In Tagore´s abode of peace

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The street linking Santiniketan and Bolpur is fringed with shops and stalls The clean and tidy Bolpur Train Station A typical tea stall – note the little earthen mugs – taken at Bolpur station Victoria Memorial Hall The majestic Howrah Bridge in Kolkata

Santineketan lures the tourists simply because it´s where writer and poet Rabindranath Tagore lived and penned his literary classics, writes BHAVANI KRISHNA IYER

MY desperate last minute attempt to lay hands on authentic references on Rabindranath Tagore for my research work lands me in Santiniketan, where the poet´s very own university called Vishwa Bharati is located.

Santiniketan, which means "abode of peace", is true to its name. It is nothing but peace that you will find in this little town located some 180km north of Kolkata, India.

Getting into Kolkata is relatively easy, with the Immigration, Customs and health checks completed in a jiffy. The airport is clean and well organised.

However, the moment you step into the street, the real Kolkata hits you from all sides -- insane traffic, non-stop horns blaring, the garbage and people taking a leak just about anywhere.

Safe & Sound

I have to get to the Sealdah station to catch the train to Santinketan. The 40-minute ride from the airport to the station, costs 180 rupees. A little tip here -- never engage private taxi drivers who charge you a bomb. Authorised taxis are a lot cheaper.

I have heard horror stories about Kolkata train stations, that they are crowded and snatch thieves are rampant. It´s said that a little information is a dangerous thing. How true this can be. The warning prepares me for the worst but though the station is buzzing, I sense no threats to my safety.

With an hour to kill before I board the train, I look for a place to deposit my luggage. The cloakroom is a dingy-looking square with graffiti-painted walls and attendants who look stressed and disoriented. I am yet again surprised that among the disarray, there´s a system that ensures luggage is well taken care here.

No Queues

I wander away from the station into what looks like a typical market scene. In every nook and cranny is a trader or hawker selling everything, from clothes and shoes to fruit.

Pushed, shoved aside and knocked about by people, I beat a hasty retreat back to the station to find an eatery. I am waiting at the cashier to place my order when a four-eyed hunk from behind me loudly hails an order and he is served! Then enter a bearded, middle-aged, pot-bellied man and he too gets his order before mine. Hmm, interesting. Seems like in Kolkata, the loudest, strongest and biggest have the right of way.

Discovering Santiniketan

The train is on time. In fact, the train service in most parts of India is very reliable. The ride to Bolpur, the station and town nearest to Santiniketan, takes over three hours as we pick up and drop off passengers at every station.

I reach sleepy little Bolpur (as it appears that night) close to midnight, with the winter breeze biting into bare skin. It looks creepy, but there are lots of cycle rickshaws and taxis.

Getting to Santiniketan may seem a little tricky but only if you don´t know the train schedules (indiarailinfo.com). It´s accessible only by train (up to Bolpur) or private car.

Santineketan has become a tourist attraction over the years because it´s where Tagore lived and penned many of his literary classics. The town is best experienced on foot, so start walking. December is the best time to visit. The endless walking does not tire you easily in winter but make sure you have proper walking shoes. The less energetic can hop into a cycle rickshaw.

The main attraction here is the university. The campus is "scattered", not gated, and the town runs through the university.

There are parks and the Tagore museum with a massive collection of pictures and news articles. Entrance fee is 10 rupees. It´s attached to the Rabindra Bhavan, the Tagore research library where Tagore´s car is locked in the museum garage. Since cameras are not allowed on campus, I smuggle mine in and manage a quick shot of the car.

Night falls as early as 5pm, the best time to stroll along the main street where stalls and shops lining the mud-covered walkway sell batik shawls, kurtas, blouses, leather bags, earthen wares, paintings and cosmetic jewellery.

There are lovely bungalows with awesome architecture. I´m told the town is home to rich retirees from Kolkata, escalating the property prices.

