India Travel

Around 35km north of Howrah, the former French outpost of CHANDERNAGORE still bears traces of its colonial masters, who left in 1949 and office dally ceded the town to India in 1952. Crumbling buildings along its grand riverside promenade, formerly the Quai Dupleix and now the Strand, include what was once the Hotel de Paris, while the Eglise du Sacre Coeur, set back from the river, houses an image of Joan of Arc. Nearby, the eighteenth-century mansion of the French administrator serves as the Institut de Chandernagore. with a library, a French-language school and an interesting museum of documents, antiques, art and sculpture.

The next significant community as you continue north from Chandernagore is the former Armenian township of Chinsurah. A kilometre beyond that, HOOGHLY was a major East India Company trading post. Packed with Islamic monuments, it was devastated in turn by the Moghuls and the Marathas before being retaken by Robert Give. Both Chandernagore and Hooghly lie on the busy suburban train network from Howrah.

Eight kilo metres out of Chandernagore, the grounds of the Church of Our Lady of the Bandel, one of eastern India’s oldest churches and still a major centre of Catholic pilgrimage, sweep down to the river. Consecrated by Portuguese Augustinian friars in 1599, it was destroyed by the Moghuls in 1640 but rebuilt in 1660. A cross marks the spot where an image known as Our Lady of Happy Voyages, which had been lost in the river during the siege, miraculously reappeared some years later. There is a large hall devoted to St Augustine, a grotto and a cloistered courtyard.

Trains from both Howrah and Sealdah pass within 2km of the church, stopping at Nainati, where cycle rickshaws are available.

In 1799, the Englishman William Carey set up a press in Danish SERAMPORE, 25km north of Calcutta, and began to produce Bengali and Sanskrit bibles. He also pioneered Indian-language dictionaries, and established the Serampore College in 1819, which later became Asia’s first modern university. Built on a high bank overlooking the river, the large Neoclassical building houses a small museum dedicated to Carey’s life and work. Books in the accompanying library date back to the eighteenth century.

At the outermost edge of Calcutta, 20km north of Esplanade on the east bank of the river, the popular temple of DAKSHINESHWAR stands in the shadow of Bally Bridge. Built in 1855 by Rani Rashmoni, a wealthy widow, it was a product of the Bengali Renaissance, consecrated at a time when growing numbers of middle-class Hindus were rejecting their faith. As the rani was not a brahmin, she found it hard to employ a priest, but one of those she eventually contracted became renowned as the sainr Ramakrishna who, despite his simplicity, went on to become a powerful influence on Bengali religious thinking. Set in a vast courtyard and ringed by a band of blood-red paint, the white washed Kali temple is an ornate variation on the typical Bengali hut design, with a curved roof and second storey capped by nine chhatris, each with a beehive cupola, in the nava-rattan style. Ramakrishna’s former room, beside the main gate, now preserves his personal effects.

Along the river front, perched above the ghats, twelve identical small temples contain shivalinga, while another temple houses images of Radha and Krishna. In the small park outside the complex, visitors feed tribes of rhesus monkeys.

Also in Dakshineshwar, not far from the main temple, Yogoday Satsanga Math is the headquarters of the Self-Realization Fellowship, founded in California in 1925 by the author of Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda.

Across Bally Bridge from Dakshineshwar, 3km south along the west bank of the Hooghly, the massive riverfront temple at BELUR MATH was erected by a disciple of Ramakrishna, SwamiVivekananda,in 1938, A symbol of the resurgence in Bengali Hinduism, it incorporates elements from several world religions; the gate is inspired by early Buddhist sculpture, the windows by Islamic architecture, and the ground plan is based on the Christian cross.
Local trains run from Sealdah to Dakshineshwar, and from Howrah to Belur Math.

The River Hooghly served for centuries as a lifeline for foreign traders; north of Calcutta, its banks are dotted with the remains of tiny European settlements such as Serampore and Chandernagore. All these sites, together with the Hindu temples of Dakshineshwar. Belur Math and Kalna, and even the great Vaishnavite centres of Nabadip and Mayapur further north, can be taken in as day-trips on local trains from Calcutta’s Sealdah and Howrah stations. Simple hotels are always available should you want to stay.

The most useful of the many tourist offices representing other states in Calcutta are those that cover trie northeastern states, and issue whichever permits may be necessary (details of permit requirements can be found on p.1043), and that of the Andaman and Nicobar islands. Andaman and Nicobar, 3A Auckland Place; Arunachal Pradesh, 41B Chowringhee Place; Assam, 8 Russell St; Manipur, 26 Rowland Rd; Meghalaya, 9 Russell St; Mizoram, 24 Old Ballygunge Rd; Nagaland, 11 Shakespeare Sarani; Orissa, 41 Lenin Sarani; Sikkim, 5/2 Russell St;

The central police station is on Lai Bazaar Street, BBD Bagh. Postal services Calcutta’s imposing GPO. on the west side of BBO Bagh, houses the poste restante and has a philatelic department. The Central Telegraph Exchange is nearby at 8 Red Cross Place, close to Telephone Bhavan. the headquarters for Calcutta Telephones. If you’re staying in the Sudder Street area, the New Market Post Office, Minza Ghalib Street, is much more convenient. Sending parcels is easiest from the large and friendly post office on Park Street, where enterprising individuals will handle the entire process for you for a negotiable fee.

