Taken on July 3, 2016 in Kolkata
This square in Kolkata was previously named Dalhousie square for the British Governor General of that name. B.B.D. is short for Benoy-Badal-Dinesh, three gunmen who assassinated the Inspector General of Prisons in a gunfight in a prominent building nearby (i.e. the Writers’ Building.) All three of the men committed suicide rather than be captured (Badal via Potassium Cyanide and the others by self-inflicted gunshot wound.)
Taken on July 2, 2016 in Kolkata; Taken by Lilla Gourley
Taken in Kolkata on July 4, 2016
Taken on July 2, 2016 in Kolkata
Interestingly, while this monument looks like the minaret of a mosque (and combines elements of Egyptian, Syrian, and Turkish architecture) it was originally a memorial to the commander of the British East India Company, Sir David Ochterlony. Ochterlony was instrumental in the defense of Delhi in 1804 against Marathas and a British victory in the Anglo-Nepalese war.
In 1969, it was re-purposed to serve as a monument for those who died in the Indian independence movement. The current name, Shahid Minar (or Shaheed Minar) means “martyrs’ monument.”
The Shahid Minar dates to 1828 and sits in the north of the Maidan, Kolkata’s central park.
Taken on July 3, 2016 in Kolkata
Above: Is This Racist?
Below: Orgasmic Dolphin
Taken on July 2, 2016 in Kolkata (in the Maidan–Kolkata’s [Calcutta’s] main park)
Taken on July 3, 2016 in Kolkata
Tiger Riding for Beginners 