This memorial, complete with a statue of Queen/Empress Victoria at the
front very similar to the one outside Buckingham Palace in London, contains
an excellent museum of Bengali and East India Company history, together with
paintings and other artefacts commemorating the former imperial links between
India and Britain.
An interesting historic aside - the statue of Edward VII in the grounds of
the memorial, with the latin inscription Rex Imperatus.
Howrah Bridge, built in the 1930s, links Calcutta on the East Bank with Howrah
and its principal railway station for connection to most of the rest of India
on the West Bank. There was concern before construction that there would be
serious adverse affects on the flow of the river, hence the design involving
no piers between the river banks. The bridge is reputed to be one of the
busiest in the world.
The buses and particularly the trams in Calcutta are generally very old and
dilapidated, but the city now boasts a new North-South underground metro line
built to modern standards, which is clean and efficient, and by far the best way
to travel any distance in the city. There are plans to build further lines,
finance permitting.
