Kolkata - called as the “The City of joy”, once the capital of British India is a living piece of history, art, and culture of India. This was one places that was in my plan for a long time. I decided that i would go to Kolkata during a Dusshera time since it was one of the biggest celebrations in the city. So i stumbled upon a cheap flight ticket to Kolkata randomly this year(2025) and did a short 4 days trip.
The first question that i got after travelling to Kolkata, was “How was the city and people?”. As a Malayali, i know that we have a general perception about the Bengali people, because every immigrant labourer who comes from the Bihar, UP or anywhere in the north is considered a Bengali here. Starting from my flight, every bengali i came across looked descent and well dressed and educated. Sometime travelling helps you change your perceptions about people and places.
If you ask me whats the best place to go on during Durga Puja holidays for the best vibes of Dussehra, i would say, either Kolkata or Mysore. Bengalis call this Durga Pujo. The whole city looks a lot more cleaner these days.
There are not many art or dance forms in Kolkata like the Mysore Dussehra. What stands unique to Kolkata is the Puja Pandals. Its very similar to Ganesh Chaturti in Mumbai.
You can see Puja pandals everywhere across the city. There are some famous ones which gets so crowded so that you have stand an hour or more to get in. Pandal hopping is one of the main things to do during this time.
I visited Kolkata during the last 4 days of Navratri where the whole city runs into peak celebrations. Even during the day time, the city is super busy.
One interesting this i came to know about the pandal hopping is that people visit the pandals typically at night and late night so that it goes till 4-5 AM in the morning. Most of the restuarants here we opening at 11 or 12 in the morning during these days, Metro services were starting at 1 PM in the afternoon and run till 5 AM in the morning.
Apart from the Dussehra Kolkata has some must visit places that hold the essence and history of the city. Indian Coffee House in the College street is one such place. It opens at 12 PM only. This is one of the iconic places in the city and is more than a 100 year old.
We tried the cutlets and coffee here. Unlike the other Cofee houses they have a Kolkata special Fish cutlets also. You can choose a seat on the top floor or bottom floor. Both spaces have different pricing for the same items.
This place used to be the meeting places of Comrades, Poets and intellectuals once where they exchanged ideas, discussed indian politics, met their life partners and much more. Nowadays this place is just a regular restaurant where people come and have food. There is a song in Bengali which speaks about this, gone are those old days where Coffee house used to be place where lot of frienships and relations happened.
College street in Kolkata is one of the largest second hand markets in the world. The book sellers here might know much better about your subjects and curriculum than you most probably.The shops here are very old, and many of them are make shift made using wooden planks.
This street is anchored by many of the prestigous institutes like Presidency University, University of Calcutta, and Medical College Kolkata. And hence its called college street.
Another must visit place in the City is the Birla planetorium. They have shows in English and Bengali. You can get a ticket at the entrance for the show. This place is brand new and well maintained.
Remember to choose a seat in the center, right opposite to the entrance and pathway through which you enter to get the best experience. Even though its a 360 degree dome, the main area of visuals is always on one side of the dome.
Victorial memorial was one of the iconic buildings in the city and was constructed as a monument in the memory of Queen Victoria by the british government. This place was originally a museum and so is now. Constructed mostly in marble, even though a 100 years old, it still stands like new. This palace stands next to the Birla Planetarium.
How can i leave Kolkata without taking an Iconic taxi rides. These yellow taxis have been the center of attraction of every photographer who comes to Kolkata. They are cheap too. You must take a ride in this old ambassdor cars in the city.
The tram ride was one another thing that was in my bucket list. Kolkata was not the only city in India that had trams, but this is the only place where these trams still runs. Kolkatas tram routes are being slowly stopped and now the tram runs only in one route.
I couldn’t take this ride because the trams were on holiday due to Durga puja. These 100+ year old trams used to be one of the ecofriendly ways to travel for the locals in city. All of them were electric and ran through the streets.
Even though the city is quite all and british made, the roads and trams cannot go together due to the high population these days. That was one of the reasons why trams are being stopped. It has been in the news that the new governement is planning to resume those services, which were earlier stopped.
Kolkata’s Howrah rail museum is a go to place for anyone who is interested in learning more about the history of trains in India. This place is located bit far from the main area, but is a well maintained and beautiful place.
Mullick Ghat Flower market near the Howarh bridge is a must visit place for every photographer. Try to go during the early morning hours to see the market in full swing. This market is located below the howrah bridge. You can see hundreds of vendors selling flowers. The whole place smelled flowers and was very much crowded. The floor of the market is covered with the mulch from leftovers and leaves of the flowers. It was about 4-5 inches thick and it felt like walking over a sponge.
Each seller had a different set of flowers. During the Durga puja, these Red hibiscus flowers are the most sold item here. This garland is used to adorn the Kali murtis at Pandals and home. Marigold flowers are the next. Marigold garlands are sold according to the number of flowers per garland at about 5 rs a flower.
Speaking about the murtis, another non missable place during Durga puja is the Kumartuli strreet. This is where every godess idols are born. Since we were there during the Durga puja time, we could see the idols of Kali and Devi being made for the next Pujas. In bengal, Durga puja is followed by Lakshmi puja, Kali puja and then diwali
The idols are made by artisans using straw and clay. What makes these idols most beautiful is the paintings. The artisans use fine brushes to paint these idosl in different layers.
Durga Puja Visarjan marks the end of Durga puja. On the 10th day of Navratri, the Dashami/Dussehra day, the idols from pandals are immersed in the river.
There are certain spots where these idol immersions happen. We could see almost a kilometer of line of trucks and vehicles being queued up for the immersion at the Babu ghat near the Eden gardens stadium.
Eden gardens, know as the Mecca of Indian Cricket is located near the Esplanade metro station. We couldn’t visit it because there were no matches on these days.
Not to mention that these immersions cause severe river pollution. Even thought the idols are made with clay and straw, a lof ot plastic, clothes, ornaments and garlands are also immersed in the river along with the idol. A part of this is removed from time to time to make space for the next idols, but not entirely.
Kolkata was once the capital of India which stood in all the glory. Whenever i use to travel and speak to a foriegner about India, the first thing they would ask is about Kolkata. This city was so rich and prosperous during the british era and become a mediocre city later. The entire city still looks old and there is barely any development that could be seen. But for those who love the retro vibes and is passionate about learning the history of India, this is another must visit place.