India Travel
Fabrics and clothing in Calcutta
Calcutta’s dress sense, in general, is conservative, and the choice of ready-made garments is not very exciting. However, a wide range of fabrics is available, and all outlets should be able to point you towards a very good (and very cheap) tailor; there are several around Mirza Ghalib Street and Sudder Street. A handful of upmarket boutiques such as Burlingtons and Benetton, both on Mirza Ghalib Street, cater for the city’s wealthy. You can still get shoes made to order at one of the many Chinese shoe shops around Chittaranjan Avenue.
Balaram Saha, 14/6 Gariahat Rd.Tangail,Baluchari and Kantha saris from Bengal.
Handloom House, 2 Lindsay St. Near New Market, a government-run, co-operative shop with a wide range of textiles including cotton and raw silks at reasonable fixed prices. Henry’s New Market. One of Calcutta’s better-known Chinese shoe shops. Indian Silk House. AC Market, 1 Shakespeare Sarani. Lots of printed silks.
Jaggi & Sons, Lindsay Street. One of several good tailors in the city with a long tradition of formal men’s tailoring.
Kolhapuri Centre. Gariahat Road, Ballygunge Phari. Dedicated to selling Kolhapuri sandals and shoes - painful at first, but very comfortable if you persist; there’s another branch on College Street.
Related Properties from Gurgaon
Emporium in Calcutta
Good selections of most handicrafts, including lace, can be found in various state emporia, many of which are located in the large Dakhsinapan shopping complex south of Dhakuria Bridge near Gol Park. Offering fixed (if slightly high) prices, these are the simplest places start shopping. Aavishhar, 20K Park St. Popular shop on the corner with Middleton Row, stocking stationery and cards, music, pottery by local artists, and garden-fresh Oarjeeling and Assam teas. Assam. 8 Russell St. As part of Assam House, the emporium sells handicrafts and textiles from Assam including fabrics in pat and tnoga, two techniques of silk manufacturing. Bengal
Shopping in Calcutta
Unlike Delhi, Calcutta is not geared towards tourism - a fact which is reflected, with one or two exceptions, by its shops. However, it does hold many characterful markets, including the wide-ranging New Market, and local institutions such as Gariahat in the south and Barabazaar to the north. Modern shopping complexes - good for bookshops, clothes, leather and jewellery - are cropping up all over the city; these include the Emami Shoppers City at Lord Sinha Road, the brand new Metro Shopping Centre at 1 Ho Chi Minh Sarani, good for clothes and leather goods, and the Shree Ram Arcade,
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
Jasidih and Deogarh
JASIDIH, a small industrial town 220km southeast of Patna on the main line to Calcutta, has started to attract travellers due to the international popularity of the ascetic Swarni Satyananda and his Rikhya Yoga Ashram, 12km from the centre. Note, however, that the ashram is open to the public only a few select days every year; visitors are expected to donate clothing and medicine. Yoga courses are run b his disciple Niranjan within the walls of the old fort at Monghyr, 60km to the north (nearest train station, Jamalpur) and 180km east of Patna. For information, write to Bihar Yoga
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
Salar Jung Museum
Salar Jung Museum at Hyderabad The unmissable Salar Jung Museum (daily except Fri 10am - 5pm; Rs 150), on the south bank of the Musi, houses part of the huge collection of Salar Jung, one of the nizam's prime ministers, and his ancestors. A well-travelled man of wealth, with an eye for objects art. He bought whatever took his fancy from both the East and West, from the sublime ro, in some cases, me ridiculous. His extraordinary hoard includes Indian jade, miniatures, furniture, lacquer-work, Moghul opaque glassware, fabrics, bronzes, Buddhist and Hindu sculpture, manuscripts, and weapons. There are also good examples
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
Silchar in the Northeast
The nondescript town of SILCHAR is south Assam's main transport nexus There's little to do here but wait for a bus or train out, but you may find you self having to stay the night. The top hotel in town is the Sudakshi, on Shillong Patty, with comfortable carpeted roor hot water and cable TV. The excellent-value Hotel Siddharth just round the corner on Narshingtola, has clean rooms with showe filtered water and TV. Other options include the reasonable Swagat on Cent Road and the Geetanjali Club Road, which has large rooms, hot water and one of the best restaurai
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
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.