Trip to Mohor Kunja (12/04/2015)

The 12th day of April 2015 will always remain a memorable day in my life. This is the first time I went for a meeting of a photography group of which I am a member. The venue of this trip was Mohor Kunja, lying just opposite to Rabindra Sadan and it was organized by the members and Admins of the photography group - Exposure - A Happy Family. The objective of this gathering was to hold a general meeting of the members of this group and discuss the long-term objectives of the group. Besides this, an executive committee was also elected. The meeting started at around 3:30 pm in the afternoon and broke up at around 6 pm. I had the chance to communicate with a number of experienced photographers who were mostly senior to me.

After this, we had some tea and refreshments and visited a photography exhibition organized by Light and Shadow at Gaganendra Shilpa Pradarshanshala or Kolkata Information Center. It was a memorable experience for me and I am looking forward to more such trips.

A brief history of Mohor Kunja

Mohor Kunja, erstwhile Citizen's Park, is a popular urban park in the city. It is situated just opposite Rabindra Sadan, on Cathedral Road. It was first opened for the public in 2005 and then its name was Citizen's Park. The name of the park was changed to Mohor Kunja in 2007 in order to pay tribute to Kanika Bandyopadhyay, eminent Rabindrasangeet singer, who is famous among all Bengalis as Mohordi. Mohor Kunja is a top tourist draw in Kolkata not only for its musical fountains or lush green lawns, but also for its outdoor stage for organizing various cultural programs. There is no entry fee for this park.

Photo album link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.954142464618112.1073741879.672990912733270&type=1 

Trip To Diamond Harbour on January 12, 2015

On Monday (12/01/2015) morning, I along with my friend Mr. Kunal Putatunda went to Diamond Harbour. We boarded the Diamond Harbour local from Baghajatin Railway Station at 9:15 am in the morning and reached there at around 10:40 am. Diamond Harbour is approximately 50 km from Baghajatin and a popular weekend tourist destination in the South 24 Parganas. However, the importance of Diamond Harbour as a tourist spot has waned over the years, especially due to emergence of other popular weekend spots like Mandarmoni, Bakkhali, Tajpur, Garchumuk and so on.

Lying in the southern suburbs of Kolkata, Diamond Harbour is a small town forming a part of the South 24 Parganas district. It is close to the Mohona or the meeting point of the Hooghly River with the Bay of Bengal. This place was previously called Hajipur and you will also see the remnants of a fort, probably set up by the Portuguese. Local people call it the fort of Chingrikhali or Purono Kella. There is also a lighthouse. If you want to see the 32 Kopat or lock-gate, you need to go for a launch ride from Diamond Harbour jetty to Kukrahati (Purba Medinipur). Diamond Harbour serves as the gateway to many other nearby places such as Kakdwip, Gangasagar, Bakkhali and Namkhana. There are many small hotels where you can stay for the day.

Now, back to our trip. Obviously, we had our cameras with us and they never remained silent. I carried my Canon PowerShot SX500 IS since it has a good zoom lens. Besides natural beauty and seaside shots, we also took snaps of two huge container ships. After capturing around 65-70 snaps, we ate lunch at a local hotel and boarded Diamond Harbour local at 2 pm. By 3:30 pm in the afternoon, we were back home.

Photo album link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.905286732837019.1073741874.672990912733270&type=3