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Day 38 - 42: Kolkata & Burdwan

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  • Day 38 - 42: Kolkata & Burdwan

    Kolkata was the city where the monsoons finally caught up with the GICR team. When it rained it poured and when it didn't it steamed! It is probably the only city where one can sweat while showering!!! But on the other hand, this city has the best food to offer compared to any other city in India. And it is cheap, food or anything else you want is cheap, for a Delhite most things are pocket change. The city appears to be caught in a time warp. The prices, trams, hand pulled rickshaws and ambassadors take you back in time. It is a wonderful feeling to time travel, till the traffic hits, where you need a lot of time to travel! Distances are not measured in kilometres but in minutes and those minutes are dependent on the time of the day. Getting around the city is an art and one needs the help of the experts!

    And we had these experts who were human location devices, meeting us before Calcutta at guiding us through the extremely crazy traffic from the southern part of the city to Salt Lake via Dum Dum Airport. Shankar and his boys from Burdwan rode down to Kolaghat and all the way back just to make sure we didn't get lost. Even then entering Cal took a couple of hours and we were a tired bunch of bikers who entered the hotel.

    Time in Calcutta was spent exploring the very wide cuisine available. And every bit of it extremely delicious. From Shorsha Maach, Doi Maach to Rossa Gollas and roadside fried rice and mutton kathi rolls, we had it all. But the people of Cal are very sweet and when the bikers came to the hotel to visit us, they never came empty handed. Everybody brought at least 2 boxes of sweets and we surely gained a couple of kilos hogging on the sandesh, mishti doi, rossa gollas and a lot more. The first evening saw Subhankar and Niladri bring in sweets, then we had Anirban bring in more sweets and we finally had Parikshit kill us all with even more mithai. And as we were reeling under the pressure of lack of insulin, Pranjal brings in some more Mishti Doi to finish us off completely!

    But thanks to the rains and the football spirit of Calcutta we got to work off some of our flab as we headed out to the park in front of the hotel for a game of football with some local school kids. They were kind enough to allow us to play and we had a rollicking time playing football just for kicks! Though it didn't help, with a lot more food sent down the hatch, we were just placating our guilty conscience of having done a spot of exercise!

    We did attempt visiting some of the iconic structures of this magnificent city, but unfortunately due to the traffic and water logged roads, we didn't get very far and spent most of our time going round in circles, behind trams, buses and ambassadors! A few pictures of the GICR team roaming around the city of Calcutta.

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    The Evoque stuck in Bengal traffic

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    Slowing the Tram Down!

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    Only in India do you get trucks moving in both directions on the same bit of tarmac

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    The football field seflie!

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    World Cup special

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    Biking is not about what you have between your legs, its all about how well you use it!!!!!!!

    Give your details here if you want to help your fellow xBhpian stranded in your city

    Touring Blog: Cycling in Mongolia!

  • #2
    Re: Day 38 - 42: Kolkata & Burdwan

    Just awesome Pictures. Waiting for the next update. Trust me you guys still missed out on lot of food. the next time you guys come over. I will take you to few rare places which you will not find anywhere in India. But please do not come during monsoon.
    [email protected]

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Day 38 - 42: Kolkata & Burdwan

      The evening before we were to leave Calcutta, we headed out to the Indian Institute of Management - Calcutta. We had an evening of interaction planned with the aspiring CEOs of the future. Even though the majority of guys who attended were not bikers, it was nonetheless a very interesting evening for us and them. The questions put forth brought out a different angle of the GICR. While the bikers we meet and interact with ask about the bikes, handling, riding and travelling, these guys were interested in the sponsorship, money matters, how we run the office from the road and most importantly how do you get a job at xBhp!!!

