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Kolkata Travel
Calcutta is the home of the Bengalis – volatile in politics,
sports lover, intellectual, romantic with a unique sensibility. To
whom every activity is a commitment of passionate intensity –
be it a religious festival, soccer matches, political demonstrations,
music, art, poetry reading, eating or adda (chat sessions).Calcutta
breeds culture. Rabindranath Tagore gave Bengal new composite music,
dance drama and literature. Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar internationalised
Indian Classical music. Jamini Roy revived folk painting. Uday Shankar
created a new dance form. Indian People’s Theatre Association
(IPTA) introduced a new genre of performing arts. Ustad Allauddin
Khan created a new orchestra and famous film maker Satyajit Ray’s
home and canvas was Calcutta. |
| GENERAL INFORMATION : |
Area : Calcutta City Area 187.33 sq km. and 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).
Clothing : Cotton in summer and light woollen in winter. |
| TOURIST SEASON : |
| October to March. |
| PLACES OF INTEREST : |
| South Park Street Cemetery ,Victoria Memorial, St. Paul's Cathedral,
Portuguese Cathedral,Dakshineswar Kali Temple, Paresnath Temple ,Howrah
Bridge,Howrah Bridge,Santiniketan ,Eden Gardens Stadium |
| LOCAL FESTIVALS : |
Ganga Sagar Mela (January) :
This festival is celebrated at Sagar which is about 105km South of
Calcutta where the river Hugli joins the sea. Vast number of Hindu
pilgrims bathe in the holy water.
Holi (January) :
Holi which is also known as Dol Purnima is the spring festival widely
observed across India with the spraying of coloured water, paint
and powder.
Ratha Yatra (June - July) :
This car festival at Mahesh Near Srirampur which is 25km from Calcutta
is very famous.
Durga Puja (September-October) :
The worship of the 'Clay Goddess' (Durga) is the most important
Hindu festival of Calcutta. Celebrations of music, dance and drama
last for 15 days.
Diwali (Oct-Nov) :
Diwali or Kali Puja is the festival of lights. It is observed in
Calcutta as elsewhere in North India. |
| ACCESS : |
- Air : Calcutta is a good place for competitive air fares
to other parts of Asia. Most airline offices are around Chowringhee.
Flights are usually with Air India, Indian Airlines, Thai International,
Royal Nepal Airlines or Tarum Romanian. Netaji Subhash Airport
is situated at Dumdum, around 17km northeast of the city centre.
- Rail :Calcutta is served by two railway station, Haora
(Howrah) and Sealdah and is connected to major cities all over
the country. At Howrah Station, platforms 1 to 16 are in the old
main building, platforms 17 to 22 are in the new annex next door.
The tourist railway booking office is on the 1st floor at 6 Fairlie
Place near BBD Bagh. It's open Monday to Saturday from 9an to
1pm and 1.30 to 4pm and on Sunday between 9am to 2pm.
- Bus : Calcutta is connected by an extensive network
of national highways with major cities and towns of tourist interest
nearby. Buses generally depart from the Esplanades bus stand area
at the northern end of the Maidan near Chowringhee Road. But there
are a number of private companies which have their own stands.
Buses to and from the South generally use the bus stand near Fort
William at Babu Ghat.
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| LOCAL TRANSPORT : |
Taxi -Yellow top taxis are much cheaper in Calcutta than some other
Indian Cities.
Rickshaw -Calcutta is the only city to have hand-pulled rickshaws
many of which are hired for the day by the pullers. These sort of
rickshaws only exist in small parts of central Calcutta and they
are restricted to the small roads. Across the river in Howrah or
in other Calcutta Suburbs, there are auto and cycle-rickshaws.
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| SHOPPING : |
| New Market, Air-conditioned Market, Park Street, Gariahat, Barabazar,
College Street Market, Shyambazar, Hatibagan, Lake Market, Kalighat,
Dakshinapan near Dhakuria and Uttarapan near Ultadanga (the State
emporia are also there in these two huge shopping complexes). |
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