All great cities have their architectural symbols, which over time become synonymous with the city itself. So, New York has its Statue of Liberty, Paris has the Eiffel Tower, which incidentally was considered a monstrosity by many people in Paris, at the time of its construction, but is today one of the most famous structures of the modern world. Then there are monuments which become synonymous with the country itself. So, Taj Mahal is easily the first thing which comes to mind, when people think of India. Or, if you are familiar with Delhi, it would probably be the Qutub Minar.
Similarly, if we talk about Calcutta, there are 2 structures which people usually associate with the city. One is Victoria Memorial. And, the other has to be the Howrah Bridge.
Howrah Bridge was built in 1943, to replace the existing pontoon bridge, on the river Hooghly, to connect the two cities, Kolkata and Howrah.
It is called Rabindra Setu, named after the great Bengali poet and first Asian Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore. But, for all practical purposes, we Calcuttans call it, Howrah Bridge.
I have recently acquired an ultra wide-angle lens, and was really itching to use it. And what better way to use it, than to capture the Howrah bridge on a cold, foggy morning, before sunrise.
So, I woke up at around 4:30 am on a Saturday morning and drove down to capture some moments of the early morning activity at Jagannath Ghat, which is next to the Howrah Bridge.
Tell me about the landmark which, you feel, is synonymous with your city.
The last one is really nice!
Answer to your question in this post: Not a bridge but …cacau, chocolat.
Amsterdam is the largest cocoa harbour in the world did you know?
If you have time check out this link ( it’s also in English) and It’s really good!
Cheers Happy face
http://www.dechocolaraaktop.nl/english.html
Thank you so much Belinda, for pointing out which you liked the best! Helps me figure out what I am doing correct, and which needs improvement! And I had no idea about the link between Amsterdam and Cocoa…and the link was really superb!! Thank you for sharing this information! 🙂
Love the pictures… and dearly miss my hometown.. but not for long! 🙂 It brought back a lot of fond memories! I might still drop a few coins from the bridge when I next go on it!
Thank you Toni Di! Good to know that you will be in town soon! And definitely make it a point to drop coins from the bridge! 🙂
The Howrah Bridge was made for the wide-angle lens! 😀 Lovely photos!! You must one day also capture the big flower market which is not far from the bridge (I think!)
Thanks a lot Snowflake!!! 🙂 And yes, you are so right! Howrah bridge and wide angle lenses are made for each other! 🙂 And the flower market is indeed next to the bridge…I had gone their once…will have make another trip! 🙂
I like the first and the last take best, but they are all sooooo good. That fog really added to the whole mystery of the structure, making the connection more uncertain and mysterious. A landmark of my town (which is Zagreb – the capital of Croatia) is the cathedral 😀 http://bopaula.wordpress.com/2013/11/24/towers/ . Btw I have several pics of Eiffel tower on my blog 😀
Thank you Paula, for taking the trouble to point out the ones you liked more! 🙂 I love capturing the fog here in Calcutta…it adds drama to mundane stuff…perfect for a someone who loves drama! 🙂
BRILLIANT!
I fucking love the black and white pictures, but then I was totally breathtaken by the last one.
So, Seattle…famous icon is the Space Needle and the whole skyline with Mt. Rainier in the background. http://latefor.deviantart.com/art/Seattle-Skyline-with-Mount-Rainier-272560868
But as a native, I really miss the skyline with the Kingdome (indoor sports arena).
You love photography, you’d love it here, so many beautiful things to see.
Haha…thank you so much!!! 🙂 And i loved the shot of the Seattle skyline…its awesome…maybe someday, I will get to see it in person! 🙂
LOVE it! So eerie and haunting!
Thank you Cupitonians( my simple brain finds it so tough to pronounce your name 😛 )…Howrah Bridge is so easy to capture…its beauty is such…
It looks like the setting of Sweeny Todd in one of those pictures. You can call me “A”.
Hahaha…Ms. A..i also know the 3 letters which follow 😀 And no, I have not been stalking you in cyber space… 😛 I just was trying to compliment you on your unusual blog name! 😀
😉 I don’t know what you’re talking about. My initial is A. Followed by MAZE, you know, for labyrinths. And since I’m such a doer. the last 3 are ING! 🙂 Cmmmaaannn Know-All!
HAHAHAHA!! Well well…Ms. A-MAZE-ING…i will tell you what happened tody…i was travelling back by the local train, when I saw this WP notification on my phone…and reading it..i suddenly started chuckling to myself…my co-passengers were looking at me, as if they had seen an AMAZING nutcase! 😀
Haha! Don’t you love it when that happens, when you’re laughing to yourself and suddenly realise there are many, many eyes on you? 😀
yeah…one of those few moments when I actually blush a slight shade of purple( my dark skin doesn’t turn pink) on bieng caught off-guard! 😀
Reblogged this on Oyia Brown.
