The City of Joy (Kolkata) and The Structural Marvels

I came to know first about the "Kolkata' city (earlier knownas "Calcutta") after reading the famous book titled "The City of Joy" and written by French author Dominique Lapierre in 1985, and thereafter, watching the movie of same name made in 1992. The novel "The City of Joy" interweaves the impressionistic glimpses from the lives of a French priest, an Indian rickshaw driver, and an American doctor. Everything revolves around the 'City of Joy', the name given to the slum of Anand Nagar in the heart of Calcutta. City of Joy is a film directed by Roland Joffé, with a screenplay by Mark Medoff. Film is based upon the novel by Dominique Lapierre. Not only the novel and films, the city is famous for the Nobel laureates as it is directly associated with the life and works of four Nobel laureates viz. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore (1913), Dr. C.V. Raman (1930), Mother Teresa (1979) and Prof. Dr. Amartya Sen (1998).

I am not going into the details of either novel or film here. Recently, I got an opportunity to visit the city and while roaming here and there I found few places in the city very interesting and worth seeing. Poor people are still visible in the city but a lot of changes have taken place. There may be slums but then there are beautiful monuments and structural marvels like “The Howrah bridge”, “Victoria Memorial”, Birla Mandir etc. According to Joseph Jonhert, the monuments are the grappling irons that bind one generation to another. Though there are hundreds of beautiful locations and monuments to visit, pictures and brief details of few, that impressed me the most, are given below.

The Howrah Bridge, the fourth cantilever bridge in the world, is considered one of the wonders of the world. The new Howrah Bridge, commissioned in 1943,.consumed 26,500 tons of steel. It was constructed at an approximate cost of Rs. 250 lakhs. The Howrah Bridge also known as "Rabindra Setu", is a suspension type balanced cantilever bridge with central span1500 ft. between centers of main towers. Roadway beyond the towers is supported on ground leaving anchor arm free from deck loads. It has become the 'Gateway of Kolkata'. The city of Kolkata is a fitting citadel to cradle this technological marvel for present and future generations, including engineers, architects, city planners & other professionals from diverse walks of life to appreciate this superb work of craftsmanship. Click here to read more....

Vidyasagar Setu, a modern day engineering marvel, is situated near the race course. The bridge connects the twin cities of Calcutta and Howrah. It was built at a cost of Rs. 388 crores and became operational in 1992. Vidyasagar Setu is capable of holding around 85,000 vehicles every day. This beautiful bridge spans the Hooghly and has been built to ease the load of the existing Howrah Bridge. It offers a panoramic view of Calcutta and its vicinity. This is the imposing and ultra-modern second Hooghly Bridge. Click here for more details....

Science City, consists of two facilities, the Science Centre and the Convention Centre. The Science Centre complex includes Space Odyssey, Dynamotion, Evolution Theme Park, Maritime Centre and a Science Park. The Space Odyssey houses India’s first Large Format Film Theatre, Time Machine, 3-D Vision Theatre, Mirror Magic and exhibits on space science, motion, electricity and virtual reality. The Dynamotion Hall has a Butterfly Corner, Aquaria, an exposition on giant robotic insects and host of interactive exhibits on science & technology. The Convention Centre of Science City provides best facilities for conventions, meetings, and cultural programmes. Click here for more information......

The Victoria Memorial was built to commemorate Queen Victoria's 25-year reign (1876-1901) over India . It also has a museum which houses the artefacts pertaining to British rule in India where pictures and statues of people are placed. The Fountain of Joy in the premises of the memorial presents an atmosphere of memorable charm. Victoria Memorial, the magnificent white marble building, was opened in 1921, is situated at the southern end of Calcutta Maidan. Its foundation stone was laid by Prince of Wales, later George V, on 4 January 1906, on his princely excursion to Calcutta and was inaugurated by Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, on 28 December 1921. Sir William Emerson, President of the British Institute of Architects, designed and drew up the plan of this building and to supervise the construction of the building on site Vincent J Esch, an assistant Engineer in the Bengal Nagpur Railway, was appointed as the superintending architect. In 1902, Emerson engaged him to prepare a sketch of his original design for the Victoria Memorial. Click here for detailed information....

Birla Mandir, located on Ashutosh Chowdhury Avenue, is an all marble structure with very high quality Rajasthani engravings. It took over 22 years to build and costed Rs. 180 million. It is spread over a large area of land and extending to a height of 160 feet. The white marvelous structure attracts huge crowds everyday and is one of the best fascinating tourist spot of Kolkata. Sandstone has been used on the exterior of the temple, and marble for the interiors. Inside the temple are idols of Radha, Krishna, Shiva and Durga. Messages from the Bhagavad Gita are carved on marble.Traditional artistry, coupled with modern technology,makes i unique pieceof the architecture. There are artefacts made of silver and Belgian glass. More information about Birla Mandir....

Belur Math is the headquarter of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission and situated at an area named Belur in the district of Howrah, West Bengal, India. The entire campus sprawls over forty acres of land on the western bank of the river Hooghly. It takes about an hourof drive from Kolkata toMath. More information about Belur Math is available here....