Sunday, March 13, 2011

KOLKATA TRAVEL SERIES

How does it feel when you wake up to the golden rays of the sun falling over your face and trying to tell you to get up and get going? I experienced just that this beautiful Sunday morning. There was no agenda in terms of sight seeing set for the day.Since dad had to go to a Golf Tournament,mom and me decided to go shopping.Having heard so much about New market, we decided to go there. This market is the closest to Fort William. Today being Sunday, a lot of shops were closed and we had to feast our eyes and mouth (read bargaining) to some  street shopping.

 Jute bags have always fascinated me and i was happy to have spotted them as soon as i got down from the car.That was it.I had to go and buy one.To begin with,i selected only one bag and without much bargaining,bought it too.The next shop was 'Shree Leathers',another popular name i had heard from many of my bengali friends. For once,mom was on a shopping spree ( and i was really happy).She bought a handbag and 2 pairs of footware. The 2 things that caught my attention on the road were the colorful accessories and leather bags. I decided to buy them later.

While coming back home i  saw some hand drawn carts.This is perhaps the only city in India which still uses these  as mode of transportation.Sad but these cart pullers have no other go or maybe i were wrong.When asked they said they liked what they did.The smile on their face is retained even after a hard day's work.Some of life's greatest lessons are drawn from everyday simple people like the cart pullers.As luck would have it,i spotted the trams not once but thrice.Having read about these in school,there was some kind of thrill in seeing them.

Bibliophile is the word i always use to describe dad and me. To reinforce this,dad and i went shopping again in the evening,this time only for books.I thought people used trolleys only in supermarkets like Spencers and Big Bazaar but this city certainly has some pleasant surprises cropping up every now and then. For the first time ever,i saw people buying a trolley full of books.These fully loaded trolleys were certainly a treat to my eyes this evening.I was impressed yet again with the people here.

While returning we went for a drive on the newly constructed Vidya sagar Setu.Constructed by Gammon India,this bridge i was told was built to ease the traffic off the Hooghly bridge.It is also the largest cable stayed brigde in India and resembles 'The Golden Gate' bridge of San Fransisco.Well to me it seemed perfect for those long drives.

We came back home rathet early as dad had an important call to attend.I got time to catch up on my reading and read more about Kolkata. My list of places to be visited is ready for the week.

P.S : Apart from the trams,Kolkata also a 'Buggy ride' to offer.With cool breeze blowing over your faces,it is indeed delightful to experience this and i still need to.

The 'Maidan' ,a very famous landmark in Kolkata is right opposite Fort William. I have never seen so many different gropus of people playing cricket on a single yet very huge ground as much as i have seen here.

I have always associated Hyderabad with the never ending traffic woes.In places where the rider himself doesn't wear a helmet,it was rather surprising to see even the pillion rider with a helmet here.Well,i am impressed yet again.

I end the day with a lot of things in mind.Have a lot of places to visit,shopping to be done,a live cricket match to be watched and loadz of pics to be clicked(My Camera has been lazing around for too long now) and more but only in a week's time.I am sure i'll have a lot of memories to carry back home.With this,i sign off for the day!!!








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