Kolkata, also known as Calcutta, is known as the Gamma city and is the capital of West Bengal. It is the third most populous metropolitan city and during the British reign it was the capital of the state of India until 1911. Kolkata is well known for its political events and its active participation in the Indian communist movements. Kolkata is blessed with many laurels such as “Cultural Capital of India”, “The City of Processions” and “City of Joy”.
Kolkata is known for its fame in all walks of life. The city is known to possess Bengal Dada, beauties like Sushmita Sen, Rani Mukherjee, the legendary RD Burman and Sathyajit Ray, the noble writer Rabindranath Tagore, be it sports, politics, culture, arts, food, travel; You name it and they have it. The sacred memory of our beloved Mother Teresa will always be cherished.
History: Calcutta’s history begins with the start of the English East India Company in 1690. Traditionally, Job Charnock, who as an administrator, was credited as the city’s founder.
During the 17th century, Kolkata was made up of three villages, Kalikata, Gobindapur and Sutanuti, which were indirectly ruled by the Nawab of Bengal named Siraj-Ud-Daulah. In the late 17th century, the British wanted to build a fort near Gobindapur to solidify their control against other foreign powers such as the Dutch, French, and Portuguese.
In 1702, Old Fort William was built and used as a regional base for his troops, and later, Calcutta was crowned the presidential city, which later became the seat of the presidency of Bengal. From 1690 to 1772, the British East India Company was the dominant force.
During the 19th century, the city was divided into two, the British (known as the White City) centered on Chowringhee and the other Indian city centered on North Calcutta (known as the Black City). In 1905, due to the partition of Bengal based on common land, it resulted in widespread public chaos and thus led to the boycott of British goods which was called the Swadeshi Movement.
The 1960s and 1970s saw economic stagnation due to severe power shortages, strikes, and a violent Marxist-Maoist movement, the Naxalites, which caused damage to the city’s infrastructure. In 1985, Rajiv Gandhi referred to Kolkata as a “dying city” and in the mid-1990s, due to the introduction of economic reforms in India by the central government, the economy gained momentum and stability.
Topography and Climate: Located in the eastern part of India with the Hooghly River flowing in a northeasterly direction. Kolkata has a tropical wet and dry climate where the summers are hot and humid and extremely hot during May and June. The city experiences short winters for only two and a half months, prevailing between December and January. Monsoons predominate around June and September, and due to geographical limitations, this city is often prone to cyclones.
Culture: Kolkata is known for its artistic and revolutionary heritage, it is known for embracing and appreciating any form of art and culture and due to this attribute, this city is also known as the Cultural Capital of India or the Literary Capital of India.
Durga Pooja is celebrated with great pomp and show and is known as the Rio Carnival of the Eastern Hemisphere. The city is decorated with lights and each area has its own stalls (pandals) with the idol of Goddess Durga and each area and each street compete with each other to make their stalls look spectacular and beautiful. The oldest areas where Pooja is carried out with great enthusiasm are in North Kolkata such as Baghbazar Sarbojonin, Kumartuli, Ahiritola, Md. Ali Park and College Square.
Kolkata is known for its Rabindrasangeet and Indian classical music. Bengali folk music such as baul, kirtans and gajan also adds to the list.
Bengali is the native language spoken and the most striking features that represent the sense of community are the very presence of the neighborhood called para and the informal chat known as adda. In the artistic vertical, the popular theater modality called Jatra, is a renowned art along with the activities of the Theater Groups. Kolkata is home to the Bengali film industry, known as “Tollywood”.
A special mention goes to the delicious cuisine that is mind blowing in every way. Lip-smacking junk food like Singara, Jilpi, Alu Chop, Jhaal Moori, and Phuchka are must-haves among food smugglers. Authentic Bengali food is rice and machher jhol (fish curry), Alu posto (Posto are poppy seeds), Begun bhaja (fried eggplant), Alu bhaja (fried potato), Dim bhaja (fried egg) and “Luchi tarkari”. “. Fish-based delicacies are very famous and freshwater fish that add to the daily necessities are catfish, sea bass, tarpon or mullet.
Among the most famous sweet dishes are “Roshogolla”, “Chomchom”, “Shondesh”, “Rajbhog”, “Pantua”, “Pithe” and “Payesh”.
Places to visit:
- victory monument
- strong william
- howrah bridge
- marble palace
- Gardens of Eden (Stadium)
- Birla Planetarium
- writer’s building
- nicco park
- Saheed Minar
- National Library
- Belur Mathematics
- Botanical Gardens
How to get to Kolkata:
Air: One of India’s major IS/ISO 9001:2000 certified airports is none other than Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, located in Dum Dum, serving domestic and international traffic. The airport was previously known as Dum Dum Airport, but was later renamed after Bengali Indian freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
Lane: Railways are well connected in Kolkata as the city consists of two main railway stations; one located in Howrah and the other in Sealdah. India’s first underground rail service interconnecting the city was the Kolkata Metro.
Bus: The Esplanade Terminus is the main bus terminal in the heart of the city.
Trolley car: Kolkata is the only city in India that has the tramway network. Tram travel becomes cumbersome as the tracks run in the center of busy roads and commuters find it difficult to get to tram stops through the traffic. Even during peak hours, the trams run with many empty seats, resulting in reduced revenue for the Calcutta Tram Company.