Kalighat temple, potters' town, flower markets

Bella · Feb 6th, 2008, 21:37

Hi,

I will be visiting Kolkata for the first time (for 4 days) in March and I have a few "Kolkata-novice" questions:

- I would like to visit Potters' town / Kumortuli, as it sounds like it could be quite interesting. Does anyone have any recent experience of this area? I'm not sure if there will be much to see there in March...?

- Is Kalighat Temple worth a visit? I have read that there are touts giving tourists quite a lot of hassle there, and it's made me a quite nervous about turning up to see it on my own.

- What is the best flower market (in terms of taking photos)?

Thanks!

artwallah · Feb 9th, 2008, 09:27

I was in kalighat temple about a year ago. It was my second time. When you get there, people start approaching you--they want to take you in to the temple. If you want to go in, I think the easiest thing is just to go with someone. they want you to buy the usual offerings, etc, and at the tank you will be shown the usual book with outrageous amounts given and asked to give lots of money. It is not worse than any place else I've been in India, and not such a hassle. If you dont want to go in, you'll probably be approached about it a bit. But the odd thing is, once I went in, each time, no one ever bothered me again. I walked around the area (get down to the fascinating ghat itself and cross the smelly creek on the bridge of boats). There is an interesting market all around the temple and people were quite friendly and non-hassling.

Richeek · Feb 14th, 2008, 19:14

Kumartuli is not very active in March - not that many orders to deliver at that time of the year, but you can try a trip there as you seem to like photography.

The best flower market ot take pictures is the flower market below Howrah bridge - one of the older editions of LP has a pic of it.

Visit Kalighat temple only if you ready to face hundreds of touts rushing up to you, but if you can it should be a unique experience.

If you find the time, also do visit Marble Palace and Victoria Memorial and take a tram ride. The Calcutta trams have not changed since before the British left (except for fresh coats of paint).

Bella · Feb 14th, 2008, 21:34

Thanks for the advice.
I will look into trams - I hadn't even thought of it!

dhans · Feb 15th, 2008, 20:41

Funny, when we were at Kali Ghat the touts obviously had a day off. The temple is quite dirty and messy, but hey, what do you expect with Kali.

We took the metro, which is a good way to reach it. Next to the teple is mother theresa's home for the dying. As we had no intention of volunteering we just took a look at the outside. All around the temple are shops with temple souvenirs, they make nice gifts for the friends back home.

North of the temple is the (a) red light district; not a pretty sight.

Hans

freenote · Feb 15th, 2008, 22:25

Never had a tout problem there .A guy latched on to us at the metro station and we ignored him till we were ready ,then we where handed over to a priest ? shown around the temple and at the tank shown the book and quietly explained that we did not want to donate a ton of rice , arrived at a much more acceptable figure and left .No problem ,very interesting and enjoyable

Feb 6th, 2008, 21:37	#1
Bella Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: London Posts: 9	Kalighat temple, potters' town, flower markets Hi, I will be visiting Kolkata for the first time (for 4 days) in March and I have a few "Kolkata-novice" questions: - I would like to visit Potters' town / Kumortuli, as it sounds like it could be quite interesting. Does anyone have any recent experience of this area? I'm not sure if there will be much to see there in March...? - Is Kalighat Temple worth a visit? I have read that there are touts giving tourists quite a lot of hassle there, and it's made me a quite nervous about turning up to see it on my own. - What is the best flower market (in terms of taking photos)? Thanks!

Feb 15th, 2008, 20:41	#5
dhans Uru Buru member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 1,538	Funny, when we were at Kali Ghat the touts obviously had a day off. The temple is quite dirty and messy, but hey, what do you expect with Kali. We took the metro, which is a good way to reach it. Next to the teple is mother theresa's home for the dying. As we had no intention of volunteering we just took a look at the outside. All around the temple are shops with temple souvenirs, they make nice gifts for the friends back home. North of the temple is the (a) red light district; not a pretty sight. Hans __________________ Tips for trips to India with (young) children: India with kids Stories about our travels in India: Journal

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Feb 9th, 2008, 09:27	#2
artwallah Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH USA Posts: 68	I was in kalighat temple about a year ago. It was my second time. When you get there, people start approaching you--they want to take you in to the temple. If you want to go in, I think the easiest thing is just to go with someone. they want you to buy the usual offerings, etc, and at the tank you will be shown the usual book with outrageous amounts given and asked to give lots of money. It is not worse than any place else I've been in India, and not such a hassle. If you dont want to go in, you'll probably be approached about it a bit. But the odd thing is, once I went in, each time, no one ever bothered me again. I walked around the area (get down to the fascinating ghat itself and cross the smelly creek on the bridge of boats). There is an interesting market all around the temple and people were quite friendly and non-hassling.

Feb 14th, 2008, 19:14	#3
Richeek Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 20	Kumartuli is not very active in March - not that many orders to deliver at that time of the year, but you can try a trip there as you seem to like photography. The best flower market ot take pictures is the flower market below Howrah bridge - one of the older editions of LP has a pic of it. Visit Kalighat temple only if you ready to face hundreds of touts rushing up to you, but if you can it should be a unique experience. If you find the time, also do visit Marble Palace and Victoria Memorial and take a tram ride. The Calcutta trams have not changed since before the British left (except for fresh coats of paint).

Feb 14th, 2008, 21:34	#4
Bella Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: London Posts: 9	Thanks for the advice. I will look into trams - I hadn't even thought of it!

Feb 15th, 2008, 22:25	#6
freenote senior member refused Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: cornwall UK Posts: 1,532	Never had a tout problem there .A guy latched on to us at the metro station and we ignored him till we were ready ,then we where handed over to a priest ? shown around the temple and at the tank shown the book and quietly explained that we did not want to donate a ton of rice , arrived at a much more acceptable figure and left .No problem ,very interesting and enjoyable

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