After finishing my lunch in the Victoria Memorial, I looked at the map of the self-guided walk. It continued through the Maidan, a popular green space for relaxing.
I couldn’t see Fort William in the background because the tree foliage was dense. I caught sight of the Eden Gardens (“Kolkata’s legendary cricket battleground”) before seeing the Raj Bhavan, West Bengal’s governor’s residence.
A slight detour took me to the High Court. I returned to the walk to see the Town Hall.
The entrance to St John’s Church was shut but the nearby Old GPO Building looked grand.
I crossed the road to look at the reservoir (Lal Dighi) before arriving at the recently restored Writers’ Building.
Originally built in 1777, the building housed the former offices of the British East India Company. Clerks (who were called “writers”) worked here. In the late 1800s, the building was expanded and redesigned in a Gredo-Roman style, adding tall columns, a central tower, and statues. From 1871, it was a Bengal government building.
Three young Indian revolutionaries assassinated a British officer inside the building in 1930. The three became national heroes and a statue in their memory stands in front of the building. The Writers’ Building is a symbol of British rule and India’s struggle for independence.
This was the end of the walk. I saw on Google Maps that I’d bookmarked the Eastern Railway Headquarters. At the entrance, two security guards said visitors weren’t allowed in. I asked if I could take one photo but they said no. At this point, someone more senior in uniform arrived. One of the guards explained what I’d requested in Bengali. The senior person said I could step forward and take one photo. After taking the photo, I was about to leave. But the person asked me where I was from. On hearing my Indian heritage, he warmed to me! He took me into the building to show me some paintings and other exhibits.
The metro was nearby. I always like to experience metros. I took the train to a more commercial part of Kolkata. I could see this was more Western. I sat in a nice bookshop/cafe (Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters) then continued walking along Park Street. My apartment owner had mentioned a vegetarian restaurant, Burma Burma, in the area. It was too early for dinner. I popped into Starbucks for an hour.
The restaurant, Burma Burma, had a separate menu for special diets. There were lots of vegan options. Since I’d been eating lots of spicy food, I opted for a simple stir fry with tofu. I was thinking of making this. It was a happy coincidence they had this on the menu.
I made my way back to the homestay. Some markets in India, like in South Korea and Taiwan, are busiest in the evening. As I passed through it, the shoe market swarmed with shoppers hunting for the perfect pair.