Rising above chaotic Esplanade bus station, the 1828 Sahid Minar is a 48m-tall round-topped obelisk originally celebrating an 1814 British military victory over Nepal. Across one of Kolkata’s busiest junctions, the striking Metropolitan Building was originally a colonial-era department store. Left derelict for years, a long overdue 2009 restoration saw its corner domes regilded. A block north, the fanciful Tippu Sultan’s Mosque hides almost invisibly behind street stalls.
