Secretariat. GPO is said to be
situated at the venue of the first fort of British
in India. There is also the legend of the infamous
Black Hole associated with the area, where is
it said that the tyrant Siraj-Ud-Daulla cramped
146 people in a small room for a night and only
23 survived the ordeal and were found alive in
the morning.
Eden Gardens
The gardens were named after the sister of Alexander
and now houses one of the largest stadiums of
India, also known as the Ranji stadium. It also
has a wooden pagoda and many beautiful trees.
Ravindra Gallery
Lalit Kala Academy has a gallery dedicated to
the rare and fine pictures and manuscripts of
Rabindra Nath Tagore. It also exhibits paintings
done in Rabindra style and is a popular venue
for cultural programs and events.
Rabindra Setu
Also known as the Howrah Bridge, it is one of
the three bridges on River Hooghly. The bridge
suspended on pillars is a marvel of British engineering
and has become icon of Calcutta. It is still in
working condition, though it is very old. There
is a new bridge nearby too, known as the Vidya
Sagar Setu, which is a cable suspended bridge
and is quite similar in design to the Golden Gate
Bridge in San Francisco.
Marble Palace
Once the private mansion of a Zamindar, it was
built in 1835. Today, it serves as a private zoo
and museum with several statues and paintings
on display.
St. John's Church
Ilt in 1787, the church boasts of a number of
monuments such as the octagonal mausoleum of the
founder of the city known as Job Char nock and
the tomb of Admiral Watson.
Belur Math
The headquarters of the Ramkrishna mission established
by Swami Vivekanand is dedicated to the preaching
of Ramkrishna Paramhansa such as unity among all
the religions. He was a great Indian philosopher
and died in 1897. |
