 West Bengal, situated in the eastern part of the Indian peninsula, is one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse states of India. It is a land of varied charms. Right from the mighty Himalayas in the north to the sea-caressed beaches in the south, the state houses a number of rare landmarks of historical preserves. This fascinating land has a lot to offer to avid travelers. Calcutta, a unique city with its intriguing environs, Vishnupur, an architectural treasure house, Shantiniketan, Tagore's abode of peace, the lost empire of Murshidabad, relics of the Muslim rule, Darjeeling-a magnificent hill resort are some of the major attractions of this fascinating state.
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During the British Raj Calcutta was known as the Jewel of the East and was the capital of the country till 1911. It still bears the Victorian imprint on its streets and structures. Today, it is still the most important city in the east, the nerve center of intellect and human values, literature and art, science and industry, old monuments and heritage buildings. These majestic old, rambling monuments are splendid in their architectural style and are considered as the most exquisite landmarks of Calcutta. Some of these wonderful landmarks of the city are the Indian Museum, Victoria Memorial, Sahid Minar, St. Paul’s Cathedral and many others. Short descriptions of the city’s most fascinating centers are given here.
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Howrah, the second largest city in west Bengal lies along the west bank of the Hooghly River. The city is connected to Calcutta across the Hooghly River by the Howrah and Hooghly bridges. Once known as the Sheffield of the Orient, Howrah is famous for its thousands of small units manufacturing industrial products. It serves as a major rail and road transportation hub for the Kolkata metropolitan region. Some of the major landmarks and main tourist attractions of the city are the Belur Math, the Botanical Gardens and the Howrah Bridge. Top
Indian Museum commonly known as ‘Jadughar’ was established at the Asiatic Society, the earliest learned body in the country on 2nd February, 1814. It was founded by Nathaniel Wallich, a Danish botanist. It was transferred to the present building in 1878. |
Indian Museum
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Built in Italian architectural style, the museum is still considered as the largest museum in the country and one of the best in Asia. The museum has seven coordinating service units such as Preservation, Publication, Photography, Presentation, Modeling, Education and Library. Apart from these coordinating service units, it has six sections: Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Geology, Zoology, and Industry (Economic Botany). From the Egyptian mummy to the skeleton of the whale and some rare statues, the museum houses variety of things. The Art Section comprises Tibetan temple banners, metal images, enameled wares, ornaments, silver wares, glass wares, pottery, ivory and bone works, wooden sculptures, leather objects, lacquered toys etc. The Archaeological Section displays stone-age artifacts from India and abroad, pre-historic antiquities from Mohenjodaro and Harappa. The Anthropological Section displays numerous objects of material cultures of both tribal and non-tribal people of India. The museum also has a unique fossil collection of prehistoric animals, which includes a giant crocodile and a huge tortoise. In a nutshell, the museum in Calcutta reveals the life and culture of Indians from the hoary antiquity till date.
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Built between 1906 and 1921, this dream structure of white marble is architecturally an exquisite blending of the Oriental and Occidental. The idea of the memorial was Lord Curzon’s. On the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, Lord Curzon who was then Viceroy of India placed before the public the question of setting up a fitting memorial to the queen. |
Victoria Memorial
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The princes and people of India responded generously to his appeal and thereafter the foundation stone was laid by George V on his princely visit to Calcutta in 1906. The splendid architectural structure took twenty years to be completed. After its completion, the magnificent marble structure was formally inaugurated by the Prince of Wales in 1921.
