Town Hall, Kolkata

Picture: collected

However, later on it has been using as a museum where people feel enthusiastic to visit repeatedly. It is built according to the Roman Doric style and the foundation was laid by the then governor general of British India, Lord Minto. The town hall can also be considered an amalgamation of neoclassical and Palladian Styles. It is a two stories building covering an area of about twelve thousands square meters. The entrance is behind the building through which carriages come inside. The fund for raising the building up was collected from a lottery. As mentioned earlier, it was used for social gatherings once but now it hosts Kolkata Panorama through video exhibitions,preseting working models and so on.

Apart from this, visitors feel eagerly interested because there is a library in the hall. People can easily visit the ground floor and enjoy seeing the large size portrait paintings. But there are some restrictions visiting the upper storey. Applications need to be made for the accession of upper one. However, visit to a historical place has always been a matter of fascination to the visitors. This majestic Town Hall is a an important heritage building in the city of Kolkata. The building is built in such a way that its artistic structure witnesses the historical gatherings in between the walls. Visitors get more charmed with this oldest but newly renovated finest Hall because there is a museum in it. Besides, photo shooting, holding of meetings and government seminars are common happenings here. Hanging and checking out the old cinema posters with lots of emotions can give a visitor a majestic feeling. Although, initially it was used for only administrative and governmental holdings, later it got shifted for open public visitings.

A titular amount of ticket can allow you to know about a well preserved history and a bundle of experiences. Normally RS. 10 for person and in holidays it increases to RS.15. Specifically, the Hall is located in BBD Bagh on Esplanade Row and it takes several alternative modes to reach there including bus,metro,tram,ferry and cab. Local buses are comparatively well known mode and take anyone to the Town Hall from any corner of the city. The very nearest tram stops are Hastings and Esplanade Tram Depot and tram rides obviously let you feel old vibes of Kolkata. For ferry rides, Babughat ferry station is the nearest. And finally, if you want to have a relaxed, comfortable ride cab is the most available one. Local or app cabs can help you reaching there.

The Town Hall allow visitors having accesses to several other places around. BBD Bagh is one of the most known richest area around. Apart from this, ST John Church, Eden Gardens, Indian Museum, New Market are the notable ones. The Eden Gardens is known as the Mecca of Indian Cricket, the oldest cricket Stadium in India. These places are historically significant as well as hold the glamour of Indian glorious past. It is suggested for the tourists to explore the places of Kolkata mostly in autumn and winter seasons in order to experience plethora of enticing festivals with the pleasant weather. But being a traditional royal building, this place does not need to be visited in any particular time.

Visitors can come on their vacation in any time of the year. Once this richly magnificent building got almost sunk into oblivion but later was revived with the help of timely intervention of ASI and Calcutta High Court and then was turned into its former glory with newly vibes. Town Hall is a place that certainly gives one the assurance of having a day full of fun and seeking knowledge. The beauty and magnificence of the museum along with the treasures of library and street food near Esplanade can contribute to make a day memorable.

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Writer: Mariha Akter 

(Information collected)