Calcutta

4-MIN READ4-MIN

Published: 12:00am, 26 Apr 2006

1 Flower power

Marigolds in the form of Mala garlands, gladioli, dahlias, roses and sunflowers form part of an eye-catching kaleidoscope of colour at Calcutta's Mullick Ghat Flower Market. Situated below the Howrah Bridge - one of only two that cross the wide Hooghly River - it's a wholesale market where shopkeepers go to stock up on fresh flowers from the countryside. Jostle your way through the crowds, honking trucks and men balancing large baskets of flowers on their heads. Men and women cut, arrange and sell colourful blooms while the older workers, in the shade of rusty roofs on faded wooden shacks, weave blossoms into long garlands for religious offerings .

2 On the move

Jump into an Ambassador taxi and participate in the frenetic traffic scrum on the Howrah Bridge during rush hour. Cars, motorised rickshaws, bullock carts, bicycles, buses and pedestrians stream over the Hooghly, which flows through the centre of Calcutta and is West Bengal's main tributary from the Ganges. In the 15th and 16th centuries the river attracted Dutch, French, Portuguese and British traders. The hand-pulled rickshaw is on the verge of extinction and a ride in one through the old part of town is a mesmerising experience. Or you can submit to another of Calcutta's quintessential transport experiences by taking a ride on a rickety old tram. At the other end of the scale, Calcutta also has a modern underground train system (www.kolmetro.com).

3 Mirrors and stones

Located in the old section of Calcutta, the Pareshnath Jain temple was built in 1867 by Ray Badridas Bahadur, a wealthy art connoisseur. The temple is decorated with an elaborate collection of mirrors, coloured stones and glass mosaics. Inside, an eternal lamp burns with ghee. Surrounded by gardens with statues, plants and fountains, it's a serene refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city. Jainism is one of the oldest living religions of India. Based on cosmic laws, it doesn't condone the concept of a superhuman god as creator of the universe.