Bonedi Barir Durga Puja of Kolkata (with Map)- The Century Old Puja of Erstwhile Zamindars
About this blog: One of the best things to experience in Kolkata is to attend a Bonedi Barir Durgapuja. The century old Bengali Zamindar or wealthy households of Kolkata and Bengal maintains all the traditional rituals, age old customs are observed to perform Durgapuja. A Bonedi Barir Puja is incomplete without the towering pillared Thakurdalan, […]
How to Ride the Kolkata Metro Rail or Subway: Insider Tips from a Local Girl!
Metro Rail or Subway? What is in a name! The Kolkata Metro Rail is the underground (mostly) public commute system running since three decades and diligently connecting two parts of the city, north and south, Dumdum to Tollygunge. As the city of Kolkata grew with time with more people and started engulfing more spaces from […]
Durgapuja 2018 in Kolkata: A Complete Guide to the Grandest Bengali Carnival!
Durgapuja 2018: To be or not to be in Kolkata (Your complete travel guide to experience the Durgapuja 2018 in West Bengal!) The first memory of Durgapuja in my mind is of Purulia Express, along with a huge pile of the crowd, jostling with the urgency of an army evacuation on the 8 number platform […]
Where the Durga Pratimas are Made in Kolkata: Guide for Photowalk in Kumartuli, 2019!
About this blog: I intent this blog to help you take a self-guided photography tour to the by-lanes of Kumartuli, where Durga Idols are made. An intense destination for a culture lover, Kumartuli is an old neighborhood by the banks of Ganga, tucked in the old dingy lanes of North Kolkata, Uttar Kolkata as Bengalis […]
This Holi, celebrate Basanta Utsav in Shantiniketan, West bengal (Updated 2020)
About this blog: Holi is one of the biggest festivals in India. Often dubbed as the color festival, Holi is a festival of spring in India! In Bengal, Holi is also known as Dol Utsob. The spirit of the festival remains same, however Dol Utsob or Basanta Utsob is celebrated with an extravagant cultural prelude […]
Bishnupur Temples: Rediscovering the era of Malla kingdom n a Easy Day Trip from Kolkata
Prologue to the blog: Bishnupur temples or Bishnupur silks (Baluchari saree) of Bankura are world famous. So are the horses of Bankura. I am a native of the district and may get a bit overwhelmed. Instead of a typical “things to do in Bishnupur”, I tried to share my personal experience as the old temple […]
Jhalmuri and More, Eat Cheap in Kolkata
Kolkata and suburbs take immense pride in her food culture, a blend of authentic Bengal, age old rituals, the heady hangover of colonial cocktail and essentially Nawabs. Of course there are Maach (fish), Mishti and More, but I am here to talk about the cheap eats of Bengal, which shall cost you somewhere around INR […]
Dakini Yogini: the Demons of Kalipuja
As I am writing this blog post, my forefathers from past 14 generations, along with a school of “Pretatma”, the disappeared souls with desire for Earthy pleasure have been unleashed from the hell. The smokescreens shall appear in the alleys. This is their night. Are you prepared to treat them with the relish of 14 […]
Kolkata Durgapuja: A Melancholy
If I have to tell you to come visit Kolkata, I need to tell you all about Durgapuja. All of it. The annual homecoming session is Durgapuja for the whole of Bengal. Hindu Bengalis believe the Goddess Durga takes a break from her household in Kailas and comes to her maternal home with four children. […]
Darjeeling, my Himalayan abode!
[A tale of traveling in Darjeeling, a town of West Bengal, India for 2 nights by a group of five friends. Primary intention was to get drunk and make merry. But when in Darjeeling, expect to be enchanted.] Romantic Bengali will remain punch drunk in love with Darjeeling forever and ever. My mother has […]