On the east banks of the meandering Hooghly River, you can find the centre of Kolkata, the famous Maidan, a huge expanse of parkland where most of the city's main attractions can be found within walking distance of each other, and a pleasant place in its own right where you can watch games of cricket being played by men in white in the long afternoons, while in the morning and early evening, you're more likely to hear chants of "OM" as yogis meditate and contort, rather than the thwack of leather on willow.
The Maidan is the remains of the jungle that once covered the area, and has been cleared of trees to make an open space, where Fort Williams was built, and rebuilt as the administrative centre of the city, and is also home to the Eden Gardens Cricket ground, and also the MP Birla Planetarium, which is the only place in this brightly lit polluted city where you can actually see the stars.
