The city of joy and Durga Puja, Kolkata!

Travelling to different places with your family or friends is all good but have you ever travelled to a place just because you wanted to experience the best of the festivals that it has to offer ? Well, the “City of Joy”, Kolkata is ready to celebrate the festival of Durga Puja in all it’s splendour, and we don’t see why you should miss travelling to this exuberant city. The Good is here to surprise Evil again, and so are we to you ! (not an analogy)

Considered to be the mother of all celebrations, the city lights up to it’s full glory during these days. Kolkata doesn’t sleep during Durga Puja, literally. Music, dance, colours, culture and foods dominate it’s streets ! Magnanimous  decorated pandals, mouth-watering cuisine, delightful music and dance, opulent culture and magnificent lighting characterise Durga Puja here. It is the same reason why a lot of travellers come to Kolkata just to experience this Bengali festival. While you are there in the city during the Durga Puja, here are a few things you must experience.

Go Pandal-hopping !

If you wish to be mesmerised by creativity and never-seen-before craftwork and architecture, Pandals in Durga Puja are where you need to be. They are unmistakably the most prominent feature of Durga Puja. The capital of West Bengal hosts more than 3000 major Durga Puja pandals. These pop up 3-4 months prior to the Puja and showcase different unique themes. Once you start exploring these beauties, time will fly and your camera memory will be full before you know it. WanderTrust’s “been there, done that” and so we suggest that you take the healthy way of walking to get the best out of your pandal-hopping experience.

Light up your taste buds !

Nothing delights a foodie more than street food, and Kolkata is home to the best of them ! Mouthwatering dishes galore the streets of Kolkata. Bengalis are among the biggest foodie communities in the country. Right from the street food, including the fuchkas (golgappas), and the egg and chicken rolls, to the irresistible mishtis (sweets like roshogolla and authentic mishti doi) to the full fledged Bengali cuisine restaurants serving the all-time favourites like maachher jhol, and luchi-kosha maangsho, Durga Puja is the best time to be explore the entire Bengali cuisine.

Dress codes and traditional dances !

What’s very characteristic of Durga Puja here is the traditional Bengali attire. Dhoti-kurta for men and white saree with red border for women. And whats even more characteristic is the frenzied yet graceful dance that takes place only during the Durga puja. Once the evening Aarti is completed on Ashtami, earthen pots called Dhunuchis are filled with coconut shells and lit up to serve as incense burners. Devotees dressed in the traditional Bengali attire use these to do the Dhunuchi Naachi, a form of dance that is done to the beats of Dhaks (drums particular to Durga Puja in Kolkata).

The city not only boasts of its culture during Durga Puja, but is also shelter to a number of tourist places. Let’s have a look at some of these :

Victoria Memorial

Over the years the memorial has not only emerged as one of the most famous tourist destinations of Kolkata but has also remained a favourite spot for family and friends. As night falls, lighting of the Victoria Memorial makes it look even more mesmerising. One can visit the museum of Victoria Memorial Hall from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm on week days excluding Monday.

Marble Palace

Marble Palace is one of the most famous attractions of Kolkata. Built by the wealthiest merchant of his time, the palace is the most preserved mansions of the 19^th century era. The whole palace is made up of marble which gives the place its name. There is also a zoo besides the palace, the first zoo opened in India. It has birds and some species of deer’s and other small animals.

Tagore’s House

Also known as the ‘Jorasanko Thakurbari’, Rabindranath Tagore’s ancestral house is a museum dedicated to the life and works of the Nobel Laureate.  Today this house is a museum that has three galleries dedicated to Tagore, members of his family and the Bengal Renaissance. The galleries provide glimpses of intimate family photographs, live size portraits and Tagores evolution as a poet philosopher.

Howrah Bridge

Also known as Rabindra Setu, Howrah Bridge is an iconic landmark of the city of Kolkata. On River Hooghly, the bridge plays the role of the gateway to Kolkata. It connects the city to the Howrah Station, the most important railway station of Kolkata. It is the fourth busiest Cantilever bridge across the globe.

Kolkata lives up to its name of the “City of Joy” not only because of the innumerable amazing places that you can visit but also because of the people here who are super amicable and helpful. There’s a different aura here- the exuberance and the energy is all different. And Durga Puja is just the icing in this delicious cake that Kolkata is. Well, what are you waiting for then ? Fill up our survey form right now and you never know if you might be surprised by WanderTrust in Kolkata.