Elliot Park, Calcutta

Elliot Park, Calcutta

Elliot park, from inside

Elliot park is one of the most celebrated destinations for tourists and locals alike in Kolkata. Situated on the Jawaharlal Nehru road, Kolkata, it marks the border of the Gorer Math or Kolkata Maidan, and extends beyond the Queen's Way towards the Maidan Metro station. Inaugurated by Shri Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, the ex-CM of West Bengal and dedicated to the people of Calcutta by the Calcutta police and Tata corporation, Elliot park is indeed worthy of being hailed as a worthy place to share a moment of relief with your friends and family during the weekends.

The lake is especially dazzling, under a cloudy sky

One thing that especially surprised me is how surprisingly clean the entire park is, compared to the neighbouring Gorer Math. There's not the least of dirt anywhere, and water of the central lake is especially clean. A vast variety of flowers and plants decorate the view, which are regularly watered and properly taken care of by the park authorities.

The park itself is a long strip along the edge of the Gorer Math, extending under the high-rising towers of Tata Steel and J.K centre. One of the best of its kind here in Calcutta, Elliot is also free to enter for anyone, and remains open till 5 PM in the afternoon.

In addition to multi-coloured flora dictating and attracting the view alike, I was amazed to find a couple of swans and ducks peacefully sharing the place with tourists and visitors. Birds of many kinds also regularly perch on green trees, adding to the splendour of the place even more. The eastern portion of the park is a traditional place to try your hands on photography skills, especially vegetation photography. Bottle-green leaves form a smooth, silky cover over the reddish ground, and one should be especially careful when running, if at all, I mean. Green leaves and canopies make the sky appear leafy, and there are just so many trees everywhere. Spotting a squirrel isn't that hard, although capturing one in your camera is, as I discovered yesterday.

My newly made friends :)

The authority is very co-operative, and is especially known for inviting tourists inside, definitely free of charge (the park is a gift to Calcutta, as I already mentioned). And most certainly, the degree of organized management is superb. Weeds are regularly removed the automated water-spray can get you wet you if you get too close to the plants. Lovers can be seen sitting in pairs on the green benches, often recollecting moments of their love. I was a bit frowned upon when I took shots of the surrounding flora and fauna, taking into consideration that some might have felt it to be a sort of intrusion into their moments of privacy. But what I most certainly dislike is the extreme air of openness in between lovers. After all, it isn't the west, and we Indians still have a sense of our values. Love is certainly beautiful, but there's no need to physically display it in front of families visiting the park. Hugging and kissing is almost everywhere. This produces rather awkward moments when you feel like you shouldn't be there at that time.

The multi-coloured flora of the region really contribute
to its splendour.

The birds living in the area are surprisingly familiar with our humane ways, and are especially eager to give us a good shot. A swan even attempted to give me a 'pose', if I may use the term rather informally. Dustbins are designed in form of figures of animals like the kangaroos, rhinos etc and are distributed evenly all over the place. Patches of land have been cleared off for people to sit on, those who prefer to sit on the ground anyway. 

Rectangular paths divide the park roughly into a central section and some border sections. Especially worthy of mention are the nicely built gates, all brown or scarlet, that welcome us to the various parts of the park. On a cloudy day there is usually a lot of wind, and sand can hurt your eyes if you don't have your glasses 'on'. So, be sure to take some sort of precaution against this. One can easily catch beautiful glimpses of local tourist attractions such as the St. Paul's Cathedral (the Calcutta Cathedral, more commonly), the Victoria Memorial and even the Second Hoogly Bridge (Vidyasagar Setu). The gigantic buildings of Tata Steel, Metro shopping mall and J.K centre usually dominate the other side of the skyline. Yesterday was especially cloudy, and I did enjoy shooting a couple of low-light photos, but  I would prefer had I been able to utilize the magic of what photographers call the 'golden hour'. That would be especially magical, faint, golden light of the sun bathing the greenery. 

The expanse of Tata Steel and other towers overlooking the park

You can sit on any of the benches overlooking the central lake. It is a very good place to try composing some poetry, or even writing a collection of memoirs. I usually take advantage of the full power of my smartphone everywhere, and writing apps especially come to my aid when in these types of situations. Taking in a breathe of cool, refreshing air enveloping the greeneries, one can easily get immersed deep into philosophy while staring at the reflection of the afternoon sky cast in the lake. An atmosphere of serenity hovers over the entire place, and it is indeed a beautiful region to re-discover our own latent creativity.

The dazzlingly beautiful Elliot park continues to be a place whether one can witness a simultaneous blend of photography, art, painting, music, love, memories and poetry. Dominating the western edge of the Calcutta Maidan, Elliot continues to present us all with much-needed moments of respite from the constant din and materialism of the thriving city everywhere. It is indeed a must-visit for any tourist willing to explore the heart of Calcutta.

How to get there: The Elliot Park is to the east of the Victoria Memorial, and is just next to the Indira Uddyan and Birla Planetarium. Bus routes connect it to almost all nearby places, but an even quicker way to get there is the Kolkata Metro, the subway train system similar to London's Tube network (merely stating facts, but this might be helpful for first-time visitors from other countries). Just take the metro anywhere and get to Maidan station, get off there and walk outside through the first exit to the right. Walk straight right, towards Queen's way and you'll reach the white gates of the Elliot.