Trip to 'The CITY of Joy'...Part 2

Day 2…Visit to Dakshineshwar and Belur math

Day 2 started with a fresh morning and cup of tea at my friend's in-laws place.
After having a heavy breakfast "PURI SABZI" which is the most common and most favourite of Bengalis we were off to explore Kolkata on our own.
First we took a city bus to Dakshineshwar.The bus ride was not a usual one, the bus was quite old and looked as if it was counting its last few days.
We reached Dakshineshwar, but it was closed so decided to go to Belur math which was on the other side of the river.

--> Ferry Ride..

As it was sunny, the ferry ride was not that pleasant one.
Our ferry went under a bridge which is called "Bally Bridge" or "Vivekananda setu" which joins two ends of the Hooghly River (Ganga).





--> Belur Math

When we reached Belur math, it was the closing time there also, so we decided just to roam nearby.
As it was lunch time, and we had to do something to pass the time, we stopped by a small food stall.
He served really good and hot puris and samosas too which were yummy.
And how can I forget the famous "Kulhad Chai" which we were having in Kolkata right from the day 1.
It was time to enter Belur math. A quiet and peaceful place with beautiful flowers and plants.
It is the international head quarters of Ramakrishna Mission which was founded by Swami Vivekananda.
We also went to the place where he used to stay and his belongings were still intact and kept for public display.
We were surprised to see the 25ps coin was still being used there which has negligible value in Bangalore at least.
We were not feeling like leaving the place but had to. So again took a ferry ride back to the Dakshineshwar temple.

--> Dakshineshwar

The temple architecture is really beautiful and wished they could maintain the temple in a better way.
There are total 12 Shiva linga temples and a main kali temple just opposite to them.
It was getting late and we 3 were out on our own from a long time so decided to head back home.
After talking to our friend we realized we have to take different modes of transportations to reach his place.
First we took a taxi to reach the DumDum station, then took a local train to Barackpore and then from there hired a sharing auto to Nilgunj.
Ah, there was again nonveg for dinner, and veg was cooked specially for the other two.

Day 3…Shopping and sizzlers and some more unplanned visits

Day 3 was a day for shopping and there was Puri sabzi again for the breakfast :).
We first went to kali ghat and visited the Kali temple, but could not wait for the darshan, as it was too crowded and my friend was not feeling well also.
Then we headed to Gariahat, which is famous for shopping.
Again my friend joined us here, and we shopped and shopped and shopped.

--> Peter Cat’s Sizzlers..

After a tiring shopping session we needed a good and a different kind of lunch so my friend took us to "Peter Cat" on Park Street again
which is famous for sizzlers. The lunch was tasty and filling.


--> Interesting Evening in Kolkata city..

It was time to go back, but seeing the park street glowing in the late evening hours we were not feeling like.
So just decided to extend few more hours and went to Victoria memorial hall again for the Horse cart ride.
Ah, it was very cozy and an unforgettable ride. Then we took a taxi ride to go over the new Howrah Bridge called as Vidyasagar Setu.
The Bridge looked beautiful in the evening. Finally we started for Nilgunj and gave a direct entry to our friend’s reception which was on that night.

Day 4…Final Day to relax in Kolkata

Day 4 was our last day at Kolkata and we decided not to go anywhere and just stay back at home. The time spent with his joint family was really good,
and I kind of learnt few Bangla words too :).
Later we just went out to get some rosogullas/sandesh which was the only
solid proof to tell that we had been to Kolkata. :-)
It was time to leave for the airport, and time to say good bye to everyone.
Due to fog our flight got delayed, we got some more time to spend together.

--> Kissa Rosogulla ka…

Kolkata trip - a trip which was unplanned and gave so many memories to cherish for a long time and could have ended
in a better way if the airport authorities would have allowed us to take all the Rosogulla cans.
But never mind we still had 2 cans with us, and that’s why it’s rightly said
"AlllllllZZ WELLLL THAT ENDSSS WELLLLLLL!!!! "

Thanking session…

Special Thanks to Ranajit, mau and Gogol (his niece and nephew),Safy(my friend) our parents who gave us permission to travel so far and our managers too.
Not to mention harry and meet, we 3 make a really stupid group, Isn’t it? :-)

Trip to 'The CITY of Joy'...Part 1

Sleeper class Train journey …

We 3 idiots (Meet, Harry and I) started our journey by train, the most used and the favourite mode of
transportation of indians.It was the Yeshwantpur-Howrah exp which shared the same destination as ours.
The journey started with a bit of disappointment as Harry had got the berth in the next compartment.
So we all decided to stay at one place, while disperse just before sleeping.
After adjusting our entire luggage under the seat, we settled down and were trying to digest the fact that,
we were actually going 2000kms away from Namma Bengaluru.

