bhowanipur

stevec

What an endlessly delightful and inspiring city Kolkata is! We recently spent three weeks in a part of this vast metropolis I had, unaccountably, not explored much during previous visits (the first in 1970). Bhowanipur (Bhawanipur/ Bhowanipore as well - all the spellings are in use) is an old close-to-the-centre district that I would suggest to any visitor to India wanting to experience 'old' Kolkata life. We stayed in a really quiet, small back street not far from the Bhowanipur Police Hospital, in a maze of really superb older buildings. Within only a few days we felt accepted as street residents, with greetings from lots of people, and felt perfectly safe wandering at all hours. Bhowanipur is on the metro line, and within a few minutes' walk of the Maidan area. There was nothing set up for 'tourists' there, unlike the Sudder Street area, but there were enough good shops and restaurants (including a couple of really excellent ones); there were no Park Street-type touts and hassles; the traffic noises of the main road were thankfully muted - and the rest of Kolkata pretty easy to get at. Kolkata has always had a sort of joyful ferment about it that makes as light as possible of its many appalling problems, and this aura was strong in Bhowanipur.

mousourik

Hi Stevec,

Glad to know that you liked Kolkata. Yes, Bhowanipur has an old world charm. It's certainly not touristy, but the communication is excellent. Like north Kolkata, residents here have been living for generations and hence their tolerance / acceptance level is high. There is a sizeable Sikh community here and during the riots of 1982, they took shelter, and were protected, in Hindu neighbours' houses for days.

Where did you stay there ? Any hotel or guesthouse ? Or as a paying guest ? This information might be helpful for other foreign travellers.

kausiks

Steve,
Bhowanipur is one of those areas where 'old Calcutta' still remains to a large extent. You are right - the maze of streets and the old buildings in that area have a special charm of its own. Look forward to having you back in Kolkata once again.

Moderator note: I think this should be moved to Kolkata

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stevec

We stayed in a tiny place called the Best Inn in Sushil Sen Street, off Beni Nandan Road. It had very small, but very stylish rooms, and offered a quick homemade breakfast which we supplemented with stuff from a supermarket in Elgin Road. The management was just wonderful, although the room wasn't cheap, and the process of changing stay times, brought about by serious political problems in another city we had intended to visit, was unusually cumbersome. The internet connection did not work, but we just went around the corner to an e-cafe. Indeed finding a wi-fi hotspot in Kolkata proved so difficult, and the e-cafe so cheap and convenient, we just gave up using the laptop for email. We loved eating at a place called Gupta Brothers, and a really excellent Chinese restaurant called La Zeez. Plenty of others, but these were really good.

indracal

Hey Stevec, glad you liked our city!

But did you say 'chinese' about La Zeez? I haven't been there for about a year and a half, and I knew it to be specifically good for Indian/North Indian dishes, though they used to have chinese dishes as well. That's anews to me.

BTW, people on the run or who need to quickly order something after looking at the menu cards, can visit www.foodiebay.com. This website has scanned menus for many food joints (big, medium and small) listed with contact details and related info. Presently it covers Kolkata, Delhi and NCR only though!

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Bhaswaran

Thanks Stevec for complimenting our beloved city.

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dcamrass1

Hi
How much was the Best Inn ?
Hope to be in Kolkata mid November.We were there last November and realy enjoyed our stay.

stevec

Best Inn was, as I suggested, not cheap, but lots of places in Kolkata weren't. For room and 2 little breakfastettes (tea/toast/omelette) it was about $US55:00. You have to pay in advance, and it's quite difficult to change things. We still loved it - no lobby, no tinkling fountain, just a nice clean secure place to sleep. Both the manager and the do-everything guy were really helpful. It would be my first choice next time.