Kalkatta ki Kahani

6 months. Wow! That is a long time since I published a blog post. To be frank I did not have anything to write on. I must admit though that ‘lyadh’ came in the way of me and the blog. Well I finally managed to pull myself apart from this ‘lyadh’ on the 25th of September, 2016 and went on a photowalk with fellow enthusiasts. And this gave me an opportunity to pen down a blog post after many months. So here I am trying to give words to my thoughts.

Koliscape 2016. That’s the name of the photowalk organised by Choturanga Productions. The last time I went on a photowalk was way back in 2014. You can find some photographs of that day here. Koliscape reminded me of the first photowalk I went to. The route was similar to the one we took this time.

The journey began from Bagbazar Ghat at around 9:30 in the morning. A bunch of youngsters started an enjoyable and also valuable tour armed with their equipment. Before the walk began we were treated to a breakfast of ‘Kochuri-torkari’ by the organisers. And then our stroll started.

Symphony

It was a refreshing change from the daily drudgery of life. I have walked through this place nearly a hundred times. Each time nature presents a new view for us like the one seen above. From the river bank we moved on to Kumartuli, the place where Gods are made.

The lanes and by-lanes of Kumartuli provide interesting pictures to us. The cat in the photograph below actually ‘posed’ for us.

It was time to board a launch from Shovabazar Launch Ghat to take us to Howrah. The clouds looked picturesque from the Ghat.

Some kids were performing daredevil stunts near the Ghat, swimming towards the incoming launches, climbing to the top and then jumping from there. Other kids swam toward and grabbed the tires tied at the bottom of the launches. They looked so carefree, independent free from the drudgery of modern life.

The Howrah Bridge looked beautiful as ever from the launch. Whenever you say Kolkata, the picture of Howrah Bridge comes automatically to the mind. So here I am, showing you a cliche picture once again.

We boarded another launch from Howrah which took us to Fairlie Place Ghat. From here we went to Maidan: the lungs of Kolkata. The lush green grass was comforting to the eyes. A glimpse of Victoria Memorial, people playing football and cricket, hawkers selling their fares, a man riding on horseback – several such pictures greeted us. We had our lunch sitting on a stone pedestal in the middle of the huge ground. After a sumptuous meal it was time for capturing some of the pictures described above.

The final destination of the day was Prinsep Ghat. This place overlooks the Ganges and  is located beside the Vidyasagar Setu. Howrah Bridge can also be seen. Have a look at the slideshow below.

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Here’s a photo of the entire group.

And the day came to an end after a enjoyable time spent with these folks. We covered a considerable portion of Kolkata hence the title of this post. Looking forward to more days like this.

Ending this post with a photo of the Vidyasagar Setu during sunset looking absolutely breathtaking. Do leave your comments below and share if you like this post.