Destination India Travel --» East India Destinations --» Destination West Bengal

West Bengal Cities :- Kolkata || Darjeeling || Sunderbans || Kalimpong

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.

General Information :

Area : Calcutta City Area 187.33 sq km.
Calcutta Metropolitan District Area 1380.12 sq km (532.87 sq miles ).

Population : 4.39 million (Calcutta city) and 9.2 million (CMD) as per 1991 census.

Altitude : 6.4 metres (20 ft.) above sea level.

Climate : Winter Max 36.3° Celsius
Min 9.6° Celsius
Summer Max 41.7° Celsius
Min 38.1° Celsius

Rainfall : 1581 mm (Monsoon Months - June to early September).

Best Season : October to March.



Destination West Bengal - Kolkata, East India Destinations
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