South Kolkata
Kalighat
The shrine the city is probably named after.
- Known for
- The temple, the pat painters, the Adi Ganga
- Best hour
- Early morning, before the queue builds
- Walk
- 22 min, 5 stops
A Shakti Peetha on an old channel of the Ganga, older than Calcutta, and the likely source of the city's name.
Photographs
Photographs of the quarter. Open one to see it full size.
Must-see buildings
- Kalighat Kali Temple →
1809, Bengali ath-chala. One of 51 Shakti Peethas.
Nirmal Hriday
1952. Mother Teresa's home for the dying, beside the temple.
Keoratala burning ghat
On the Adi Ganga. Tagore and Vivekananda were both cremated here.
Where to eat
Kalighat's prasad stalls
The temple lanes
Peda and batasha, sold by the leaf plate.
Balwant Singh's Eating House
Bhowanipore, ten minutes north
Open all night. Doodh cola for the brave.
Sharma Dhaba
Hazra crossing
Late-night parathas, and a lot of Bhowanipore's night traffic.
Things to see
- 01
The image itself
Three gold eyes and a gold tongue on black stone. Nothing like a pandal Kali.
- 02
Kalighat pat paintings
The originals are in the Victoria Memorial and the Indian Museum.
- 03
Kali Puja night
October or November, on the new moon. Enormous, and worth the crush.
Where this sits
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27 quarters · pinch or use + / − to zoom
