As I mentioned in the earlier post,we are back rejuvenated from our short trip to the “City of Joy” —Kolkata.One of the oldest cities of India and capital of the British Raj before they moved to Delhi..the city has a heart and soul unlike other metros.The pavements full of books,the innumerable music shops(some even now selling LPs or records),the intelligible chatter of people going past and the numerous eateries scattered all across the city speaks of the rich heritage and culture of the past.But sadly most of the colonial buildings are now in a sorry state of decay.
We were staying centrally at a building aptly named “Hooghly View” on the eleventh floor which was ideal as it afforded a view of not only the Hooghly but also the famed Howrah Bridge,Victoria Memorial and Vidyasagar Setu from the bedroom window itself.
The girls were pretty excited on seeing the beautiful white marble building from the window and first thing in the morning wanted to visit it.So off we went in a cab and were at the gates of The Victoria at 9 am dot.The garden surrounding the Victoria were beautifully maintained but dotted with lovebirds hanging around on their way to college or work.We were lucky to be early as the place was comparitively less crowded at this hour than at any other time of the day.We spent half an hour taking in the beauty of the place and clicking pictures before we went inside the museum which opens for visitors at around 9:30 am.The museum has a vast gallery of paintings and one is not allowed to take pictures.One can go upto the second floor.
After going around the museum, we took the eager kids on a baggi ride around Maidan.You have to really bargain with the owners here as they will charge you anything from 500 bucks for a ten minute ride.The hubby who is great at bargaining booked us one for 150 Rs and we were happily up and away.
the elated girls
this was an afternoon well spent followed by lunch at Aminia in New Market which serves amazing biryanis and Moghlai food.The evening was spent shopping in New Market and drooling over the stuff on offer.We had a traditional bengali dinner the first night at Bhojohori Manna in Esplanade.The food was better than the ambience.Since I have never resided in Kolkata,I only had reccos on the net to go by.The place was pretty deserted,the staff casual but the prices reasonable and food authentic.
A Mom's Diary 