Kali Temple at Kalighat

Despite industrialization and commercial activity that has given Calcutta a new look, the Kali temple of Kalighat remains unchanged, attracting a larger  number of pilgrims and visitors every day, thoughout the year. According to legend, the Kali temple commemorates the place where the right toe of Goddess of Shakti fell when Lord Shiva was carrying her burnt remains to Kailash, his abode in heaven. Kalighat is one of the 51 'pithas' (sanctuary), where parts of her body fell, and is especially sacred to followers of Shakti. In the santuary, approached through a long corridor, is an idol of goddess Kali - the angry incarnation of the goddess of power, Shakti.

Visitors to the temple receive as 'prasad' (blessing) a vermillion paste, the symbol of Kali, to wear on their foreheads as a tilak.

 Birla Mandir

Located on Ashutosh Chowdhury Avenue, is the latest addition to the places of interest in Calcutta. Built over twenty-two years of painstaking labour, it is an all-marble construction with exquisite Rajasthani engravings. Jain Temple - The Sheethalnathji Jain Temple, dedicated to the 10th of the 24 Jain tirthankaras, was built in 1867. It is a magnificent specimen of Indian art. The entrance to the temple is flanked by a pair of massive pillars, and gives way to to an altar on which images of Anand Swami and Gatan Swami guard the main deity, Sheethalnathji. A great amount of skill and patience has gone into assembling thousands of pieces of glass and stone into intricate patterns on the walls of the temple. The white marble idol of Sheethalnathji is adorned with a gold necklace, a diamond on the forehead and silver on the feet.

 The Armenian Church

The oldest Extant Church in Calcutta, it was originally designed as a wooden structure by an Armenian architect in the early 18th century, which was replaced fifty-five years later with a building of brick and mortar. Remnants of the Armenian Cemetary, on whose site the church was built, can still be seen. The interior of the church is adorned with marble. A stairway leads to an overhead gallery whose walls are replete with mural tablets. The altar has a Cross, the Gospels and 12 candlesticks, symbolizing Christ and his Apostles. Also adorning the altar are three oil paintings by the English artist, A E Harris, which portray 'The Holy Trinity', 'The Last Supper' and 'The Enshrouding of Our Lord'.

The Nahoda Mosque

The foundation stone for the mosque was laid in 1926 by a small community known as the Kutchi Memons and stands to the north of Dalhousie Square. The structure is a splendid specimen of Indo-Saracenic architecture, reminiscent of Akbar's tomb in Sikandra, near Agra. The large prayer hall can accommodate more than ten thousand devotees at a time. A dominant dome is seen between two minarets of a height of 50m each, surrounded by many smaller minarets about 30m in height, crowned by cupolas. Marble is used lavishly for the interiors, while red sandstone adorns the arches of the big gateways.