About Kolkata

Introduction Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal. It is the second largest city of India in terms of area. Situated on the eastern bank of river Hooghly, Kolkata constitutes five suburbs: North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly and Nadia. The city has served as the capital of India during the British Raj until 1911. It has been traditionally the center of modern education, industry, science, culture and politics in India.

Old Charm, New Look The city still has some aura of the British Raj left though the modern amenities have added new look to it demeanor. The old charm of Trams, Hand Pulling Rickshaw, Howrah Bridge etc. is diluting giving the way to underground metros, sky scrapers, malls, multiplexes. Kolkata once had highest immigrant population as it was one of the important industrial hubs in India. People from all over the country were migrating their as the city embraced all and sundry and offered them means to earn their bread and butter.

Important Metropolitan The present day Kolkata is somewhat different from the past. The government has done enough to improve the infrastructure of the city to sustain its indigenous Bengali population as well as immigrants. All modern facilities are available in they city. Advanced transportation, modern educational institutes, rapid industrial growth, construction of commercial and residential complexes etc. are enough to place Kolkata as one of the largest metropolitan cities of India.

Geographical Division The southern part of Kolkata has grown into a well- to- do and posh locality post independence. Ballygunge, Bhowanipore, Alipore, New Alipore & Jodhpur Park are some of the important places in South Kolkata. The Salt Lake City situated in the northeastern part of the city has been developed into a well planned township. The central part of Kolkata mainly constitutes government secretariat, General Post Office, High Court, Lalbazar Police HQs etc. This area has several government and private offices.

Intellectual Hub The city of Kolkata has always been associated with unique Bengali culture. It has been the center of literary, artistic and revolutionary heritage from pre independence era. Many prominent figures like Rabindranath Tagore, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Dinabandhu Mitra, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Amitav Ghosh, Vikram Seth etc. are associated with this city.

Unique Character One of the most important characteristic of Kolkata is Para or neighborhoods with the strong sense of community. Each Para has its own community club, where people meet and indulge in leisurely chat and a session of freestyle intellectual conversation is the important part of any Para.