There are few restaurants, so make sure you book yourself into a hotel with dining facilities. But there are many shops selling sweetmeats. People here just love sweets made with sugar and milk.

My hunt for Indian coffee is futile as there are only roadside tea stalls but after my first dose of the spiced tea, I´m addicted. It comes in a tiny, disposable earthen mug. When you finish the tea, just dash the mug to the ground, like how Hindus break coconut in temples. The shattered pieces will go back into the soil. An excellent green idea!

Back In Kolkata

Kolkata is different from other cities in India. It has a charm of its own for its harsh realities of life in the backdrop of modernisation. Located on the eastern bank of Ganga (Hoogly River), the capital of West Bengal is also India´s second largest city, after Mumbai.

I´m off to College Street to look for books I need for my reference. The atmosphere reminds me of Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur, but it´s three times bigger, with books everywhere. This is paradise for avid readers and there´s no book you can´t find here. Be prepared for a day-long outing. You will be impressed by how the traders can actually find the needle you need in the haystack.

Here, I am stunned to see a tram making its way through the two-way street where a tired-looking traffic warden in what is formerly a white uniform, (the city spews dust during the dry winter season), is trying to clear vehicles from the tram line. Tram lines still exist in some parts of Kolkata and are almost always in the centre of the streets. When the tram arrives, it´s standstill traffic and chaos until the traffic warden appears to clear the lines.

Temple Attractions

Sightseeing´s the least of my priorities but I still check out one of the largest temples in Kolkata. Built in 1855 and located in the outskirts, Dakshineshwar Temple is dedicated to Kali, the goddess of destruction.

Its main attraction is that the Ganga flows next to the temple and devotees take a ritual dip here before prayers. The 12-spired temple, with its enormous courtyard, is surrounded by 12 other temples dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is a world-famous place of pilgrimage and it was here that the famous religious thinker Rama Krishna Paramahamsa achieved his spiritual vision and preached the unity of all religions. He used to live in the temple premises and his room remains open to visitors.

Built in 1921, the Victoria Memorial Hall, the most famous landmark in Kolkata, is a must-see attraction for its perfect blend of Mughal and British architecture, as envisaged by Lord Curson. Today, you can see a collection of Victoria memorabilia, paintings during the British rule and other artifacts.

Belur Math, an ashram in the northern part of the city, has unique characteristics of other religious places of worship. From different angles, Belur Math looks like a temple, a mosque and a church. It is said the architecture is a fair representation of the tolerance of Indian culture towards other religions. Belur Math is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission.

The Kalighat Temple is another must-visit destination, dedicated to Kali. Go with a local as there are certain rituals to be performed and only locals will know how to negotiate with the priests. Otherwise it can be a rip-off.

Majestic Landmark

The majestic Howrah Bridge is a sight to behold, especially when it is lit at night, against the winter fog. It´s a landmark and an engineering marvel as one of the world´s busiest cantilever bridge, connecting Kolkata to Howrah. Built between 1937 and 1943, it has a single 450m span. It is technically a cantilever truss bridge, constructed entirely by riveting, without nuts or bolts. It is currently used as a road bridge but previously had a tram route as well. There are other bridges over the river at different points, like the Vidyasagar Setu and Vivekananda Setu.

Finally, take a ride on the Kolkata Metro Rail, the first underground railway in India which started operations in 1984. The second was opened in 2002 in New Delhi.

Getting There & Around

It is tiresome to get around Kolkata with predictable congestion in and around the city. Renting a car with a driver will be the best option but cycle rickshaws that seat two is a cheap option for short distances.

Despite development, Kolkata still clings to its past, with trams and taxis from the 1950s as well as hand-pulled and cycle rickshaws. But these are features that single out Kolkata from other cities in India.

For now, AirAsia is the only airline that flies direct to Kolkata from Kuala Lumpur.

■ Pictures by BHAVANI KRISHNA IYER

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