St Pauls cathedral in Calcutta was completed in 1847 after being in construction for over eight years. The tower and spire were mainly inspired by Norwich Cathedral but after the earthquake of 1934, the tower was rebuilt on the lines of Bell Harry at Canterbury. The Cathedral is quite well maintained these days and is accessible to the public with services held here regularly.
Nakhoda Masjid Mosque was in the past just a small mosque, but in 1926, a resident of Cutch, Abdar Rahim Osman built the present mosque, the biggest in Calcutta and was built in the style of Akbars tomb at Sikandra
Tipu Sultan Mosque on Lenin Salai was built in 1842 by the son of Tipu Sultan and is today one of 800 heritage buildings in the city of Kolkata that have been listed by the Calcutta Municipal Corporation
A view of the Victoria Memorial building located in the Maidan of Calcutta and is known as Calcutta’s green lung. It was once forest, but was cleared to give Fort William a clear range of fire under the British
Looking through the gate towards the Victoria monument and the bronzed Edward VII on his horse. This park was usually nice and quiet to go strolling around but came alive in the evenings with Calcuttians going about their recreation!
The Victoria Memorial built after the death of Queen Victoria and finished just before the capital shifted to New Delhi
The Victoria Memorial whose inspiration was by Lord Curzon and whose foundation stone was tapped into place by George V on his excursion to Calcutta in 1906
Another view of the Memorial, which was opened in 1921. It also houses a museum where people can see quite a bit of the history of Calcutta and the men and women that made it.
One of the streets of Calcutta in a residential area close to where I lived for a few months. Footpaths were not a big issue in Calcutta as yo can see!
One of the market streets near the Hotel after a small shower of rain. During the monsoon, most of these streets become knee deep in water!
This picture is from the side of the Maiden or the large park in Calcutta and on one of the main streets. It adds a charm to Calcutta all of its own!
A view of the Howrah new bridge, the second main bridge in Calcutta and the fourth cantilever bridge in the world, was commissioned in February 1943, being built with 26,500 tons of steel
The Hoogly River bridge and at one stage I did a bridge to bridge walk, crossing this bridge and then strolling down the other side to the Howrah new bridge
Fishing and commerce boats down on the Hoogly River, which was an off shoot of the famed Ganges River and used to be a major shipping port until silting narrowed it down
The Oberoi Grand in the central area of Calcutta, and this place took up a whole block and yet, inside the garden rectangle, peace and tranquility reigned
The front entrance to the Grand and this was the place where in the fifties and sixties, there were dinner dances and concert evenings that were the talk of the town
The corridors of the Grand with its old style Hoteliering and its old world charm, also where I worked for three years
The swimming pool in the oasis of the Grand Calcutta, where you could not hear the traffic noise at all