Top Designed by Sir William Emerson, this 61-m. high structure of white marble stands on 26 hectares of land. A bronze statue of an angel tops the domed memorial. Inside, there is a bronze statue of Queen Victoria in her full regalia, seated on a throne. Several other elegant statues also dot the ground. Wide stairs inside lead to the central hall. The hall has a balcony which houses a number of murals depicting the scenes of Queen's coronation, queen’s marriage, baptism of her son and heir and other historical events of her reign. Inside the hall there are 25 galleries containing many articles of the Queen's use. There is her rosewood piano at which she received tuition in childhood, the writing desk and chair occupied for daily correspondence at Windsor. Even the last letter that she wrote to her people in India thanking them in person for their sympathy on the loss of her grandson in the Boer War is preserved with much care. Apart from these, there are portraits of other Great Britons like Macaulay, Kipling, Bishop Heber, William Hickey and others who were in Calcutta at one time or another. From time to time Indian faces are displayed without discrimination among these alien images- Keshub Chandra Sen, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Rabindranath Tagore and his enterprising grandfather Dwarkanath. One of the most enduring remains of the British Raj, the memorial houses the most impressive collection of memorabilia’s from the days of Raj.
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A combination of Turkish, Egyptian and Syrian architectural elements, this 48-m high monument was built in 1828. It was previously known as Ochterlony Monument as it was erected in recognition of the services of Sir David Ochterlony who brought the Nepalese war to a successful end. In 1969, the Monument was rechristened as 'Sahid Minar'. |
Sahid Minar
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The monument was constructed by J.P. Parker. The construction of the monument encompasses an architectural variety. The monument has two balconies at the top. It has a serpentine staircase by which one can reach the balconies. 198 stairs from the bottom lead to the first balcony. From the first balcony 25 more stairs lead to the second balcony. From the top of the Minar, the view of Calcutta is panoramic.
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Birla Planetarium, the largest planetarium in South-East Asia and the 2nd largest planetarium in the world was inaugurated on 29th September, 1962. The Planetarium is an architectural marvel. |
Birla Planetarium
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It has a circular structure, and is built on the lines of the Buddhist stupa at Sanchi. The internal diameter of the tomb is 82 feet and the auditorium has a capacity of 500 seats. The planetarium houses a collection of expensive projectors and optical equipments imported from East Germany. The visitors are introduced to the wonders of the solar system by means of multilingual film shows in which projections are cast by the projectors on the domed ceiling. Other interesting exhibits are the fine collections of paintings, celestial models and busts of famous astronomers that line the corridors of the planetarium.
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Asiatic Society was founded by Sir William Jones in 1784. Warren Hastings was its first patron. Sir William Jones founded this Society, in order to advance the study of Indology. The society has a huge collection of books and manuscripts. It is famous for collection of Indology, Literature and Scientific Research of about 20000 volumes including some 8000 rare Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian and Hindi manuscripts. |
Asiatic Society
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The Institution eventually grew up into a leading centre of Indological studies in the world. The society is also rich with archaeological relics, geological and ethnological specimens. The Society's new building houses a museum, a library and administrative offices. At present, the Society possesses many remarkable paintings and effigies. There is an oil painting of Cleopatra by Guido and another of Maria de Medici by Joshua Reynolds. The society publishes the Journal named “ Journal of The Asiatic Society of Bengal.” Many eminent Bengalees have been associated with this journal at different times. Prominent among them are Rajendra Lal Mitra, Haraprasad Shastri etc. The Society is an epitome of India’s achievements in different spheres of learning.
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The foundation of the famous Cathedral of Calcutta was laid in the year 1839 by Bishop Wilson. In 1847 it was consecrated as the first Episcopal Church of the Orient. The church was designed after Indo-Gothic pattern. The steeple fell during an earthquake in 1897 and was redesigned and rebuilt in 1938. |
St. Paul's Cathedral
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It was rebuilt as a replica of the Bell Harry Tower of Canterbury Cathedral. The church is 247 ft. in length and 81 ft. in width and the tower is 201 ft. high. The communion plate was presented by Queen Victoria. The main cathedral hall is large with excellent floral designs on the walls. It has a beautiful architecture and exquisite mural paintings. The life and work of St. Paul is vividly described in pictures. The ambience of the church is very soothing and tranquil. It is one of the most impressive religious landmarks in the city.
