Sunrise at Shantiniketan

Shantiniketan is a place that I have now visited four times but haven’t been able to post a blog to date. My procrastination had held me back from penning down words describing my experience in the area held in great reverence by Bengalis all over the world.

I first went to Shantiniketan in 2017 and I remember quite well it was a memorable trip with childhood friends. It was raining cats and dogs but still, we enjoyed ourselves as it was our first trip outside Kolkata. Bittersweet moments come to the mind as I know that whenever we meet now, one of us will not be there. People pass away but the memories live on. I only want to remember the smiling face of the person, blurring out everything else.

Puri in pictures

Puri, one-third of the Di-Pu-Da trilogy, is the most frequented destination for many Bengali tourists. I myself have been to Puri about eight times. Earlier every alternate year we used to visit Puri until 2011. Despite going so many times the fascination never ended. Each time it felt like the first time. The crashing of the waves as it neared the shore, the long walk along the sandy beach, the delectable sweets sold by the hawkers on the beach, the hustle and bustle of people – everything evoked a sense of fondness.

Since owning a camera I have wanted to go to Puri to frame my childhood memories. Finally last December in 2019 we landed up in the city with a huge group of people comprising of relatives and cousins. Through this post I would like to show everyone some glimpses of the scenes I witnessed.

An Adventurous Afternoon

Living in Kolkata since birth, I have seen a lot of photographs of the tram going through the Maidan but had never ventured out myself. I decided to tick this off my bucket list last November and called up people asking if they wanted to join. I had no idea where to go because the Maidan is a huge space. Luckily after enquiring some people and with the help of the internet I found out I have to go to Esplanade Tram Depot and look out for Tram No. 36 going to Kidderpore from Esplanade.

Swagat Ahe Pune

The name of Peshwa Bajirao comes to the mind when we speak about Pune. Though this is mainly due to the success of the film ‘Bajirao Mastani’.  Whatever it may be, Pune is not so bad a city. I visited Pune last August for about a week and today I want to share my experience with my readers through this writing.

My journey started from Howrah Station in Azad Hind Express. This was the first time I was travelling in a long distance train by myself. In spite of being excited I must admit I was a bit nervous. Gradually the nervousness ceased to exist and I reached Pune safely. Since the train reached late I could not see much on that day. Only in the evening I took a walk around Aundh locality. The first day thus came to an end. I was staying with my cousin sister’s family who resides in Pune.

Nawabi Sheher Lucknow

Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, is a city which boasts of eye-catching architectural buildings and is equally famous for its cuisine. The Nawabs ruling Lucknow for most of the 18th and 19th century , erected magnificient buildings which people throng to even today. Lucknow was one of the important centres during the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 whose signs can be observed in The Residency.