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East India Travel Guide
West Bengal Travel Guide
West Bengal Travel Guide
Calcutta, three hundred years old, traces its history to the landing of
Robert Clive on the banks of the Hooghly beside three villages. It was from
here the monumental British Raj was launched in India. The capital of West
Bengal, Calcutta is the major entry point.
If Delhi is the
elegant capital of the nation, and Bombay its major industrial city, then
Calcutta ranks as the intellectual capital. Poets, thinkers and film
directors of international renown hail from this city where avant garde
plays and art exhibitions go on show practically every day of the year.
Calcutta was the first headquarters of the East India Company, and some of
its best known monuments were built by this British trading house. However,
the city has, within its 300 years’ history, hosted other communities
both from other parts of India as well as abroad – Chinese, Armenians,
Jews – all of whom have left their imprint in pockets of Calcutta.
Sightseeing in this fascinating city includes Raj Bhawan, the
residence of the Governor of Bengal; Victoria Memorial, the city’s
landmark; Botanical Gardens, which are notable for the oldest banyan tree,
and orchid house; Armenian Church; Marble Palace, one family’s
collection of memorabilia; and the Birla Planetarium. Darjeeling, the state’s
most popular hill resort, is a slice of England 2,134 metres above sea
level. Surrounded by tea gardens growing the prized leaf known as
Darjeeling, the little town faces some of the Himalaya’s highest peaks.
Darjeeling is an abrupt variation from the lowlands of West Bengal.
Buddhism, being a major faith here, Darjeeling and the nearby town of
Kalimpong have, between them, several Buddhist monasteries, chiefly of the
Yellow Hat sect.
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