It’s rightly said that train journey can be enjoyed only if you are in a Sleeper class.
It doesn’t take much time to just start the conversations with the other passengers in your compartment
and especially if it’s a long distance journey.
Didn’t even realize how time flew while playing UNO, eating lots of snacks and playing memory games.
35 hours just went by playing, chit chatting, sleeping, and eagerly looking out of the window especially when the train used to cross a river bridge.


Day 1..Visited places like Park Street, Victoria memorial, science city etc..

Day 1 started with the cold breeze of kolkata.We reached Howrah station at around 6.30 am in the morning.
Our friend had already sent a cab. We planned to get refreshed in the waiting room at the station only.
But to our dismay, the waiting room was common for both ladies and gents and was already overcrowded and not in a condition to be used.

--> Flurry’s


Just then my friend came to the rescue, who took us to his house.
We took our leisure time to get dressed up in his 3 storey house and left for the breakfast.
The search ended at "Flurry's" on the Park Street. At first glance only, all 3 of us got a question in our minds,
"Is this place suitable for us??”But we were so hungry that before we could get the answer we were inside the restaurant.
The ambience was really good and the food was the best specially the mouth watering sandwiches.

--> Victoria memorial Hall

Our next stop was Victoria memorial hall. A beautiful massive white marble structure surrounded by the gardens looked marvelous.
It was built in memory of the Queen Victoria of the British Empire by the idea of Lord Curzon.Interestingly; it was built to serve
as a tribute to the success of the British Empire in India and was funded by the British Indian states only.
There is a museum inside the hall, with lots of paintings, pictures of Queen Victoria and her associates and also
of the Indian freedom fighters.

--> Science City

After visiting the museum we moved to our next destination which was "Science City".
It was wide spread, with more crowd than usual due to some conference.
We went over the science city, saw different scientific experiments displayed and different rides.
My most favourite ride was the TIME MACHINE, which was more like a virtual roller coaster.
It was 5 in the evening and time to go for my friend’s wedding for which we came all the way from south to east.
We dropped my friend who was a sweet guide for the whole day and moved ahead to our friend’s place, Nilgunj which was quite far from the main city.
As we moved the mercury was going down and down and could feel the real winter.

--> Shaadi time… Phere on one side fish fry on the other.

We found our friend waiting in his house for us, so had to quickly change the clothes and we started for his wedding venue.
It was my first time when I attended a Bengali wedding. Quite different from the south Indian weddings.
Before we could enter the wedding hall, fish fry smell entered my nose.
We met the bride, who was looking pretty in the red saree and there was our friend dressed in cream/white dhoti kurta ready to get halal.:-)
Harry and meet were finding difficulty to eat the veg dinner, while I was enjoying my favourite fish fry, mutton biriyani.
Day 1 was getting over and we were exhausted to the core, just waiting for a bed to sleep.
We were supposed to be awake to give company to the newlywed couple for the whole night which is called "Kal Ratri".
But we were dead tired and could give company only to our sleep.

Kisne diya ye haq??

Main hua karta tha harbhara kabhi,
jhula karti thi hawa me meri daali kabhi…

Ab to bus pada hua hu kisi ek koneme,
marne ke intezaarme....

Kisne haq diya insaan ko mujhe mitane ka, mujhe raundkar aage badhne ka...

Kaise bhul sakta hai,
meri wajahse hi chalti hai saanse teri……

are murkh,mere wajood ko mitane chala hai tu,
mere baad kuch hi dino ka mahman rah jayega tu...

Dedicated to all the trees being cut down recently in Bangalore for the road widening
and Metro work.

Its sad too see the tress which were once the jewels of the road being cut down mercilessly.

am back ..... :)

Its been more than 5 months since I updated my Blog...
I should say sorry to my friends who follow my blog.

well here are few lines which I dedicate to all my wonderful friends.
(just adding more adjectives so that they keep reading my blog ;-))




Doobi hui hu soch me kiske,
kar diya hai pareshan dosto ne ye puch puch ke..

are.. agar koi hota to yu udas na rahti,
gtalk par status single na dikhati !! ;-)








Kahi ghumne ka dil karta hai..
bahutsi baatein karne ko dil karta hai...

mil jaye koi dilchusp saath agar to
office se bhagkar picture dekhne ko dil karta hai ;-)