A trip to Gorer Math, Kolkata

A trip to Gorer Math, Kolkata

Gorer Math, Victoria Side from  the centre

Life is just full of surprises, and sometimes you can really get the best of them once you manage to drag yourself out of the cozy little corner called 'home'. The world has a lot to offer, a lot to share with you, and it would indeed be a waste if we don't manage to utilize such glorious little opportunities. One thing that I've discovered is that, we don't have to go to faraway places spending a lot of money for enjoying ourselves. What really matters is an explorer's mindset, as I call it. Chances are, you can find interesting places within 10kms of your residence that you didn't visit ever. 

High-rising buildings of Tata Steel and other notable
Companies mark the Maidan skyline

Let's consider the situation mathematically. Let point H denote the house of a person, and r the maximum distance the person is willing to travel, from his home. So, even if r = 10km, he still has a vast amount of area to explore, given by A = 3.14 * r^2 = 3.14 * 100 sq. Km = 314 sq. Km, that's no joke! So, my point is, we can discover places of interest within a few kms from our residence, and still call ourselves travellers. In this fast moving world, few of us except journalists and professional travellers have enough time and resources to be on the move. Those of us who form the rest of humanity shouldn't give up, and we should continue to explore our surroundings. One nice thing I've taken to doing is that, I get out of my house in north Calcutta as often as I can, especially during the weekends, and try to take in as much beauty and serenity of other parts of Calcutta as possible. So today, I went to the famous Calcutta central grounds, more popularly known as the Gorer Math.

Extending beyond the vast stretches of Victoria gardens and far into the Kolkata skyline, brushing the boundary of the neighbouring Elliot park, the Gorer Math is a famous gathering place for many of us weekends. There are horses, there is a variety of local food to taste, and most importantly, there is a great and serene environment to sit down and relax for a while, drinking in the beauty of a blue sky lit by the scarlet rays of a distant afternoon Sun and simultaneously exhaling the week's tensions out. Deep within Kolkata, Gorer Math is a place that stills seems very much 'away' from it. Gone are the constant din of traffic horns and materialism, gone is the sultry heat all around. The vast, open field extends under a passive, blue sky, with many, many kites of different colours turning it into an active zone of 'aerial battle'. Horses can be seen galloping around, often with young children on their backs, patting them while enjoying their first ride. And obviously, their parents are hurrying back with cameras and so on.

The central trees of Gorer Math

Many people simply sit there and relax, while most others like to do something active, to spend the time joyously and yet cultivating something creative out of it. One of my favourite pastimes is photo-shooting, although I have little working knowledge of photography. I like to take shots of pretty much everything that looks good, or weird enough to be published on my blog so that I can share my 'vision's with you guys. During the weekends, the ground becomes very crowded with footballers and cricketers, each aspiring to be the future Beckham or Sachin. Shadowed by the glorious costumes and styles of the players from different local clubs, the young children nonetheless utilize the space they get to improve their own footballing/cricketing skills. And as I said, even elderly men can be seen passionately fighting 'aerial wars' against their 'opponents' with their kites.

Yeah, horses are everywhere!

On one side of the ground, we can see the vast, beautiful and vastly beautiful structure of Victoria Memorial. To be honest, when looked at from the centre of Gorer Math, Victoria appears kinda dreamy, so glorious that it becomes difficult to consider it a structure created by man. On another side, we see the beautifully flowered garden of Elliot, a park dedicated to the people of Kolkata by the Kolkata Police and Tata Steel, inaugurated by our previous CM Shri Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. And the side opposite to that of Elliot park, is marked by the gigantic design of Vidyasagar Setu, more commonly termed the Second Hoogly Bridge by us locals. At the centre of the ground is a collection of five or six large trees, possibly Banyan (sorry, I don't recognize trees very well), serenely covering us from sunlight with their green, cool canopies. Many shootings are performed here, and this place is especially good for relaxing. Many novice photographers use this patch of land to unleash and polish their photography skills alike. However, many motor bikes are usually seen parked around the trees, kinda making the area a bit crowded.

