India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) - Keith Bain [584]
Central Kolkata, south of Howrah Bridge, and north of Jawaharlal Nehru Rd.
Indian Museum Containing things beautiful, unusual, and ancient, the museum is known to locals as Jadu Ghar, the House of Magic. The oldest institution of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region, it holds the country’s largest repository of artifacts (over 100,000 exhibits). Among the dinosaur and mammoth skeletons and the 4,000-year-old Egyptian mummy are extraordinary Indian cultural items, including Shah Jahan’s emerald goblet, and an urn said to contain the Buddha’s ashes. Don’t miss the cultural anthropology section—accompanied by good explanations—if you are interested in India’s many tribal groups. The textiles-and-decorative-arts gallery is most impressive. It can be difficult to find, however—ask for assistance.
27 Jawaharlal Nehru Rd., at the corner of Sudder St. 033/2286-1699. Rs 150. Tues–Sun 10am–4pm.
Kalighat Kali Temple Violent, vengeful Kali is the patron goddess of Kolkata, and this temple complex—believed to be the site where the toe of Shiva’s wife fell when her body was scattered across the earth by the gods anxious to stop Lord Shiva’s dance of destruction (see “The Dance of Destruction”)—is a major pilgrimage center, drawing some 20,000 visitors each day. If you’re a non-Hindu, you cannot enter the inner sanctum, sticky with the rotted remains of fresh flowers offered by devotees every day, but it’s worth your while to explore the courtyards and the various stalls selling flowers, fruit, and religious paraphernalia. If you’re uneasy about the idea of animal sacrifice, avoid the enclosure to the south of the temple where at least one goat is offered to Kali every day (a ritual that allegedly replaced the ancient practice of human sacrifice). Be equally wary of the so-called priests—temple “guides” who usher you into the complex and conduct a whirlwind tour of the facilities, only to present you with a donation book that records the radically generous donations of other foreigners.
Kalighat Rd., Kalighat. Free admission. Daily 5am–1:30pm and 3–10pm (Tues, Sat–Sun, and festival days are terribly crowded with mile-long lines of devotees; Wed and Thurs are least congested).
South Park Street Cemetery This is Kolkata’s most famous cemetery, where monumental gravestones and lichen- and moss-covered tombstones to large numbers of ill-fated Brits buried on Indian soil provide a tranquil retreat. A really atmospheric place to wander around, the cemetery contains headstones that bear unlikely epitaphs like MAJ. GEN. C. GREEN DIED 51TH OF JULY.
Park St. and southeast end of Cemetery Rd. Free admission. Daily 7:30am–4:30pm.
Victoria Memorial Conceived of by Lord Curzon as a monument to his queen 4 years after her death, this domed structure is Kolkata’s most recognizable landmark. It’s billed as one of the city’s top attractions, but with portraits of fairly boring-looking individuals filling many of the walls, it’s more likely to excite Rajophiles. There are 25 galleries in the central hall, and about 3,500 articles relating to the Raj on display, including the queen’s rosewood piano. Exhibits are not restricted to Raj-artifacts; the black marble throne that belonged to Siraj-ud-Daulah is impressive, as is a gigantic painting of a Jaipur royal procession, said to be one of the largest paintings in Asia.
Queen’s Way. 033/2223-1890, or -1891. www.victoriamemorial-cal.org. Rs 150. Tues–Sun 10am–4:30pm; closed on public holidays. Sound-and-light show: winter Tues–Sun 7:15pm (in English); summer 7:45pm (in English); Rs 20.
The Miracle of Mother Teresa & the “Pure Hearts”
Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity (MOC) is now headed by Sister Nirmala, a converted Brahmin. There are some 3,500 MOC sisters around the world, working in 569 centers