Journey by Boat

                             A journey by boat in the river Hooghly is very pleasant. In some respects it is more pleasant than a train journey. So I had desire to make such a journey. I told some of my classmates about my plan. They also agreed to my proposal. Thus, one Sunday we resolved to go to the Botanical Gardens at Shibpur. We requested our English teacher to accompany us and be our guide. He consented very kindly. We all met at his house at noon. Then we started for the Chandpal Ghat near High Court. We reached the Ghat by tram.

                       It was the month of July. The river was full to the brim. We hired a boat. We were eight in number. We all knew how to swim. So there was no fear to go by boat. At half past one, we left the Chandpal Ghat. The current was in our favour, but the wind was against us. There were one helmsman and two oarsmen. They began to row the boat. Our boat began to go towards the south-west. When we were in the middle of the river, we saw many beautiful sights on both sides of the river. We saw many boats and steamers plying to and fro on the river. We saw many ships. They were lying at anchor. We saw the Howrah Bridge (Rabindra Setu) at some distance. A stream of people was seen moving along the bridge. We could see the rows of trees and the Fort on the eastern bank.

On the western bank we saw many mills. Ere long our boat reached the Shibpur Ghat. One of my friends thought that as we reached the Shibpur Ghat, the Botanical Gardens was not far off. But it is not so. I had an occasion to go to the Botanical Gardens once before. So I told him that it was far off from that place. The current was very strong. Our boat began to go very quickly. Soon we passed Shalimar. From here, the sight of Calcutta looked very beautiful. We could also see the beautiful buildings of the Head Office of the South-Eastern Railway at Garden Reach and many other sights. The sun was shining very brightly. So we were inside the cabin of the boat. But we could see everything through the windows. At about three the Botanical Gardens came in sight. We also saw the Engineering College at Shibpur. Within a short time we reached the Botanical Gardens.

On reaching there we were first of all to see the famous banyan tree. I have never seen such a big and old tree elsewhere. Then we saw many kinds of trees. We do not know the names of all of them. There are many beautiful groves in the Garden. Now and then we took rest there. It is a nice place for holding picnics. Many visitors come here for that purpose. When we finished seeing everything we went to visit the Engineering College. It is very close to the Gardens. We saw the college buildings, the workshop and the hostel Then we returned to the Gardens. We felt hungry and thirsty. We had sweets and drinking water with us. We made the best use of them.