India Travel

Consulates in Calcutta

Related Properties from Gurgaon

Culture and entertainment in Calcutta

Calcutta's lively arts scene is well known for its music and Bengali theatre, though the latter is of limited access to most tourists as performances are in Bengali. A handful of galleries hold exhibitions of fine art, and the cultural centres of the various consulates also play an important role in the life of the city. Of the many nonreligious festivals each year, the Ganga Utsav. held over a few weeks around the end bf January at Diamond Harbour, involves music, dance and theatrical events. Rabindra Sadan is Calcutta's theatre and concert hall district, with numerous venues including Nandan next

From Calcutta to Bangladesh

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

Around Calcutta in Calcutta

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.

Cultural centres in Calcutta

Cultural representatives of overseas countries in Calcutta, typically with reading rooms and facilities for performances and film shows, include: the British Council. 5 Shakespeare Sarani; the Russian Gorky Sadan, Gorky Terrace, near Minto Park: and ttie German Max Mueller 8havan, 8 Pramathesh Barua Saram Similar facilities can be found at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture in Gol Park, and USIS, American Centre, 38A Ciiowringhee Rd. Hospitals Cheap, government-run hospitals (notoriously mismanaged) include Calcutta Hospital

Information about Calcutta

The efficient and friendly Government of India Tourist Office, Shakespeare Sarani (Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 9am-lpm, is your best bet for information on Calcutta,'West Bengal and destinations further afield, and can assist with itineraries and booking tours.The Government ofWest Bengal Tourist Bureau. 3/2 BBD Bagh East, arranges tours of Calcutta and package trips around West Bengal. They also issue permits and book tours and accommodation at the Sunderbans and Jaldapara wildlife parks. Tourist information counters at the airport and Howrah Station offer the same services. English-language newspapers such as the

Information on Calcutta

The efficient and friendly Government of India Tourist Office, 4 Shakespeare Sarani (Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 9am-1 pm;) is your best bet for information on Calcutta, 'West Bengal and destinations further a field, and can assist with itineraries and booking tours. The Government of West Bengal Tourist Bureau, 3/2 BBD Bagh East (©033/248 8271), arranges tours of Calcutta and package trips around West Bengal. They also issue permits and book tours and accommodation at the Sunderbans and Jaldapara wildlife parks. Tourist information counters at the airport and Howrah Station offer the same

Music and dance in Calcutta

Calcutta music audiences have a reputation as the most discerning in the country. The main concert season is winter and spring, with the huge week-long Dover Lane Music Festival, held under a marquee in south Calcutta around the end of January and early February, attracting many of India's best musicians. Other popular venues for single- and multi-day festivals include Rabindra Sadan on the junction of AJC Bose Road and Cathedral Road and Kala Bhavan on Theatre Road. Sangeet Research Academy. Near Tollygunge Metro Station, one of India's leading north Indian classical music research institutes, offers long-term courses in various music

Travel details of Southern Orissa

Trains Bhubaneswar to: Agra (1-2 daily; 29-37hr 30min); Balasore (10 daily; 4hr); Bangalore (2 weekly; 31lir); Berliampur (7 daily; 2hr 30min-3hr); Calcutta (6-3 daily; 8-13hr); Chennai (2-4 daily; 20hr 45min-26hr); Cochin (4 weekly: 36-38hr); Cuttack (11 daily; 30-55min); Delhi (3-4 daily; 25-43hr); Hyderabad (3 daily; 20-24hr): Mumbai (1 daily; 38hr); Puri (7 daily; 2-3hr); Varartasi (3 weekly; 23hr). Puri to: Agra (1 daily; 38hr 40min}; Balasore (5-6 daily; 4hr 30min-6rir); Bhubaneswar (5-6 daily; 1 hr 3Qmin-2hr); Calcutta (2 daily: 11hr 30min); Delhi (3 daily; 32-44hr); Varanasi (3 weekly; 22hr). Balasore to: Bhubaneswar (7-9 daily; 3hr 45min-6hr); Calcutta (6-8 daily; 4-Shr); Puri

Travel details in the Northeast

Trains Guwahati to: Calcutta (2-3 daily; 23-24hr); Chennai (6 weekly; 54hr); Delhi (4 daily; 28-41 hr); Dibrugarh (2 daily; 14-15r»rr); Dimapur (2 daily; 6hr); Jorhat (1 daily; 12hr); Mughalsarai (2-3 daily; 23-29 hrs); Mumbai (3 weekly; 43-46 hr). Jorhat to: Guwahati (1 dailly; 12 hours). Buses Agartala to; Guwahati (1 daily; 24hr); Neermahal (every 30min; 2hr); Shillorag (1 daily; 20tir); Silchar (2 daily; 11hr); Udaipur (every 15min; 2hr). Aizawl to: Silchar (2 daily:; 12hr). Guwahati to: Agartala (1 daily; 24hr); Imphal (1daily; 18hr); Itanagar (2 daily; 11 hr); Jorhat (12daily; 6-7hr); Kaziranga (12 daily; 4hr 30min);Kohima (1 daily; 12-14hr>; Shillong (12 daily;3-4hr); Silchar

Sports in Calcutta

Calcuttans are big sports fans. Football matches, especially those between the two leading clubs, Mohan Bagan and East Bengal, and cricket test matches draw huge crowds. There are two major stadium complexes, the Ranji Stadium at Eden Gardens and the new Salt Lake Stadium on the edge of the city. The Maidan, home to the Calcutta Bowling Club and the Ladies Golf Club, is a favourite venue for impromptu cricket and football matches, and the scene in winter and spring of regular race meetings. These are run by the Calcutta Turf Club, and bets can also be placed at their premises

