India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) (372 page)

The Solluna Resort
Not as well known as neighbor Corbett Ramganga, this 10-hectare (25-acre) resort has better accommodations: gorgeous cottages (with bay window seats, furnished verandahs and a skylight that allows you to watch the stars from your bed) surrounded by expansive lawns and mango and cherry trees. However, it’s not as convivial as popular Corbett Ramganga—a problem related to marketing rather than any innate flaw, but gregarious types be warned. If you like your solitude, head for the lovely elevated viewing terrace with comfortable wicker chairs—great for lazing and drinking in the natural spectacle all around you. At night, pathways glow from the light of storm lanterns, and a bonfire is lit for a communal chinwag. Alcohol isn’t available, but you’re welcome to bring your own. (With 27 more units under construction, it may be worth checking how far renovations are before booking here.)

Marchula 244 715.
98-1003-0262
reservations. Fax 011/2362-7738.
www.sollunaresort.com
. 23 units. Rs 6,300 double; Rs 1,800 extra person. 2 children under 7 stay free in parent’s room. Rates include breakfast. Discounts available from mid-June to mid-Nov. Taxes extra. No credit cards.
Amenities:
Restaurant, 24-hr. coffee shop; railway transfer (Rs 800); bird-watching; doctor-on-call; fishing; pool; room service; safaris; minitheater. In room: A/C, fridge, heater.

Chapter 15: Kolkata (Calcutta) & East India

The image most people have of Calcutta is one of abject poverty and misery—the residual effect of the many years the media focused on Mother Teresa’s good works. Despite this unfortunate perception, Kolkata (as the Communist-ruled West Bengal Capital became known in 2001) attracts its fair share of visitors, many of whom are pleasantly surprised by the seductive charms of this intoxicating city.

Believed to be the ethereal abode of the goddess Kali, who embodies
shakti
—fortitude and strength—it is home to a joyous, cerebral, and sophisticated community; some of the best Raj-era architecture in India; many of the country’s best artists; a thriving film industry; and a host of superb restaurants.

Kolkata is also the natural starting point for a trip to the Himalayan mountains of the North, where you can drink in the crystal-clear air of
Darjeeling,
India’s most famous hill station, imbibing the “champagne of teas” before picking up a permit to hike the tiny state of
Sikkim.
One of the least-explored regions of India, Sikkim is a world apart, surrounded by jagged peaks and home to snow-fed lakes, remote Buddhist monasteries, yak-herding Tibetans, high-altitude forests, and some 4,000 varieties of wildflowers (including 600 varieties of orchid).

South of West Bengal, in the coastal state of Orissa—often called the “soul of India”—you can join the pilgrims who gather by the thousands to pay homage to the Lord of the Universe, who resides at the seaside town of Puri. Within easy striking distance from here is Konark’s
Sun Temple,
a World Heritage Site, a testament to the technical and artistic brilliance of Orissa in the 13th century, and unreservedly one of India’s top attractions.

To cover all three eastern states, you will need a minimum of 9 days, ideally flying directly to Bhubaneswar, capital of Orissa, to visit Puri and Konark, then heading northward to West Bengal to visit the capital, Kolkata, and the state’s idyllic hill station, Darjeeling. End your tour in laid-back Sikkim before flying back to Delhi from nearby Bagdogra Airport. Set aside extra time for trekking in Sikkim or a tribal tour in Orissa.

The Dance of Destruction

For Hindus, India is a holy land, with thousands of tirthas—celestial “crossover” points where mortals can access the world of the gods. Legend has it that these were created after Lord Shiva’s wife, Sati, jumped into a fire in an act of shame because her father, Raja Daksha, had neglected to invite Shiva to an important ritual. Unable to bear the loss, the grief-struck Shiva—carrying Sati’s body—began to pace India in a tandava nritya, or “dance of destruction.” Terrified that his fury and pain would destroy the universe, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shani dispersed her body across the vast plains and peaks of India, and wherever a body part fell, this became a tirtha. Many of these are important pilgrimage sites Hindu believers must visit at least once in their lifetime, such as those at Varanasi (see chapter 10). One of Sati’s toes also fell in a dense forest in southwest Bengal. Today, this site—now
Kalighat Temple
—is one of India’s most important pilgrimage centers, where the goddess is worshipped as Kali. The toe is supposedly housed in a chamber of the temple. Every year in June, as part of a secretive ritual, the toe is bathed.

