Portal:West Bengal/Selected pictures
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[edit] Selected pictures
This page highlights images and diagrams that we find beautiful, shocking, impressive and informational. It is the visual equivalent to Selected articles and, as such, even more subjective.
If you wish to add specific images to this page, please nominate it on Portal:West Bengal/Selected picture candidates. Images listed here should be either in the public domain or covered by a free license.
[edit] Usage
The layout design for these subpages is at Portal:West Bengal/Selected pictures/Layout.
- Add a new selected picture to the next available subpage.
- Update "max=" to new total for its {{Random portal component}} on the main page.
[edit] Selected pictures list
Portal:West Bengal/Selected pictures/1
The Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur is an autonomous engineering and technology-oriented institute of higher education established by the Government of India. IIT Kharagpur was the first of the seven IITs, established in 1951. The Main Building of IIT Kharagpur (pictured) houses most of the administrative offices of the institute, and also has the Central Library, an auditorium, and lecture halls. The tower of the Main Building has a Steel tank with 10,000 gallons of water capacity for emergency supply needs.
Portal:West Bengal/Selected pictures/2
A Murti (representation) of Durga, shown riding her lion and attacking the demon Mahishasura.
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The Indian Museum, founded by Nathaniel Wallich in 1814, is located in Kolkata. Occuping a mansion, the museum features an Egyptian mummy, the Buddhist stupa from Bharhut, the Buddha's ashes, the Ashoka pillar, fossil skeletons of prehistoric, and a collection of meteorites. It also houses antiques, armour, and ormanents.
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The Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is a subspecies of tiger found in grasslands, subtropical and tropical rainforests, scrub forests, wet and dry deciduous forests and mangroves. Its fur is orange-brown with black stripes. It is the national animal of both India and Bangladesh.
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The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, affectionately nicknamed the "Toy Train," is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow-gauge railway from Siliguri to Darjeeling run by the Indian Railways. It was built between 1879 and 1881 and is about 86 km long. Since 1999 the train has been a World Heritage Site as listed by UNESCO.
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Rickshaws are most commonly found in Kolkata than anywhere else. The large majority of rickshaw pullers rent their rickshaws for a few dollars per shift. They live cheaply in hostels, trying to save money to send home.
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The Marble Palace is a palatial mansion located in North Kolkata. It was built by Raja Rajendra Mullick in 1835 and contains many beautiful Western sculptures, pieces of Victorian furniture, and paintings by European and Indian artists. Large chandeliers, clocks, and busts of kings and queens decorate the hallways of the palace. It is famous for its marble walls and floors, antiques, paintings by Rubens, curios, marble statues, floor to ceiling mirrors and collection of rare birds.
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St. Paul's Cathedral stands beside Victoria Memorial, Nandan - Rabindra Sadan theatre complex, and the Birla Planetarium in Kolkata. It was completed in 1847 after being in construction for 8 years. The cathedral was constructed in Gothic style with stained glass windows and two frescoes in Florentine Renaissance style. A military engineer designed the cathedral, modeling the tower and spire upon the Norwich Cathedral. The tower was rebuilt along the lines of the Canterbury Cathedral following an earthquake in 1934. The Bishop's House across the street is also a very impressive piece of architecture. St. Paul’s was conscerated in 1874.
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These flags, containing Buddhism texts to ward off evil spirits, are situated around a temple in Darjeeling.
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This 1907 map of Eastern Bengal clearly shows the spread of Bengali culture towards the east, encompassing modern Bangladesh, Assam, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. Today's West Bengal lies to the west of this region, forming the eastern bottleneck of India, stretching from the Himalayas in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south. The state has a total area of 88,752 km². The Darjeeling Himalayan hill region in the northern extreme of the state belongs to the eastern Himalaya. This region contains Sandakfu (3,636 m) — the highest peak of the state. The narrow Terai region separates this region from the plains, which in turn transitions into the Ganges delta towards the south. The Rarh region intervenes between the Ganges delta in the east and the western plateau and high lands. A small coastal region is on the extreme south, while the Sundarbans mangrove forests form a remarkable geographical landmark at the Ganges delta.
