Sharing is Caring: What I love being a Local Guide

I love sharing the moments of a place which I have cherished a lot. I always have this practice of checking out places on google maps before going out. I read the reviews and look at photos to get the idea of the place. I want people to give an honest review about the place.

The first place I added to the map was ‘Kausani-tea estate’ in the state of Uttarakhand. Kausani is a small village in Bageshwar district. It is called the ‘Switzerland of India’ by MK Gandhi. I visited this place long time back and we decided to go to the tea estate. When I searched on maps there were no suggestions for this place. So, we went there asking locals about it. At time we felt that we should go back to our hotel since we were not able to find it. Finally, we founded the tea-estate. It was so beautiful and peaceful. Since this place was not known to people, there were no tourists just the locals sitting there. The difficulty in finding the place made me add it to the google maps. Now when see this place on google maps it fills my heart with happiness.

Ladies resting for lunchTea Estate

I also like to add small businesses to google maps. There is a famous pineapple juice vendor in Dehradun. My home place is Dehradun, so I am visiting it freuently. This pineapple juice vendor is named ‘Totaram’. It has been there since my father was a young lad. It is famous among the localites. I go to this place every time I go to Dehradun. Last year I told my friend while in Dehradun to go to this place and try out the Pineapple mocktail. Since this place was not on google maps so they were not able to find it. The next time I went to Dehradun I added this place on the maps. Small businesses need to be added to maps to let them grow.

Apart from these I love to take pictures and add them to google maps to bring out the best of a place. I write reviews about the place so that people can judge it before going. In India there are many places with wrong timings on maps. I have been a victim to these so to prevent others from the same mistake I always try to update the working hours and days of a place so that people are not a victim of incorrect information.

Durga Pujo in Kolkata

No doubt Kolkata is called the city of joy. It is a city with a soul. The soul that never sleeps and not only celebrate the festivals but also celebrate themselves.

Kolkata during Durga Pujo(as Bengalis will say) is an extreme delight. I had the opportunity to visit Kolkata during the Pujo in 2018. The atmosphere during the Pujo is full of energy and excitement. 

If you are not a localite, going during Durga Pujo in Kolkata might seem challenging to you but if you really want to experience the city, you must visit it during the festivities. 

I visited Kolkata during Durga Pujo for four days and the experience was enriching. I took a flight from Delhi to Kolkata. The flight took almost 2.5 hours.

If you plan to travel to Kolkata during Durga Pujo and have less days, I recommend to go on Saptmi(7th day of Navratri). Saptmi, Ashtami and Navmi are the main days for Bengalis during the Pujo. The 10th day i.e Dusshera is the day when immersion of the idols take place.

I stayed at Gala time hostel in Patuli area. The hostel was good providing the basic amenities. The area was in the outskirts of the city. 

More stay options are available at Park Street(mostly foreigners go for this place). I landed in Kolkata on 17th October,2018. I took a bus to Patuli. 

The transport system in Kolkata is really good especially the AC buses. If you want to curtail your expenses travel by the local buses or metro. They are cheap and quite comfortable. Cabs are quite expensive as compared to NCR regions.

The journey began with Pandal hopping. I arrived at my hostel around 22:00 hours and started the ritual of Pandal hopping. 

During the Pujo every street is lit up. You will not find darkness anywhere. The Pandals are open for the whole night with a neverending crowd. I visited the nearby Pandals. There were around Pandals near my area and each one of them was beautifully decorated. Once you get out on the streets you will feel the energy and excitement of people. 

Streets are lit all night

Pandals at Patuli

Pandal hopping is incomplete without the street food that Kolkata has to offer. The street food includes puchke(for only Rs.10), rolls, noodles, papdi chaat, gola(snowflake) and many others. The food is tasty as well as cheap.

The mornings in Kolkata are quite. There are quite few souls on the roads. In the morning  I planned to visit other places of interest in Kolkata. I took a bus from to Victoria Memorial. The only place in Kolkata where you will find n number of foreigners. It has a beautiful architecture. It was built during the British era. The tickets are quite cheap. It is advisable to go in the evening on a hot day.

Victoria Memorial

After mesmerizing the beauty of  Victoria Memorial I made my way to Burrabazar. It is a crowded place. It is a wholesale market, that has various items like stationary, medicine,electronic goods and many others. 

The market is always crowded. In the midst of the market lies the Nakhoda Masjid. It is one of the largest and prime mosques of Kolkata.

Nakhoda Masjid

 

The next visit was to Prinsep Ghat. It looks beautiful during sunset. There are many eateries around the ghat. Boat rides are also available which are very costly. I booked a boat for Rs.300(after bargaining). The boat gives a ride for half an hour around the Vidyasgar Setu.

Prisep Ghat

 

Vidyasagar Setu

At night I went for some more Pandal hopping. At night each street in Kolkata is heavily crowded. There is a huge rush for the pandals especially the famous ones. 

I visited the pandals at Ahiritola, Hatkhola, Kumartuli, Sovabajar, Mohammad Ali Park. The waiting time is around 1 hour during night. Each pandal was beautifully decorated. If you plan to visit the pandals during night buy a metro ticket to save yourself from the traffic.

 

The other day I visited Dakshineshwar Temple. It is quite far from the city located near the sacred Ganges. The route to the temple is beautiful. It is surrounded by lush green forest. Try going to the temple during early morning to save your time.

Dakshineshwar Temple

 

The other place I visited was Belur Math. It is connected to Dakshineswar through a ferry. The ticket costs around Rs.11 for one side. It is located on the west bank of Hooghly river. It is the headquarter of Ramkrishna Mission. The serenity of the place attracts people.

Belur Math

  

Dussehra is bit more different in Kolkata as from the North India. In Kolkata it is the last day of Durga Pujo. All the idols are immersed in the river and it marks the end of Durga Pujo. The roads are filled with people dancing. You can see vehicles carrying the idols of Durga. 

Babughat is the place to go for seeing this vast celebration coming to an end. The ghat is filled with people carrying the Durga idol and immersing it in the Hooghly river. You can feel the happiness and excitement in the people. Walking on the roads will give you goosebumps.

 

Durga Idol brought for visarjan

Trip to Kolkata is incomplete without the Bengali Sweets. I had the privilege to taste some of them like: kher khodom, rohogulla, mishti doi, darbesh and many others.

 

Aam Mishti Doi

No doubt Kolkata is called the city with a soul.

Yaadien

Abhi to kuch din baaki h,school ki yaadein to kabhi nahi jaani h.
 Hain kuch pal ka  intezaar, fir to hum bijhad jyaenge yaar.
   Na rahengi wo class ki masti ,  na rahegi wo  tifiin  ke liye kushti .
Zindagi main dost bahut milenge, par school k dost to kam hi milenge.
Dosto k saath theli ki chai bhi suhani h, par unke bina to zindagi begani h.
Wo teachers ki baat wo teachers ki daant, bahut yaad ayengi agle saal.
Jab roj subah uthke honge tayyar, yad karenge school ka wo pyara sansaar.
Kandho main bag nahin honge, par man karega school jaane ka baar baar.
Yad aegi wo batch aur tie , jisne humari shaan badhai.
Yaad ayenge wo sambhashan wo waad vivad , jisme ab kabhi na le sakungi main bhaag.
Zindagi ke 12 saal kitne sukhad va suhana,
Karlo inko yaad, kabhi na ayenge ye humare paas.
Kabhi na ayenge ye pal wapis, soch k aate h aankho se aansu baar baar.
Raja rammohan Roy academy ka sansar, ab kuch pal k liye h humara awaas.