CALCUTTA INFORMATION

A city of love and warmth, sorrow and despair, dreams and hopes, poverty and squalor, grandeur and glory, Calcutta is compelling, effervescent, teeming with life and traditions a medley of moods, styles, cultures, politics, industry and commerce.

Independent India has crossed 50 years and these five decades have seen many miracles. Calcutta has grown, remains a city of contrasts, a mix-up of light and shade, a strange medley of ancient and modern, skyscrapers and Victorian edifices, heaven of the rich and the poor as seldom found anywhere in the world.

A vibrant city with a distinct socio-political culture, Kolkata is noted for its revolutionary history, ranging from the Indian struggle for independence to the leftist and trade union movements. Referred to as the "Cultural Capital of India", "The City of Processions", and the "City of Joy", the city is known for its literary, artistic and revolutionary heritage.

Calcutta's fascination defies analysis. It is an addiction, an affair of the mind and heart. Anyone who has lived here can never be happy anywhere else in the world...