The Calcutta Photo Tours Blog

It was Independence Day! 15th August 2012. The country had been Independent for 65 years!  It meant different things to different people. Since my childhood, Independence Day was special in it's own ways. My earliest memories of the day meant getting a chance to hoist my very own hand-made paper flag, which used to be pasted around a stick with fevicol. Of course the process would not been complete without the preparation that went into the making of that flag the day before. It was like my little being was paying homage to something that was so important. Independence Day! With time, the paper flag turned into a cloth one... and a little bit of more money turned into the fine silky one! THAT was special! With time I lost the motivation to hoist one on my roof... lost respect for the day? No! Not really! Lost innocence, perhaps! There was another tradition that really went hand in had with Independence Day celebrations - yeah besides the "holiday", the patriotic s...

It is that time of the year when Kumartuli is in a phase of heightened activity... Everything seems to be moving faster... Work is on full swing for the Pujos which are fast approaching. The straw work is mostly over, the basic structure is ready, and the models of clay and mud are finally getting an identity... a face! The hands which are moulding these faces perform nearly an act of worship... one is creating God. Measured moves - a result of years of doing the same thing each year... What a feeling just to be in the presence of these artisans! Wow! It is really an amazing time for one to go photographing here. Just so much to shoot. And then there are times when one notices something funny... something that was not in the scheme of things. Like this artisan wearing an "Enter The Dragon" tee with the "Demon" drying itself out in the sun. Come, lets explore this wonderful little world of Kumartuli. For more details about the vario...

Some times it does not matter what camera you are using... I really strongly believe in getting the picture... yes, the picture might not be "accepted" in a lot of places... but as an artist, as someone who likes photography and the pure joy of "creating" an image the mega pixels or the "D" before or after a few numbers really do not make a difference. If I had let this moment go by, I would have  let this moment go by. As simple as that... But here I was out to get some provisions and I saw this cycle stocked up all the way with these plastic crates stacked one on top of the other. It was such a long stack that the cycle just seemed to be there as a formality... And all I had was my phone - I must admit Instagram is making me use my phone camera much much more - so I did not waste a moment and here is the result. I just let someone pass by the stack.. just to give an idea of how tall this  really was! Do follow us on our Facebook page and...

A plaid history of over three-hundred years makes Calcutta a unique criss-cross of rich visuals, diverse smells, and a patchwork of multi-cultural streaks. The city that was home to a Nobel laureate - Rabindranath Tagore, to a great philosopher - Swami Vivekananda, and where the likes of Amartya Sen, the great Indian economist, grew up, was also India’s first capital city and is presently one of the most prominent metro cities of India, offering a scintillating taste of cosmopolitan culture. If architecture mesmerises you, consider immersing in the dramatic British colonial impressions etched dearly on the city’s concrete like the iconic Victoria Memorial. Or explore the fluid beauty of Paresnath Jain Temple, the historical remnants of the amazing building built during the 1800s at Dalhousie Square. Appreciate and shoot the construction aesthetics of St. Paul’s Cathedral which stand out for being bewitching feasts to the architectural eye. A few ancient buildings awaiting an ...

A vivid city rendered in elegantly striking contrasts, Calcutta is a treat to the travelling soul and a fresh canvas to photographer’s eye. ‘Calcutta Photo Tours’ is a unique travel company that has been formed with the spirit of celebrating the variegated flavours of a centuries old city. We are here to bring out the city before you as never before, in all its tastes and colours, striking all chords of life that churns up in the city. We believe that the beauty of Calcutta lies in its complexity that exudes unforgettable warmth and a raw charm, which can be best appreciated by a trained eye. This city is more prone to the lens than most people believe it to be, and so we are here to share with you ‘ the Calcutta experience’, to enable you to be more responsive towards the powerhouse of emotions that Calcutta is. So, what makes us different from any ordinary travel company? We are here to offer you a combination of photography training and a chance to explore th...

In Calcutta people make a living out of anything. And one such profession which made its appearance with the advent of buses, and bus conductors needing change, were these Change-Wallahs… They would be found sitting on the streets – specially near the main bus terminus with stacks of change all neatly counted for anyone who could wave a wad of notes towards them and get change in exchange… ofcourse after a small percentage was duly deducted for all the labour they put in. This man in the picture has been doing it for the last 16 years and the day I took this picture he said, he doesn’t feel like doing it anymore… says he is tired and the monotony of the whole process has set in…. every day reaching his spot as early as 7 am with mini sacks of coins and then sorting them up and making these tidy little stacks and after maybe an hour of hard work he would be ready to conduct business… now he doesn’t feel like doing it… Like a lot of things lost since th...