      Sunny gave a very interesting presentation on how he built xBhp from scratch 11 years ago and the audience loved it as many budding entrepreneurs were in our midst. After the educative section was despatched with, we had the IIM guys show us their bargaining skills as all those who had put up their old stuff on Olx were called on to be bought by the team. And some of them were real hard bargainers, putting their last bit of energy into getting a better price. Am sure these guys would be a wonderful asset to any company they join!

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      Old Fox talking about the growth of xBhp

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      The bargaining begins - a pair of used knee guards

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      A camera tripod

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      A 7 year old blank CD which has been around the country!

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      Computer speakers which belted out great music in the hostel rooms!

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      The future CEOs



      The morning after the IIM meet was our xBhp Calcutta meet. We were to meet at Dhankudi Toll and head out to the CCD at Gobindpur some 30 km distant. Due to our large quantity of luggage, we eventually got late packing up the cars, the other reason was that Pranjal went and got another pot of Mishti Doi and so of course it is all Pranjal's fault! We reached the toll late, but the Calcutta guys were patient enough to wait for us and ride together from to our meeting point. At the CCD there were even more bikers waiting for us and we were pleasantly surprised to see the large turnout of bikers, that too on a Saturday morning, when many guys had to turn around and go back to work. At the venue we cut the massive birthday cake and fortunately there was enough to go around. We bikers are a sharing and caring lot of people!

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      Riding together to the venue

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      The lineup

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      The winner of the Shell Contest - Arghadweep Sarkar

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      Sunny cutting the birthday cake

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      Old Fox distributing the birthday cake!

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      After the tasty cake and lovely company at Calcutta, it was time for the GICR team to head to Burdwan, where we were scheduled to meet up with the guys from this small town with very big hearts. There were a large number of guys waiting for us, having prepared everything down to the last detail all under the able guidance of Shankar. The enthusiasm and affection of the bikers of Burdwan leaves one speechless, literally. They went to great lengths to ensure the comfort of the team and then had one of our best interactive sessions with the local bikers. A wonderful g2g came to an end with lunch with some of the Burdwan guys before we headed out to Asansol for our night halt.

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      The birthday cake all lit up

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      Burdwan Selfie!

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      A lot of bikers of Burdwan

      ----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

      Originally posted by pranjal chakraborty View Post
      Just awesome Pictures. Waiting for the next update. Trust me you guys still missed out on lot of food. the next time you guys come over. I will take you to few rare places which you will not find anywhere in India. But please do not come during monsoon.
      India ride or no India ride, i might just land up in Cal all alone for the awesome food that you have promised
      Biking is not about what you have between your legs, its all about how well you use it!!!!!!!

      Give your details here if you want to help your fellow xBhpian stranded in your city

      Touring Blog: Cycling in Mongolia!

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Day 38 - 42: Kolkata & Burdwan

        Time warp it is. It's my hometown, but I have always stayed in other states thanks to my Dad's Air Force Job. I was shocked ,when I visited Kolkata after a long gap, to see that you have these denominations for a shared auto fare : Rs 5, Rs 5.5, Rs 7, Rs 7.5, Rs 10.....
        They still have the concept of 50 paisa alive, which was a pleasant surprise for me(The fares may have increased now though)
        Compare this with what we have in Mumbai(Stretch is vashi station to Ghansoli)
        Rs 15, Rs 30. Done

        The SBTC bus fares would most definitely be cheapest than in any state.

        I think credit must go to the industry shunning mentality of us Bongs who religiously vote for 'anti capitalist parties'. Used to vote for CPIM and now the supposedly anti, but actually the exact same(and some more) TC.
        Who cares when there is no industry when you get to munch on Egg rolls at prices which would buy you a vada pav and little more in Mumbai

        Oh and beautiful pics there. The city is one of the most charming cities in the country in a way Mumbai/Delhi can't be though.
        Last edited by Doga; 07-14-2014, 06:40 PM.
        The hero always RIDES into the sunset!