Internet access (from Rs30 an hour) is easily available but the smaller hole-in-the-wall places do not always have fast leased lines or ISDN; in some cases their connections are also suspect. The British Council library. 5 Shakespeare Sarani, is the most reliable and The Amazone, 8 Bowbazar St, with its rainforest theme, is friendly with free tea and coffee. Of the many around Sudder Street, try the Hotel Palace on Chowringhee Lane, while Hotel Maria is one of the best. Around the corner on Free School Street, near the Kyd Street intersection, try Cyber World. A little further, BQ’s, 53D Free School Street, has a lot more elbowroom above a popular new pool hall. The Junction is a well-run chain with several cybercafes including ones at 22A Royd St, 20 Park St and Gariahat Phari. Others include The Emerge. 59B Park St, and Dishnet, Park Plaza, 71 Park St. Libraries Asiatic Society Library, 1 Park St; British Council Library, 5 Shakespeare Sarani (RslOO for a month - borrow books, use the floor, 24 Park St. for camera repairs: Narains’s Photo Cine Centre, 20H Park St; North East Colour Photo. 14 Sudder St near New Market, offers one-hour processing. Madan Street between SN BanerjiRoad and Dharamtala is good for all kinds of film, but non-refrigerated.

Alliance Air (Indian Airlines) fly to Port Blair five times a week but if you want to take a ship (leaving every two weeks) you’ll need to book through the Shipping Corporation of India. 13 Strand Rd. Although theoretically you need a permit before buying your ticket, the Foreigners Regional Registration Office at 237 AJC Bose Rd has informed travellers to get their permits on arrival in Fort Blair; check in advance. There are four classes starting with bunk beds (from around Rs1000) to a/c dorms and cabins; the journey takes three to four days, so bring plenty to read and some food to supplement the dull meals.

9 East Rd. Jadavpur: Metropolitan Laboratory and Nursing Home. 18 Shakespeare Saram; Park Nursing Home, 4 Victoria Terrace -x 033/244 3586; and Woodlands Nursing Home, 8/5 Alipore Rd. ARMS (Asia Rescue & Medical Services). 42B Park Mansions, 57 Park Street (Free School Street, targeted at foreign visitors, offers 24hr medical assistance through a well-equipped surgery but at a price designed for travel insurance claims.

Calcutta is the main gateway to Bangladesh from India; you can reach Bangladesh by air, train or road. The Bangladesh Consulate is at 9 Circus Ave; visas must be obtained in advance.
There are at least two flights daily from Calcutta to Dhaka and a return ticket costs around $100. Biman flies daily to Calcutta and twice weekly to Chittagong. Indian Airlines have five flights a week to Dhaka and two to Chittagong.

Although there is no direct line from Calcutta into Bangladesh, trains from Sealdah take you as far as Bongaon. From here you can take an auto-rickshaw to Haridaspur, 5km away, and then a rickshaw to Benapal on the border where you can find cheap accommodation. After a refreshing night’s sleep take a bus to Dhaka via Jessore which will take around eight hours. Buses run from Esplanade bus stand to Bongaon

By air

For information about flights from Calcutta Airport; otherwise call the individual airlines listed on pp.954-955 to confirm departure and arrival. Remember that return flights must be confirmed at least 72 hours in advance. Besides a good network of domestic flights, Calcutta is served by several short- and long-haul international flights. Major domestic routes from Calcutta are summarized in the Travel Details on p.990. For details on getting to the Andaman islands from Calcutta, see opposite.

By rail

Information on train connections is available around the clock:. Making reservations to leave Calcutta by train is easy, with computerized booking offices throughout the city. The best place to book train tickets is at the tourist office on the first floor of the South Eastern Railways office, in the northwest corner of BBD Bagh at 6 Fairlie Place (Mon-Sat 10am-1pm & 1.30-5pm, Sun & hols 10am-2pm. You’ll need to bring proof of encashment to reserve a berth if paying in rupees. Reservations up to sixty days in advance can be made for most trains out of the city.

By air

For information about flights from Calcutta Airport; otherwise call the individual airlines listed on pp.954-955 to confirm departure and arrival. Remember that return flights must be confirmed at least 72 hours in advance. Besides a good network of domestic flights, Calcutta is served by several short- and long-haul international flights. Major domestic routes from Calcutta are summarized in the Travel Details on p.990. For details on getting to the Andaman islands from Calcutta, see opposite.

