Echoes From The Past
A dip into West Bengal's bygone era
Kolkata also known as Calcutta is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. The city is widely regarded as the "cultural capital" of India, and is also nicknamed the "City of Joy". Kolkata is known for its literary, artistic, and revolutionary heritage; as the former capital of India, it was the birthplace of modern Indian literary and artistic thought. Kolkata has been called the "City of Furious, Creative Energy" as well as the "cultural [or literary] capital of India". During the 19th and 20th centuries, Bengali literature was modernised through the works of authors such as Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Coupled with social reforms led by Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda, and others, this constituted a major part of the Bengal Renaissance.
Darjeeling is a town in India's West Bengal state, in the Himalayan foothills. Once a summer resort for the British Raj elite, it remains the terminus of the narrow-gauge Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, or “Toy Train,” completed in 1881. It's famed for the distinctive black tea grown on plantations that dot its surrounding slopes. Its backdrop is Mt. Kanchenjunga, among the world’s highest peaks.
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
A UNESCO World Heritage site is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow-gauge railway based on zig zag and loop-line technology which runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal. Built between 1879 and 1881, with six zig-zags and five loops, the railway is about 88 km (55 mi) long. Its elevation varies from about 100 m (328 ft) at New Jalpaiguri to about 2,200 m (7,218 ft) at Darjeeling.
Quintessentially Kolkata
Howrah bridge also known as Rabindra Setu
Alubari Tea Estate
In 1856, the Alubari tea garden was opened by the Kurseong and Darjeeling Tea company, followed by others.
A peek into the bygone era of Kolkata
Babughat Ferry Station
Vidyasagar Setu
Also known as the Second Hooghly Bridge, is a toll bridge over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India, linking the cities of Kolkata and Howrah. With a total length of 823 metres, Vidyasagar Setu is the longest cable–stayed bridge in India.
Unity in Diversity
Mahakal temple is perched atop a hill in Darjeeling. Built in 1782 by Lama Dorjey Rinzing, it is a perfect amalgamation of Hindu and Buddhist religions as the temple is surrounded by Buddhist prayer flags.
Mahakal temple is a perfect vantage point to enjoy a peaceful sunset. It also gives a panoramic view of surrounding hills of Darjeeling.
Breaking the shackles of the orthodox society and making way for modern India
Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali polymath reshaped Bengali literature and music, as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As a humanist, universalist, internationalist, and ardent anti-nationalist, he denounced the British Raj and advocated independence from Britain. As an exponent of the Bengal Renaissance, he advanced a vast canon that comprised paintings, sketches and doodles, hundreds of texts, and some two thousand songs; his legacy also endures in the institution he founded, Visva-Bharati University.
A unique abode of learning
A treasure trove called Shantiniketan, was founded by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. A school of his ideals has sprawling campus with outdoor classrooms amidst the verdant green.
Old colonial structures bridging the gap between bygone era and present chaos