        My Touring Logs-
        French Riviera
        https://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/38345-biking-french-riviera.html
        Scotland-
        http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/3...-3600-kms.html
        France -Normandy and Paris on the CBR
        http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/3...adventure.html
        KTM chronicles-
        http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/2...hronicles.html

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Day 38 - 42: Kolkata & Burdwan

          Good to see that you played a bit of football as well. Football is an integral part of Kolkata just like Hilsa/Tram/Rasgullas.
          A bike on the road is worth two in the shed.

          Weekend Rides Around Kolkata
          My Ride To Sunderbans -
          Hemnagar & Samsernagar
          Saagar Kinare - Bakkhali Calling

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Day 38 - 42: Kolkata & Burdwan

            Fantastic Fish Eye shots... Loved those.

            Kolkota truly takes one back in time... a roadside Mixed Fried Rice costs one fourth the normal amount while feeling four people. The way the traffic nudges itself and shifts to allow oncoming trams in the middle of the road...

            Enjoyed reading through the experience, very well written too...

            Cheers all.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Day 38 - 42: Kolkata & Burdwan

              jioh!!! ei to chai! fatafati am glad to see some awesome fisheye shots and the fact that you loved the food in Kolkata. Having said that, now I have become nostalgic and I need to plan a trip back home soon, very soon .
              I Ride to Forget the World, and Sometimes I Ride to Forget Who I AM.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Day 38 - 42: Kolkata & Burdwan

                Loved the Kolkata pics........saw the Yellow taxi.....the tram......the Vidyasagar Setu.........old memories raining ...big time !!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Day 38 - 42: Kolkata & Burdwan

                  A thread to get all the Kolkata people from xBHP. Nice photos.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Day 38 - 42: Kolkata & Burdwan

                    More pictures please
                    [email protected]

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Day 38 - 42: Kolkata & Burdwan

                      Originally posted by SuvraGanguly View Post
                      jioh!!! ei to chai! fatafati am glad to see some awesome fisheye shots and the fact that you loved the food in Kolkata. Having said that, now I have become nostalgic and I need to plan a trip back home soon, very soon .
                      Kolkata r kothai bari dada.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Day 38 - 42: Kolkata & Burdwan

                        For a thoroughbred Bangali, there is no other place which can offer variety of food option than Kolkata, not even our own mini Kolkata @ Delhi
                        "HASTA LA VICTORIA, SIEMPRE !" - Chesigpic


                        http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/18983-spicy-sour-sweet-short-honeymoon-trip.html

                        http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/20306-pursuit-swarghat.html#post716409

                        http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/2...sary-trip.html

                        http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/2...adventure.html

                        http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/2...j-monsoon.html

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Day 38 - 42: Kolkata & Burdwan

                          Originally posted by hypheni View Post
                          Kolkata r kothai bari dada.
                          belghoria
                          I Ride to Forget the World, and Sometimes I Ride to Forget Who I AM.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Day 38 - 42: Kolkata & Burdwan

                            Originally posted by SuvraGanguly View Post
                            belghoria
                            Isn't it Beleghoria??

                            The Monk : Did you guys missed out eating at Shiraz or the other one at Park Circus, 7 Point???? (DAMN!! Forgot the name)
                            "HASTA LA VICTORIA, SIEMPRE !" - Chesigpic


                            http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/18983-spicy-sour-sweet-short-honeymoon-trip.html

                            http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/20306-pursuit-swarghat.html#post716409

                            http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/2...sary-trip.html

                            http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/2...adventure.html

                            http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/2...j-monsoon.html

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Day 38 - 42: Kolkata & Burdwan

                              Originally posted by rx100.7050 View Post
                              Isn't it Beleghoria??

                              The Monk : Did you guys missed out eating at Shiraz or the other one at Park Circus, 7 Point???? (DAMN!! Forgot the name)
                              nopes bro..it is Belghoria
                              I Ride to Forget the World, and Sometimes I Ride to Forget Who I AM.

                              Comment

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