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| Photo: Vyron Perelis, Greece |
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| We walk where you want, when you want and at your pace |
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Personalised City Walks:
We were the first company in Kolkata to run specialised city walks. Since 1998 we have been crafting walks for city guests that cover the bazaars of old Calcutta, the early settlement, the palaces of the Babus, the riverside, the Howrah Bridge, the attractions around the Maidan, the southern lakes, an Islamic quarter, local parks or out of the way parts of the city. We can combine walks with tram, metro or ferry rides and mix walks to match your interests. |
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Some ideas
The British Raj Walk1
which concentrates on the centre of the old colonial city
The British Raj Walk 2
this walk takes us to the Maidan, the old British market, the main thoroughfare and the Victoria Memorial
The Rajas, Palaces and Babus Walk
a walk through the crowded north and into and past some of the grand and now not so grand palaces of the wealthy babus of Calcutta.
The Riverside Walk.
The big Bazaar, the riverside, Howrah Bridge, flower market, colony of artisans making images of the gods and a ferry ride.
A walk down the middle
A walk from the centre of the city to the northern edge, including the university, the coffee house, book centre, and busy street life with a ferry ride home.
The cemetery walk
A shortish walk taking in the old Anglo-Indian quarter, Park Street and the old Christian cemeteries.
A night walk
Somewhat off the beaten track through Muslim and Hindu communities, both poor and better off, around the Sealdah market and back down the street of gold.
These are only suggestions and often we combine walks or can go off in any direction you choose. |
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Other Events:
Getting Into It
Explore Kolkata by public transport
An afternoon at the races
Family visits and a Bengali meal
Sketching outings
Up river to the temples
A shopping trip |
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City Orientation Tour
The city layout, transport system, tour of areas of particular interest e.g. finance district, tourist areas, sporting venues, cultural centres etc, a pocket history and onward travel.
Contact people with similar interests; profession or hobby. |
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Night Time
Cultural events: music, dance, drama or pubs for the people: Kolkata is full of good and bad watering holes plus great restaurants. Night walks: see the city in the cool of the evening plus a restaurants or bar: Indian, Chinese or Western. |
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A Little History
When we started our Calcutta Walks as they were back in 1998, there were two major ways to get a tour of the city. West Bengal Government Tourism ran a bus tour of the city in the early morning and afternoon. It went mainly to buildings: museums, places of worship and government and civic places of note. You could also do a deal with a local rickshaw wallah who would take you to a few places he thought you might be interested in, like the Mother House or Victoria Memorial. Some travel agents did run tours of the city if clients approached them but they tended to be car based.
We started for the first time to take travellers to see people and communities, not just buildings. Our tours went to places buses and cars could not go and certainly to places that Bengalis thought would not be of any interest to foreigners. But we had the perspective of foreigners. We knew that many people, not all we admit, but many who had travelled through India before reaching Kolkata had been 'templed out'. We also knew that what fascinated the foreigner was often commonplace and uninteresting to the local Indian. On our walks through crowded bazaars, warehouses districts or city back streets we saw no other groups. Recently we have noted others have started to venture into the areas we have been visiting for a decade. As imitation is the best form of flattery we thank them and wish them well. |
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| Kolkata Walks, Impressions |
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