ABOUT KOLKATA

General Introduction

A city of love and warmth, sorrow and despair, dreams and hopes, poverty and squalor, grandeur and glory. Kolkata is compelling , effervescent, teeming with life and traditions - a medley of moods, styles, cultures, politics, industry and commerce. More than 300 years ago, Job Charnock, an English tradesman set up a trading post on the banks of the Ganga along the three-village nucleus. Gradually Europeans started setting up business and trade establishments, the moneyed class taking interest in banking and usury. The East India Company steadily encroached into matters of state. The fate of the Nawabi rule was sealed in the Battle of Plassey and the English went ahead to seize power, a grip which loosened only 250 years later when power was transferred from the British Empire to the Indians. Independent India has crossed 50 years and these five decades have seen many miracles. Kolkata 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, haven of the rich and the poor as seldom found anywhere in the world. There is so much to see in this incredible city. A million people from every corner of India stream across the massive Howrah Bridge, swarm around the Hooghly river, flock along the busy avenues, through its narrow lanes.

Kolkata Facts and Figures

Area	187 sq km
Population	14.00 million (1991 census)
State	West Bengal
Altitude	5.8 above mean sea level
Rainfall	158 cm (June to August)
Best Time to Visit	Throughout the year

Kolkata History

Kolkata is not an ancient city like Delhi, with its impressive relics of the past. In fact, it's largely a British creation which dates back only some 300 years and was the capital of British India until the beginning of this century.
In 1686, the British abandoned Hooghly, their trading post 38km up the Hooghly River from present-day Kolkata, and moved downriver to there small villages - Sutanati, Govindpur and Kolkata. Kolkata takes its name from the last of those three tiny settlements.
Much of the kolkata's most enduring development took place between 1780 and 1820. Latter in the 19th century, Bengal became an important centre in the struggle for Indian independence, and this was a major reason for the decision to transfer the capital to Delhi in 1911. Loss of political power did not alter Kolkata's economic control, and the city continued to prosper until after WW11.

Kolkata Best Seasons

You must not miss Kolkata in the month of October for the colourful festivities and people in complete high due to the Durga Puja as well as Kali Puja that take place one after the other.
However, the period remains filled with joy upto the month of March as some event or the other keeps taking place, be it cultural or sports related.

Stock Market

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