1 Kolkata

1,310km (812 miles) SE of Delhi

East India

Kolkata (Calcutta)

Once the proud capital of the British Raj, Kolkata is deeply evocative of an era and sensibility lost in time. Established as the trading post for the East India Company on the banks of the Hooghly River by Job Charnock in 1690, it grew to be the biggest colonial trade center in Asia, earning it the name “Jewel of the East.” With its splendid Victorian buildings, ornamental pools, stone-paved footpaths, figured lampposts, and sweeping esplanade, it was entirely European in its architecture and sensibility, and the burgeoning city became the stomping ground of a new breed of sahibs
and memsahibs who wore their white skins and British manners as though they were royal insignias. But Kolkata was effectively built on a disease-breeding swamp—the marshy delta of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers—and this, combined with the heat, humidity, and the Bengalis’ prominence in the struggle for independence, finally persuaded the British to transfer the capital. In 1911 they left for Delhi, leaving Calcutta to rot.

Today, much of the city’s architectural heritage stands crumbling and in ruins, its monumental colonial structures not nearly as well maintained as those of Mumbai. Moss and grime cover tattered buildings that should be celebrated as the city’s finest—the collapsing masonry, peeling paint, and sun-scorched woodwork testaments to the indifference of time. Unable to stem the long-term industrial and commercial decline of the city, or the flood of refugees that have continually arrived from Bangladesh since the first days of Partition, the Communist ruling parties (CPI and CPIM) struggle to adequately provide for the city’s 14 million inhabitants. The second-largest city on the subcontinent (after Mumbai), it is packed to capacity, politically beleaguered, and an entrepôt of India’s social woes.

Yet its proud citizens, who speak rapturously of its benefits over the other big Indian metropolises, fiercely tout the charms of Kolkata. In fact, meeting Bengalis is one of the best aspects of traveling here—Kolkata is the self-proclaimed capital of India’s intellectuals, home to three Nobel Prize laureates (including the revered Rabindranath Tagore, who became Asia’s first Nobel laureate in 1913) and an Oscar-winning film director (Satyajit Ray). Warm, helpful, and imbued with a great sense of humor (not to mention a famously keen appreciation for dining), the Bengalis live by the maxim that “what Bengal does today, India will do tomorrow,” and engaging in lively discussion on the benefits or drawbacks of Communism, or on the original recipe for
sandesh
(milk-based sweets, a Bengali specialty), is likely to be one of your more memorable experiences in India.

In some ways, the city is as frightening as you might fear, a degraded mess where squalor, filth, and the ubiquitous
bustees
(slums) can overwhelm the senses. If you’re in India to enjoy the country’s softer side, don’t tarry here. Head for the Himalayan mountainscapes of Sikkim or Darjeeling, or the temples and beaches of Orissa, farther south. But if you delight in eclectic city culture, spend at least 2 or 3 nights in this thrilling city.

ESSENTIALS

VISITOR INFORMATION
The
West Bengal Tourism Centre
(3/2 B.B.D. Bagh E.;
033/2248-8271
or -8272;
www.wbtourism.com
; Mon–Sat 10am–6pm) is good for up-to-date information and you can also arrange city tours here. Visit the
India Tourism Kolkata
(MSE Bldg., 4 Shakespeare Sarani;
033/2282-5813,
-1475, or -7731) for (limited) information on the entire subcontinent.
Cal Calling
is a monthly catalog of events and general information (
98-3185-6097
).