Jalpaiguri:Many have splurged humongous sums for a glimpse of the Taj Mahal in Agra. A replica of the white-marble mausoleum has been installed at the Eco Park in New Town on the fringes of Kolkata.
But have you ever heard of an inverted Taj? That can be spotted in the Dooars Fun City of Upper Kolabari on the banks of the Diana River in the Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal.
One can board the Kanchenjungha Express from Sealdaha station to reach Banarhat, from where the fun city is a 10-kilometre road journey.
From Siliguri in North Bengal, trains from New Jalpaiguri station can be taken to reach Banarhat through Chalsa, Nagrakata Sulkapara More. From there one has to cross the Debpara Tea Estate to reach Upper Kolabari. The distance of Fun City from Siliguri is 90 kilometres which can easily be covered by a bus. Bagdogra is the nearest airport from where a 105-kilometre cab journey will take you to Fun City.
Inverted Houses in Fun City
Fun City already has invited houses, huge Hawaiian chappal, and a big comb which are quite popular among tourists. The new addition of the inverted Taj Mahal has aroused their curiosity to another level.
The flipped house in Dooars Fun City (ETV Bharat) "The Dooars Fun City in Kolabari is now a tourist destination. We try to add new items here like the inverted houses which are attracting several tourists. We were pondering over what could be added this year and the idea of the Taj Mahal in Agra suddenly struck. But we made it inverted," Sheikh Jiaur Rehman, who ideated the new entry, said.
On the positioning of the monument, Sheikh said, "It's purely for entertainment so that tourists are amazed by what they are not used to seeing. We hope this will expand the tourism industry in Dooars."
The inverted Taj Mahal was inaugurated on December 15 by Padamashri Awardee Karimul Haq who is more popular as 'Ambulance Brother'.
"I came with my family to see the inverted house but to our surprise, we discovered the reversed Taj. I was requested to inaugurate this unique art. I wondered whether it was a dishonour to the original edifice in Agra. This can only explained by (Sheikh Jiaur) Rehman as he looked after its construction," Haq said.
The huge Hawaiian slipper in Dooars Fun City (ETV Bharat) "I asked why it was not built straight and I was told doing the same might create legal issues. It was built in such a way for amusement as more tourists are expected to visit the park. On the other hand, the tourism business came as a succour to many unemployed youths of the locality by providing them with an option to earn," Haq added.
A foreign tourist who came to see the huge Hawaiian slipper and flipped houses was amused by the inverted version of the Taj. Likewise, a Nepali tourist said, "I came to India and was bewildered by the inverted replica of the Taj Mahal. It is beyond what I had expected".
A large comb in Dooars Fun City (ETV Bharat) "I saw the inverted house and the Taj Mahal. I liked them," a child tourist Rimjan Sherpa said. Another visitor, Saraswati Lama, said the mammoth Hawaiian slipper is an attraction but the inverted Taj Mahal literally stole her mind.
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