By rail

Information on train connections is available around the clock:. Making reservations to leave Calcutta by train is easy, with computerized booking offices throughout the city. The best place to book train tickets is at the tourist office on the first floor of the South Eastern Railways office, in the northwest corner of BBD Bagh at 6 Fairlie Place (Mon-Sat 10am-1pm & 1.30-5pm, Sun & hols 10am-2pm; $033/242 2789 or 220 4025). You’ll need to bring proof of encashment to reserve a berth if paying in rupees. Reservations up to sixty days in advance can be made for most trains out of the city.

Other booking offices (same hours) include the South Eastern Railway Booking & Information Centre, Esplanade Mansions, opposite Raj Bhavan; Booking Office for Eastern and South Eastern Railways, Alexandra Court, 61 Chowringhee Rd, Rabindra Sadan; Howrah Station, 1st Floor; Computerized Booking Office, 3 Koilaghat St; New Koilaghat, 14 Strand Rd; Sealdah Station, 1st Floor.

Among major trains departing from hectic Howrah Station are the a/c Rajdhani Express #2301 whichcovers the 1145km to Delhi in under 18hr, stopping atMughai Serai (change for Varanasi), Allahabad and Kanpur en route; on Thursdays and Sundays as #2305 it travels via Patna as does the Howrah-New Delhi Purva Express #2303 (Mon, Tues, Fri & Sat). The same train, the Howrah-New Delhi Purva Express, as #2381 travels via Gaya instead (Wed, Thurs & Sun) and Varanasi on the way to Delhi, The Kalka Mail #2311 follows a similar route to Old Delhi before proceeding on to Kalka in Himachal Pradesh, while the Doon Express #3009 travels via Gaya, Varanasi and Lucknow to Dehra Dun and Uttaranchal, but is nearly always late. Other trains through Patna include the Amritsar Mail #3005. For Mumbai, 1968km southwest, the best trains are the Gitanjali Express #2860, which takes over 33hr, and the slightly slower early-morning Howrah-Mumbai Mail #8002. Going south, the Puri Express #8007 leaves in the evening from Howrah’s new complex and heads via Bhubaneshwar to arrive at Puri early in the morning; the Howrah-Bhubaneshwar Dhauli Express #2821 departs early in the morning and gets to Bhubaneshwar around 1.30pm; the Coromandel Express #2841 departs early afternoon and takes around 28hr to cover the 1663km to Chennai via Bhubaneshwar. By far the best train for Bolpur, the station for Shantiniketan, is the Shantmiketan Express #3015 that leaves Howrah at 9.55am.

Several trains head towards Darjeeling, including the early-morning Kanchenjunga Express #565? from Sealdah, which pulls into New Jalpaigun (NJP)

Medical Research Institute, 7-2 Diamond Harbour Rd; Medical College Hospital, 88 College St; SSKM Hospital, 244 AJC Bose Rd. Private medical care, if expensive by comparison, is infinitely superior to the service at government hospitals. Try the Belle Vue Clinic, 9 Dr UN Brahmachari St: Tibetan Medical & Astro Institute,

just too late in the evening to get by road to Darjeeling or Gangtok: it continues to Guwahati. The Kamrup Express #5659 leaves Howrah at 5.35pm arriving at NJP at 7am before proceeding to Guwahati. The Howrah-Guwahati Express #3045 leaves at 10pm, stopping at NJP at 9.25am and arriving at Guwahati at 4pm. Best of the night trains, the Darjeeling Mail #3143, leaves Sealdah at 7.15pm and is scheduled to arrive at NJP at 8.30am, to connect with the Toy Train to Darjeeling.

There is a direct service between Howrah and Raxaul (Bihar) for Nepal. The #3021 Mithila Express departs at 4pm arriving the following day at 9am.

By road

The most famous of the main roads out of the city are the Grand Trunk Road, which runs via Varanasi and Delhi all the way to Peshawar in Pakistan, and the Mumbai Trunk Road.

Normally, you have to reckon on an average speed on Bengal’s notoriously poor highways of around 30kph, but the buses to Siliguri - handy for Darjeeling and Sikkim - cover the 560km journey overnight, if not in any great comfort (around 8pm; Rs260 and Rs400 a/c}. ITDC and Rocket Bus are a couple to try at the Esplanade Bus Stand.

Frequent buses for Bhubaneshwar and Puri in Orissa leave the Babu Ghat Bus Stand, where Orissa Roadways and West Bengal State Transport have booths. Buses from Babu Ghat also head to Namkhana, en route to Bakkhali, and there’s an early-morning local service for Basanti and the Sunderbans. Buses leave both Babu Ghat and Esplanade for the beach at Digha,