Gorer math (also known as Maidan) is a vast open ground from Kolkata, India. Heard about this place from numerous Bangla writings and cinemas from West Bengal. Since then this place was in my bucket list. The famous Eden gardens stadium, Victoria Memorial, Race course, etc all are the part of this Gorer math.
After the decisive win by the British East India, the army decided to established the fort William. During that time they have cleaned the jungle from this area and created this vast Maidan. Since then the area is the property of Indian army. Later many other infrastructures have been developed here. That forced the great field to shrink in a smaller one. But the remaining of original one is still a very big one with plenty of open air and greens. This place is known as the lungs of Kolkata for the clean air.
In modern days there are plenty of time passing options in Kolkata (starting from a restaurant to amusement parks and so on). But once upon a time those things were only for the rich. That’s why people used to visit this Gorer Math during some weekend or during a nice afternoon. Ladies made their demand to their boyfriends, children had demand to their parents about taking them to the Gorer math. Street food sellers were selling fancy foods (i.e. Bhel puri, Pani puri, chanachur, etc), and everyone’s demand was to taste those before returning back to home.
I’ve reached at Gorer math after visiting the Indian museum. It was only a few minutes of walking distance from there. I’ve seen a group of guys were flying their kites. Seen plenty of goats were grazing over the lash green field. There were also few random horses as well. Lot of people were playing either football or cricket in different groups. If you want to walk around the whole place then it would take more than several hours. I’ve walked a good portion around within my two days of visit.
From the field you can see the top of the Victoria memorial. You can also observe the top the nearby Vidyasagar bridge. There were few hawkers around who were selling Bhel puri, Ice cream, etc. I’ve tasted the Bhel puri from there and it was the first time for me to taste it. But I didn’t like the taste of it. They’ve put something red colored stuff over it (probably that was what I didn’t like). I was expecting that thing to be hot and spice, rather ended up with a sweetish thing!
I’ve seen plenty of horse carts around the Gorer Math, more specifically at the road near the Victoria memorial. It would be a nice idea to use those things to move quickly around the roads. For my case it was getting darker due to the cloud. So I’ve decided to be inside the Victoria memorial during the rain.
People from Kolkata often use the phrase “Gorer Math” to mean something is empty. For example “My wallet is Gorer Math“.
Where to stay in Kolkata:
Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal. That’s why you’d find plenty of high or low quality hotels. And most of the hotels are available to book through online. I’ve stayed in a cheap hotel (probably named Hotel oriental, and rent 1000 rupees). You can find list of hotels from Kolkata from this link. Or look for available deals in Kolkata from below.
Gorer math / Garer Math
Kolkata,
West Bengal,
India,
Gps Coordinate (22°32’59.7″N, 88°20’39.5″E).
This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog https://alonelytraveler.com/
Friday, 18 September 2015
