2022
On a hot sunny morning of the 12th of May, 2019, Local Guides from Kolkata decided to walk down the lanes of Old Kolkata, or Calcutta, as we all know, in search of Holy Places of Worship of all religions combed into one city.
Kolkata is home to people of all religions, so much so, every religion has their Holy Place situated in the city. We hit the streets of Bow Bazaar to explore the Holy Buildings in a stretch of 6 kms. It was extremely hot and humid, but we were determined in Mapping these places.
Thanks to Truptilal Pattanaik (GLG Level 9), Danesh Tarapore (GLG Level 6) and Arindam Chakraborty (GLG Level 1) for making it to the Photowalk.
We kicked off our photowalk at the Firingi Kalibari Temple, a 500 year old temple dedicated to Goddess Kali.
Our next stop was the Zoroastrian Anjuman Atash Adaran Fire Temple, a Parsi Agiary that was built in 1912. The temple is not open to Non-Parsis, although we were able to access the ground floor, which housed a 100 year old grandfather's clock and the symbol of Zoroastrianism, Faravahar.
Next up was the Carey Baptist Church, but sadly it was not open for Tourism on Sunday.
All this made us hungry, and we made our way to have the Chinese Breakfast at Tirreti Bazaar. This breakfast showcases Chinese street food early morning and sits between 5-9 AM. We laid our hands on several delicacies that were present there. We tried Dumplings, Wontons, Fish Ball in Clear Soup and some Rice Cakes.
With our stomachs full, we walked towards the Chinese Churches in the near vicinity. There are 5-6 Chinese Churches in that area, but we kept our visit to a couple of them. The first one was the Toong On Church, an old Chinese Church, which is now a Buddhist Temple. The Chinese Warrior God is also worshipped here. The next one was the Sea Ip Church. A small wooden staircase leads the way to the temple. The thing we liked most in these Chinese Churches was the hospitality of the gentleman taking care of the place.
It was time for us to head towards the Synagogues of the city, the place of worship for Jewish people. We covered all the 3 Synagogues in the city. The first one in our path was the Beth El Synagogue which is the oldest of the lot. It was built in 1856 and has been serving the Jewish community since then. It has recently been renovated and one can see the fresh colors and hues on the building. We were not allowed inside. Next stop was the Maghen David Synagogue and Neveh Shalome Synagogue. Both these buildings are on the same land and can be accessed by one main entrance. This time we were lucky to gain access to the entire building. These have been renovated too, with extremely beautiful interiors and intricate carvings on walls and pillars.
When here, we were extremely glad to have a Video Conference with @ReshamDas , @AmbrishVarshney and Amarjit. They were very helpful in getting this photowalk possible and it was amazing to see that they were virtually present with us. It was an exciting affair. Here is a small snap:
We moved towards The Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary. This Church was built by the Portuguese in 1797. Behind the altar, stands Madonna and Child. It has been beautifully decorated and houses the remains of the First Archbishop of Calcutta.
Our last stop was the Armenian Church, but due to some service happening inside, we weren't allowed inside.
Our meetup took us through the bye-lanes of Calcutta and we explored the very best the city has to offer, as we braved the extreme heat, sipping down sugarcane juice and lemonades down the way. It was a rich experience and a sense of belonging arose amongst us, as we saw History in Modern Times.
Looking forward to many more amazing meetups and photowalks.
Here is the Photo Album of our Heritage Walk.
Cheers!
Prateek Agarwal
GLG Level 8
Appreciate this beautiful post and your joint efforts for successfully completing the HERITAGE WALK!
Regards
