The bridge has no nuts and bolts, the whole structure is riveted. 26,500 tons of steel went into the making of it, of which 23,000 tons of high-tensile alloy steel, known as Tiscrom, was supplied by Tata Steel, an Indian company
I have to say, the Hooghly River is filthy and smelly and it was amazing to see so many people bathing and washing clothes on the Ghats either side of the river. Varanasi is pristine by comparison!
For a bit of fun, and to get a better view of the bridge, we bought return ferry crossing tickets. They cost about 3 pence per person each way!
This is the view as we approached the Howrah side of the river
My attempt at an 'artistic' shot ...
Ferry going in the other direction
The red brick building is Howrah railway station, the oldest and largest railway complex in India with 23 platforms and 26 tracks.
We hadn't intended to get the ferry today - it just happened by chance really and once we worked out how close we were to the station we thought we'd pop in and have a quick look around. We managed to get past the security police and just wandered onto the concourse. It was actually a bit disappointing - given its age and importance we expected something grander but its just a plain, functioning railway station. We did grab a cup of chai though and took a cool break away from the heat
Kolkata Flower Market is located in Mullick Ghat near the southeast end of Howrah Bridge. We'd been advised to get there before 7am to watch the workers walking over the bridge carrying fresh flowers on their heads as they arrive to set up stalls for the day.
We decided against a 'crack of dawn' start and set out after breakfast so we got there just after 8am and the place was bustling. Its a huge wholesale market and the most common flowers are yellow and orange marigolds but there are also roses and exotic flowers and leaves on sale. Many of the workers live in shacks in lanes behind the market stalls so there are plenty of food and drink stalls around to serve their needs.
There were still plenty of porters carrying flowers over the bridge to the market below but obviously most of them had set up shop by the time we arrived
Its primarily a wholesale market so flowers/leaves are sold by the kilo but we also saw plenty of floral displays for sale
There is a man under there somewhere!
Its all very labour intensive, these guys are stringing flowers onto thread to make garland offerings
Break time
When we tried to leave the market we were thwarted as the barriers were down so we couldn't cross the railway track. We were the only ones who stayed put I think, everyone else just climbed over or under the barriers and crossed the tracks anyway.
Eventually a train did come through but as you can see by the photos, people weren't unduly worried about being on the wrong side of the barrier
and once it had gone through, they weren't waiting for the barriers to be lifted .... they just climbed over/under and went on their way
Crossing the railway lines (with part of the Howrah Bridge in the background)
Fascinating view of life. The flowers do look quite beautiful and I think “the man under there somewhere” may well be Cousin It from the Addams Family!
ReplyDeleteI'd forgotten about Cousin It! Think you could be right.
ReplyDelete