Thanks a lot for the re-blog! 🙂
Love the pics. Was thinking about our visit last year to click some pics 🙂
haha…i have vivid memories of the tiff with the security guard at the Victoria Memorial! 😀
Congrats on the new lens. Great choice to get up early and shoot the bridge!
I would like to have an ultra wide lens myself.
Some day, some day…
Thank you, thank you! I would recommend it to you too…Tokina 11-16mm…I had gone to the shop looking for an 85mm, but they did not have it in stock, so ended up buying this instead! 😀
The big question is: how clean do you get when you clean yourself in dirty water?
hahaha…very valid point! and considering that a dip in the ganga is considered as holy…one that supposedly washes all your sins away…and seeing how dirty our rivers are..i am guessing lot of sinners around! 😀
I used that in a song lyric I wrote once: “but there is not enough water in, Ganga Mata to cleanse my sins, so it’s back on the road, Jaipur sunset at Amber Fort.”
See…we have more in common than we know!! 😀 Nice lyrics, BTW! 🙂
Thanks for acidentally reminding me about the song through your post. I haven’t played it for a long time! I’ll see if I can make a simple video through Lightroom and upload it to YouTube.
Here’s some more of the lyrics, with some Hindi in there:
Sleepers bus to Pushkar
met this beauty from Bangalore
larki larka se milta hai
Bhagwan ki madded se
but, ooh kya problem hai
shadi, shadi in December yeah
and who is the groom to be
well I’m telling you that it’s not me
’cause I’m afraid that there is no rani
for a simple street raja like me
Ali Baba had his chalis chori
all I have is this true story
about this handsome travelling prince
a mere shadow on your streets
with his destiny
akela marna akeli zindagi
Man…what can I say!! I am just too amazed!! How much time did you spend in India and when was this? You gotta come back…and make sure to have Calcutta in your itinerary! 🙂
I uploaded the song today, it’s better with music to the words:
http://cardinalguzman.wordpress.com/2014/02/20/travelling-india/
I spent 9 months in India and 3 in Nepal. It was back in 2005. I was planning to see Calcutta, but never made it there because I kind of stayed in Rishikesh for too long.
that’s a pretty long time!
Love your shots, I think especially the last one. Definitely have to try and see these for myself one day.
Oh, thank you so much! But unfortunately, you wont like the view if you were to visit the place…it’s very dirty…and only my willpower and love for photography makes me go to that place! 😦 But yes, the bridge is really beautiful! 🙂
You have to look for what you want to see?
Absolutely!! 🙂
I’ll have to keep my mental lens with me 🙂
Do come visit Calcutta though…it is definitely a city worth visiting! 🙂
I passed through briefly once. I thought I’d have twelve hours to look around for the day but unfortunately my train didn’t work out that way!
hmmm…Indian railways….can spoil the best laid plans!! well, I am one to always look at the brighter side, so…as they say…there’s always a next time! 🙂 🙂
It was all ok with me as long as I didn’t miss my flight! That part worked, anyway!
🙂
Nice. Waking at 4:30 am paid off. These pictures are magnificent.
Speaking of Paris and the Eiffel Tower, I prefer the view of Paris with the Eiffel Tower, than from. Well I’ve never climbed the Eiffel Tower though, but in general.
And Delhi, I’d say India Gate and Rashtapati Bhawan, more than the Qutub Minar.
There is no landmark building in the country I live in now, or anything worth talking about.
C’mon…what place do you stay in, which has nothing of interest!! I am sure it has something worth talking about, its just that you are not too happy being there! 🙂
Interesting point about Delhi..India Gate, I also agree is a landmark…not sure about Rashtrapati Bhavan, though! I think, Parliament House is more unique…
And yes, if you want to have photography as a hobby, you cannot afford to be a late riser! Glad that you liked the photos! 🙂 Ever been to Calcutta?
Yes, went to Calcutta on a study tour back in 1997, it was fun. We stayed at a hostel in Salt lake, and visited Mother Teresa’s home there. This was just after she passed away.
Salt Lake is nice enough!
Pingback: Reminiscing Victoria | Know-All's Box
The fog was captured beautifully 🙂
Thanks a lot! 🙂
Amazing pictures! Somehow they seem timeless with the people doing their stuff and the foggy bridge in the background.
Really nice set of images. I discovered you through a WordPress, and I’m glad I did. Looking forward to following along.
Thanks a lot! Glad that you liked my blog! 🙂 🙂
Pingback: Qutub Minar- Delhi’s Signature | Know-All's Box