There are many people during the weekend afternoons there, but there's more than enough space to accommodate them all. Gorer Math truly represents the spirit of Kolkata. From here, you can easily visit other important tourist destinations, such as the Victoria Memorial (just opposite to it), Elliot Park, Indira Uddyan, Birla Planetarium (the second largest of its kind in the world), the Mohan Bagan Grounds, The St. Paul's Cathedral of Calcutta, The Calcutta Race Course (no need of gambling though, just enjoy structure from outside) and Princep Ghat (possibly the most celebrated bank of river Ganga here in Kolkata).

The green companies make the sky appear 'leafy', as de la Mere would say...

There are benches everywhere, especially on the side of the ground facing the Queen's Way (the central road taking us straight to the main entrance to Victoria Memorial). Especially in weekend evenings, you can expect to see most benches already filled. But no matter, the ground itself, especially its central part as well as the part surrounding the newly built musical water fountains can be especially relaxing to sit at. Tea-sellers and ice-cream vendors are everywhere, you can easily get to taste the many flavours of Kolkata here. Indeed, enjoying a warm cup of tea, spiced by the local spices as well as the brimming beauty of the surroundings can be especially chilling. If you've got a camera, you should definitely take it here, possibly because some of the most valued shots of your life will be shot here. :)

The Fountain of Joy, Calcutta Maidan

Another thing to mention is that, the ground serves as a sort of miniature India. People from all communities, all classes, all religions, speaking all sorts of different languages assemble here during the weekends, to enjoy some moments of respite from the urban materialism. Many people get to make new friends while visiting the ground, while many get to meet their old friends as well, randomly passing by and suddenly realizing the acquaintance. And nothing feels better than a cool Calcuttan evening cooled further by occasional splashes of moist winds from the neighbouring Ganges.

Finally, one thing worthy of special mention is the 'Fountain of Joy', a beautifully designed fountain that sprays water in rhythm with tunes of famous Bengali songs, especially Rabindrasangeet, or something the songs themselves. Especially gorgeous when seen in the evening, lights of different colours bounce off after getting reflected and partly refracted by the dancing water-spray. The tunes of classical Bengali music, famous Bollywood songs etc. fill the atmosphere with a joyous, buoyant mood.  Get an ice-cream, take out out your camera and start recording, while enjoying the show with your own eyes too. An authentic Calcuttan evening experience, as I would name it.

Bathed in the last glow of the afternoon Sun,
the day ends waving a goodbye with the
Bengali year 1419. Happy Bengali new year, everyone!

Today is also the last day of the Bengali year (the Bangabda) 1419, and I really enjoyed being bathed by the afternoon light of the last Sun of this Bengali year. And even though I just returned, I can hardly wait before taking the train back to there. With its resplendent glory as one of the majestic representatives of the culture of this vast, beautiful Mega-city of Kolkata, the Gorer Math will hopefully continue to share its atmosphere of serenity and openness with all of us, locales and tourists alike, as time will make its way deep into the vast sea of possibilities called future.

How to get there: The Gorer Math is situated just opposite to the Victoria Memorial, and very close to the Calcutta Cathedral and Birla Planetarium. You can get buses from almost any part of Kolkata straight to Victoria Memorial, and get off near it. Taxis are also there. But I would personally recommend utilizing the full might of the famous Calcutta Metro, the very first of its kind in India. It's not only a faster, but a much more cost-efficient and social way to get there. Simply get to any metro station, take the ticket to Maidan (the station is exactly halfway between the two terminal ends, namely Dum Dum and Kavi Subhash) for a maximum of Rs. 8 (the minimum if Rs. 4, yeah you read it right ;) ) and within 7 minutes you're sure to get on the train. If you're lucky, it's going to be air-conditioned. Get off at Maidan (for tourists, I'd recommend paying enough attention to the computerized voice that announces the name of the next station as well as of the current one), and take the first exit to the right. Then walk straight beside Elliot Park to Indira Uddyan and take the right turn, to the Queen's Way. After crossing Elliot park's boundary, you'll see the vast ground, appearing to extend far into the horizon.

And by the way, HAPPY BENGALI NEW YEAR 1420, EVERYONE!

Or as we say it in Bengali, SUBHO NABOBORSHO. :)