Kolkata, West Bengal:

Howrah Bridge spanning the mighty Hooghly River in Kolkata

Three weeks after my return from Udaipur, work brought me to Kolkata to meet friends/colleagues.

In addition to my research, I could also check out some parts of the city I had not seen during my earlier visit in March. We started our tour at the wonderful South Park Street Cemetery with its huge trees towering above the century-old graves. The next stop was the Indian Museum with its large collections of fossils, minerals, ancient statues, and paintings. The Egyptian hall even shows off a real mummy! Unfortunately, some of the galleries were closed for maintenance… From the Indian Museum, we went down to the Hooghly River, one of the larger distributaries of the Ganges. A ferry took us north underneath the famous Howrah Bridge, constructed from 1936 to 1942 and today one of the landmarks of Kolkata. In the city’s northern part, we visited the “colourful” Parshwanath Temple (=Calcutta Jain Temple), before calling it a day during a walk along College Road with its numerous book stalls.

Kolkata in the rainy season

South Park Street Cemetery

South Park Street Cemetery

South Park Street Cemetery

Tomb of Charles Stuart, aka “Hindoo Stuart”

South Park Street Cemetery

South Park Street Cemetery

fossils in the Indian Museum

fossils in the Indian Museum

fossils in the Indian Museum

beautiful sculptures

intricate relief

courtyard of the Indian Museum

courtyard of the Indian Museum

courtyard of the Indian Museum

scary depiction of Kali

fossil collections

mineral collections

at the Hooghly River

Second Hooghly Bridge

life on the river

Second Hooghly Bridge

Howrah Station

Howrah Station

at Howrah Station

Howrah Bridge

at Howrah Bridge

Howrah Bridge

Howrah Bridge

Parshwanath Temple

Parshwanath Temple

Parshwanath Temple

statue of Jesus taking a selfie?

book shops along College Street

book shops along College Street

After a great stay in Kolkata, I took the plane back to Jaipur, but a stopover in Delhi enabled me to do some sightseeing in India’s capital!