Calcutta Travel Guide
Calcutta
retains much of the splendour of yesteryears, with a presence that is at once
regal, imposing and memorable, a city worthy of admiration and love.
Welcome to Job Charnock's 'chance-directed, chance-erected city, Lapierre's
City of Joy'. Calcutta was born in August 1690, following the midday halt of
Job Charnock, Chief of the British East India Company, on the eastern banks
of the River Hooghly, overlooking the bustling village of Sutanati. The city
grew around Sutanati and the adjoining villages of Govindapur and Kalikata (site
of the famous Kali Temple ), from which is derived its present name. Charnock's
halt ws, however, no accident. Fifty years earlier, Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan
had granted a concession of free trade in Bengal to an English surgeon, Gabriel
Boughton, as fee for effecting a royal cure.
Over the next 250 years, Calcutta grew into the leading city east of Suez, and
the second city of the British Empire. Inextricably interwoven into its history
are River Hooghly and the port (Kidderpore Docks), both witness to the eventful
and fast changing mulieu of the city. Calcutta's growth was further enhanced
by a hinterland rich in coal, iron ore and mineral deposits, and as the focal
point for the tea, jute and engineering industries. Today, Calcutta is India's
largest metropolis, with a population in excess of 11 million.
Calcutta Presents :
To
the first time visitor, Calcutta is indeed overwhelming. It presents a unique
blend of 19th century Europe and the throbbing vitality of a metropolis of teeming
millions. The city has produced some of India's fines literature, theatre, films,
art and culture, and personalities- an output that has influenced the very course
of Indian history. The names of Tagore, Satyajit Ray, Mother Teresa and Mrinal
Sen readily come to mind.
Quaint trams trundle down narrow streets amidst jostling crowds spilling over
from the pavements. Calcutta even has the hand-drawn rickshaw, now made famous
in the film, City of Joy. In sharp contrast is Calcutta's pride, the Underground
Metro Rail Service, which is India's first and one of the world's most modern,
presently running between Esplanade and Tollygunge, a 10 km route (total route
length 16.4 km). For the shopper, Calcutta offers some of the best bargains
in clothes, leather goods, as well as trivia and exotica. Transport costs are
still among the lowest in India. As for food, the bewildering variety available
on offer is matched by the most reasonable prices. Indeed, Calcutta is as much
a haven for tourists with a shoe-string budget as it is for big budget tourists.
Numerous hotels, including several of international class, offer comforts and
conveniences to suit every budget, cuisines to please every palate. There are
also Clubs in the finest British tradition such as Bengal Club, Calcutta Club,
Calcutta Cricket & Football Club and Saturday Club, to name a few. On the
other hand, the essence of Bengali and Indian culture is evident in several
landmarks located across the city.
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