The beach resorts in Coastal Bengal

The popular seaside resort of DIGHA. 175km southwest of Calcutta and almost halfway to Pun in Orissa, with its immense silted hard beach, was originally conceived as a health sanatorium. Direct buses run from the Esplanade terminus in Calcutta; trains from Howrah station run to Kharagpur from where you can take a bus. Alternatively you can get here on a WB tourist bureau bus. If anything, the casuarina-lined beach at BAKKHALI, 80km south of Diamond Harbour on the east side of the Hooghly, is even harder than the one at Digha. However, it's much less developed and far more attractive, and

Serampore In Calcutta

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.

State tourist offices in Calcutta

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;

Central Bengal

Central Bengal offers little in the way of major sights to tempt tourists off the Calcutta-Darjeeling route. It is a low-lying rural region where the pace of life is in stark contrast to that of its frenetic capital, Calcutta. Shantiniketan, built on the site of Rabindranath Tagore's lather's ashram, is a haven of peace, and a must for anyone interested m Bengali music, art and culture. The other highlights of the region include a cluster of exquisite terracotta temples in Bishnupur, the rums of Gaur, the region's seventh-century capital, and the palaces of Murshidabad. capital of Bengal's last independent

Special permits

In addition to a visa, special permits may be required for travel to certain areas of the country - notably Sikkim, parts of Ladakh,the Andaman Islands, Lakshadweep, the far west of the Thar desert beyond Jaisalmer, and some northeastern hill states. There are two types of permits: those for restricted areas such as Sikkim, and the Inner Line Permit required by both foreigners and Indians intending to visit politically sensitive border areas of Ladakh, parts of the northeast, and north and east Sikkim. Inner Line Permits are usually issued by the District Magistrate (see chapters for more detail). Some areas (parts

Police (100) in Calcutta

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.

South Calcutta

South of the Maidan and Park Street, Calcutta spreads towards suburbs such as Alipore and Ballygunge, both within easy distance of the centre. The thoroughfare that starts life as Chowringhee proceeds south from Esplanade past Kalighat to Tollygunge, following the Metro line which terminates near the luxurious Tollygunge Club, the mansion of an indigo merchant now surrounded by immaculate golfing fairways and bridle paths. Northeast of Tollygunge, beyond a white-tiled mosque built in 1835 by descendants ofTipu Sultan, the vast open area around the Rabindra Sarobar lakes leads to Ballygunge, the home of Calcutta's Bengali middle classes.

Travel details to Bihar and Jharkhand

Trains Gaya to: Allahabad (4 daily; 4hr 20min-6hr 30min); Calcutta (6 daily 6-9hr); Dehra Dun (1 daily; 26hr); Delhi (9 daily; 12-15hr); Haridwar (1 daily; 23hr|; Kalka (1 daily; 27hr); Lucknow (3 daily; 10-13hr); Mughal Sarai (13 daily; 3-5hr); Mumbai (1 daily: 31 hr); Patna (4 daily; 2hr 30min); Puri (3 weekly; 17-40hr); Ranchi (3 daily; 8hr 20min); Sasaram (10 daily; 1-3hr); Varanasi (3 daily; 4hr-5hr 30min). Patna to: Agra (1 daily; 17hr 35min); Allahabad (8 daily; 6-8hr); Calcutta (6 daily; 7hr 30min-12hr); Chennai (2 weekly; 44hr); Delhi (8 daily; 12-24hr); Gaya (4 daily; 2hr 30min); Guwahati (3 daily: 21-26hr); Lucknow (3

Kalighat paintings of Calcutta

Early in the nineteenth century, Kalighat was in its heyday, drawing pilgrims, merchants and artisans from all over the country. Among them were the scroll painters from elsewhere in Bengal, who developed the distinctive style now known as Kalighat pats (paintings). Adapting Western techniques, they used paper and water-based paints instead of tempera, and gradually moved away from religious themes to depict contemporary subjects. By 1850, Kalighat pats had taken on a dynamic new direction, satirizing the middle classes in much the same way as today's political cartoons. As a result, their work serves as a witty record of the

Travel details in North Bengal

Trains Calcutta to: Agra (1 daily; 30hr); Ahmedabad (1 daily; 44hr); Bhubaneshwar (10 daily; 8-12 fir); Chennai (5 daily; 27-35hr); Delhi (7 daily; 18-34hr); Guwahati (3 daily; 20-25hr); Gwalior (2 weekly; 26hr); Haridwar (1 daily; 30hr); Jabalpur (1 daily; 21 hr); Jaipur (1 daily; 30hr); Jalgaon (3 daily; 28-34hr); Lucknow (3 daily; 18hr); Mumbai (3 daily; 33-42hr): Nagpur (4 daily; 19-25hr]; Patna (5 daily; 7-10hr); Puri (2 nightly; 11-12hr); Ranchi (1 daily; 10hr); Shantiniketan (6-7 daily; 2hr 30min-4hr); Siliguri NJP (6-7 daily; 12-14hr); Thiruvananthapuram (1 weekly; 49hr); Ujjain (2 weekly; 33hr 40min|; Varanasi (5-8 daily; 8hr 30min-20hr], Shantiniketan (Bolpur) to: Calcutta (6-7