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Writer's Building popularly known as ‘Mahakaran’ started as early as 1690. It came to be known as Writers building as it was the residence for the junior servants (who were called writers) of the East India Company. Although it was built long back, Writers Building acquired its magnificent Corinthian facade only in 1889. |
Writer's Building
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The building stands on 2.8 acres of land. The building is a classic instance of Gothic architecture. It features beautiful statues along the parapet. The tall columns, the corridors with ornate arches and the pavilions that grace the center make the building an embodiment of late Renaissance architecture. The present building houses the main state secretariat.
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The Postal headquarters of Calcutta, known in abbreviated form, as G.P.O. is an interesting architectural piece. This is the largest post office in Calcutta. The building with high domed roof and tall Ionic-Corinthian pillars was designed by Walter B. Grenville and was built in the year 1864. |
General Post Office
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This piece of novel architecture has beautiful pillars in front. Wide staircase leads to the building from the pavements on the eastern and southern sides. Adjacent to the chief post office of West Bengal, is a redbrick building, which was built in 1884. This is actually the postal museum, which displays a wide collection of artifacts and stamps. The collectors delight, i.e. the Philatelic Bureau is there at southwestern end of the building.
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National Library formerly known as Vice Regal House is the second largest library in Asia. Being India’s largest, it has one of the rarest collections of books/manuscripts. The building which houses the library was the erstwhile Belvedierre Bhawan. There is a statuette of a lion atop the main entrance or gateway. A road of gravels leads one inside. Here are two cannons which were used by the East India Company. |
National Library
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Rabindra Sadan is the cultural landmark of Calcutta. In this seat of Bengali culture exhibitions & cultural programmes are held regularly. This theatre cum concert hall is dedicated to the memory of the Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore. |
Rabindra Sadan
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The Belur Math, the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, is situated in Belur, north Howrah. Ramakrishna Mission at Belur was set up in 1938 by Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) and was named after his mentor Shri Ramakrishna Paramhamsha. The main temple in Belur incorporates the various architectural styles of different religions of India. |
Belur Math
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Its artistry reveals a medley of the temple, mosque and church patterns to embody the spirit of religious fraternity. Its sprawling prayer hall with a statue of Ramakrishna is remarkable. Free from bigotry and sectarianism, the Math and the Mission are committed to the task of ushering in a new age in which distinctions of caste, creed and class do not exist. The aim is the regeneration of the entire humanity.
Top The Belur Math premises include the main monastery, several temples and the Headquarters of the twin organisations of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. Another major attraction of the math is the Sri Ramakrishna Museum. The museum has been set up with the assistance of the National Council of Science Museum. Items owned by Sri Ramkrishna, Sarada Ma and Swami Vivekananda have been kept there as souvenirs.
It is a place of pilgrimage for people from all over the world, professing different religious faiths.
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Botanical Gardens was formerly known as Royal Botanic Garden. It was founded in 1787 by the East India Company, primarily for the purpose of acclimatizing new plants of commercial value and growing spices for trade. |
Botanical Gardens
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A major change in policy, however, was introduced by the botanist William Roxburgh after he became superintendent of the garden in 1793. Roxburgh brought in plants from all over India and developed an extensive herbarium. Now the garden is famous for its enormous collections of orchids, bamboos, palms, and plants of the screw pine genus (Pandanus). The garden covers more than 109 hectares (270 acres), on which about 1,700 plant are cultivated.
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Howrah bridge also known as Rabindra Setu is a fine specimen of engineering techniques and structural workmanship of early 20th century. Built on the River Hoogly, it was originally meant to facilitate military transportation between Calcutta and the industrial town of Howrah during World War II. It remains an arterial bridge connecting the city to its main railway station, the Howrah Station. |
Howrah bridge
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The bridge is a sort of cantilever bridge with eight vehicular ways and two foot paths. This eight-lane bridge carries a steady flow of around 60,000 vehicles and 2 million commuters every day. Top |
