Kolkata: Where Culture and Spirituality Intermingle
Among the wide array of things that Kolkata has to offer, a host of libraries and museums such as The Victoria Memorial, The Indian Museum, The Marble palace, The Science City, Jorasanko Thakur Bari, The National Library of India, The Ramakrishna mission Library, to name just a few, have an immense amount of insight to offer to a tourist looking to quench his thirst for knowledge. The many administrative offices, with their exceptional architecture have their own colonial tales to tell. The Writer's Building, The Raj Bhawan, The General Post Office are a few among them.
For someone who is looking for patches of greenery in this crowded city, places like Maidan, Rabindra Sarobar, The botanical Garden are a must visit. However, to experience the real "city of joy", one cannot afford to miss the temples, some of which showcase intermingling of many schools of architecture, some boasting the grandness of a particular time in history, but most importantly, they represent the huge diversity that Kolkata contains.
The Belur Math, which is located on the banks of the river Hoogly, showcases a fusion of Hindu, Christian and Islamic architecture. It is also well known for its exceptionally peaceful environs. Another famous Hindu temple situated right in the middle of the city is the Birla Mandir. Kali Ghat Temple is situated on the bank of a small canal, Adi Ganga, which was the original course of the river Hoogly.
An important temple among all these is the Digambara temple, The Calcutta Jain Temple. Located in the Badridas Temple street, it was by Seth Badridas in 1867. It is divided into four temples, namely, the Shitalnath Ji Temple, the Chandraprabhu Ji temple, the Mahavir Swami Temple and the Dadabadi. There is a ghee lamp in the temple which has been burning continuously since 1867, bearing testimony to the present while containing the mysteries of the past.
As a culturally and spiritually rich hub, Kolkata can be very tiring and this is exactly where the magnificent hotels of the city come into the picture. A blend of the contemporaneous and the bygone, each has an array of facilities to offer to every kind of tourist. After a tiring day, the spa facilities in these hotels are a boon whereas for a business trip these hotels provide seminar rooms, halls, internet facility and everything that can be of need, making them fully functional offices. Whether it be a relaxing mood or a mood for golfing, most of these luxury hotels provide swimming-pool facilities within the hotel and a functional golf course nearby for an all round experience of comfort. Keep in mind that Kolkata hotel booking before travelling is advisable to avoid compromising with the luxurious comfort that these Kolkata hotels have to offer.