The largest metropolis in India, Calcutta is a vibrant city on the move, volatile and unpredictable. The Gateway to India, till 1912, and the capital of the Raj in India, it still bears the Victorian imprint on its streets and structures. A city just about ready to burst at the seams, Calcutta is home to more than 10 million people. The Ganges (called the Hooghly in Calcutta) is still the inspiration, as it was to Job Charnok, East India Company agent, who reached the shores in August 1690, to found the city. Calcutta, after London, was the British Empire’s second city. Calcutta, on-the-Hooghly, retains the aura of days long gone, weaving the past and the present, the intense and the funloving into a charming fabric.

Home to four Nobel laureates - Ronald Ross, Rabindranath Tagore, Mother Teresa and Amartya Sen, Calcutta is the nerve centre of intellect and human values, where many modern movements began in art, cinema and theatre, science and industry. India’s quest for freedom began here. Calcutta is the gateway to Eastern India. A city with a rich heritage, bustling streets and bewildering variety of facets. From October to March, Calcutta wears a radiant look. Sunshine, mild winter, lights, colours, fairs, festivals, galas and excursions, the mood is infectious and spirit sweeping. It is the commercial nerve-centre of the East, with major industrial plants, textile mills and corporate units. Regal edifices, grubby alleys, bustling bazaars, elegant hotels, people from all walks of life - Calcutta has it all.

The city is a hub of fervent activity in the realms of music, theatre, arts, and sports. Calcutta has always prided itself on the many luminaries it has sent forth, be it Tagore, Satyajit Ray, or Mrinal Sen. The intense dedication to the arts manifests itself in a plethora of festivals, dance, music performances and other cultural events. The Calcuttans are also famous for their all-consuming passion for sports, especially, football and cricket. Calcutta is a city of baffling paradoxes, a city that leaves its stamp on one's mind ... forever.

Kolkata History
Kolkata is not an ancient city like Delhi, with its impressive relics of the past. In fact, it's largely a British creation which dates back only some 300 years and was the capital of British India until the beginning of this century.
In 1686, the British abandoned Hooghly, their trading post 38km up the Hooghly River from present-day Kolkata, and moved downriver to there small villages - Sutanati, Govindpur and Kailkata. Kolkata takes its name from the last of those three tiny settlements.
Much of the Kolkata's most enduring development took place between 1780 and 1820. Latter in the 19th century, Bengal became an important centre in the struggle for Indian independence, and this was a major reason for the decision to transfer the capital to Delhi in 1911. Loss of political power did not alter Kolkata's economic control, and the city continued to prosper until after WW11.


Place to See
Birla Planetarium
Only the second of its kind in the commonwealth and similar to that in London. Regular astronomical shows are presented here with commentaries in different languages. Shows are held on all days excluding Mondays.

Kalighat
According to the legend, when Lord Shiva’s wife Parvati’s body was cut up, one of her fingers fell here. Rebuilt in 1809, this is an important shrine of Hindu Shakti worship. The temple is in the southern part of the city.

Eden Gardens
Named after Lord Auckland’s sister, this picturesque garden has a tiny Burmese pagoda set in a small lake. It also houses Calcutta’s Cricket Stadium.

Howrah Bridge
It's among the Kolkata's best-known landmarks. The Howrah Bridge or Rabindra Setu, a cantilever bridge, is forever bustling with people and vehicles, and the best way for a tourist to savor this is to walk across this engineering wonder. Keep your eyes and ears open though - this bridge is high on traffic! You can also go for an early-morning walk and drink in some fresh river air from this bridge.

Marble Palace
Situated in an artistically laid-out garden, the place is full of rare collection of antiques of immense artistic and historical value. Wonderful curios, china and a couple of paintings by Rubens are only a few to mention of the spectrum of attractions of the palace. The Marble Palace is situated on Muktaram Babu Street, off Chittaranjan Avenue. Open on all days except Mondays and Thursdays.

Indian Museum
One of the oldest museums in Asia, the Indian Museum was founded in 1814. You'll need an entire day, or more, to fully enjoy the fossils, coins, stones, Gandhara art, meteors and much more that go to make up this museum. Don't miss the 4,000-year-old mummy here, whatever else you do! Also on display is an urn said to contain the Buddha's ashes. Just ask anybody on the road for the way to the "Jadughar" (literally, house of magic).

Fairs & Festivals
Durga Puja
The most important and the most popular of all Bengali festivals is the Durgapuja. It is celebrated throughout the state, but with great grandeur in Calcutta. There are some ancestral houses in Calcutta where Durgapuja is being observed over decades and even over centuries..

Iskcon Rathayatra
Rathayatra is celebrated all over the State, but the one on a grand scale in Calcutta is organised by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Three Chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra are taken out of their temple on Albert Road to the strip of Maidan bordering the Victoria Memorial. After seven days, these are taken back again to the temple.

Calcutta Film Festival
Every November between 10 and 17, the Calcutta Film Festival is a gala event, showing films in various theaters, holding seminars, exhibitions and book bazars, attracting large crowds of film-lovers. The hub of all activities is Nandan.

Jatra Festival
A form of entertainment, exclusive in Bengal, is Jatra. A month-long festival of Jatra shows is held at Rabindra Kanan, Chitpur during December-January.


How to Reach
Kolkata is very well connected by Air, Rail and road, with all metros of the country. Kolkata air-port has also become an international Air-port.