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Hangseshwari temple is a located in Banshberia, Hooghly. This template is dedicated to Goddes Kali. The Hangseshwari temple has a distinctive style of architecture — different from the usual pattern present in this area. The structure of the temples is the representation of Tantrik Satchakrabhed.
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The North Gate of Raj Bhavan in Kolkata. In Bengali, Raj Bhavan means Government House. The structure was built in 1803. Once the residence of the governor-general, the palatial house is now the residence of the state's governor.
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Rush hour in front of Trinca's Bar and Restaurant on Park Street, Kolkata. The yellow metered cabs are mostly Hindustan Ambassadors. The all-yellow ones have a Bengal permit and the black-yellow ones have a Kolkata city permit. The meters, though digital, are generally out-of-date and there is a conversion chart to refer to while converting the meter-reading to the actual fare.
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Monsoon clouds over Howrah Bridge, also known as Rabindra Setu, a bridge that spans over the Hoogli River in West Bengal, India. It is named the Howrah Bridge because it links the city of Howrah to its twin city Kolkata (Calcutta). The bridge is one of three on the Hoogli and is a famous symbol of Kolkata and West Bengal.
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Baul singers at Santiniketan during colour festival Holi. Bauls are a group of mystic minstrels from Bengal, which comprises Bangladesh and West Bengal. Bauls constitute both a syncretic religious sect and a musical tradition used as a vehicle to express Baul thought. They can be often identified by their distinctive clothes and musical instruments, like the ektara. Though Bauls comprise only a small fraction of the Bengali population, their influence on the culture of Bengal is considerable. In 2005, the Baul tradition was included in the list of "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO.
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This picture shows Darjeeling and Kanchenjunga seen from Tiger Hill. Kangchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world (after Mount Everest and K2) with an altitude of 8,586 metres, is the highest mountain in India.
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The Ananta Basudeba temple is a temple of Lord Krishna in the Hangseshwari temple complex in Banshberia, in the Hooghly District. This temple is known for the terra cotta works (pictured) on its walls.
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This a bird's eye view of the flower market in Mullikghat, located just beside the Howrah Bridge.
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This illustration of the Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) was featured in Brehms Tierleben (Brehm's Life of Animals), a reference book by Alfred Edmund Brehm first published in the 1860s. The drawing was done by Gustav Mützel, a German artist famous for his animal paintings.
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A view of the Teesta River valley near Kalimpong. A variety of vegetation can be seen along this route. At lower elevations, tropical deciduous trees and shrubs that bathe the hills in a rich green hue. Alpine vegetation is seen at the upper altitudes. The river is flanked by glistening white sand, which is used by the construction industry in the region. Large boulders in and around the waters make the river ideal for rafting enthusiasts.
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Once a boarding house for British settlers, Silver Oaks is now a hill resort in Kalimpong.
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Kalimpong is a hill station nestled in the Shiwalik Hills. It is located at at an average elevation of 1,247 m (4,100 feet). The town is the headquarters of the Kalimpong subdivision, a part of the district of Darjeeling. Kalimpong is known for its many educational institution, forward base, Buddhist monasteries, and flower market.
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The area around Kalimpong lies in the Eastern Himalayas, which is classified as an ecological hotspot. Acacia is the most commonly found specie at lower altitudes, while cinnamon, ficus, bamboo, cacti and cardamom, are found in the hillsides. The forests found at higher altitudes are made up of pine trees and other evergreen alpine vegetation. Seven species of rhododendrons are found in the region east of Kalimpong. The temperate deciduous forests include oak, birch, maple and alder. Three hundred species of orchid are found around Kalimpong, and poinsettia and sunflower are some of the wild species that line the roads of the town.
