Kolkata

Kolkata (Bangla: কলকাতা, Hindi: ??????), is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal and was capital of British India until 1912. The city's name was officially changed from Calcutta to Kolkata in January 2001. Despite the new name being phonetically closer to the Bengali version, many people and organizations still refer to it as Calcutta. In Hindi, the city is referred to as Kalkatta.

Places of Interest

Kolkata been nicknamed the City of Palaces. This comes from the numerous palatial mansions built all over the city.

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During the British colonial era from 1700-1912, when Kolkata was the capital of British India, Kolkata witnessed a spate of frenzied construction activity of buildings largely influenced by the conscious intermingling of Gothic, Baroque, Roman, Oriental and Islamic schools of design. Unlike many north Indian cities, whose construction stresses minimalism, the layout of much of the architectural variety in Kolkata owes its origins to European styles and tastes imported by the British and, to a much lesser extent, the Portuguese and French.

Related Topics:
1700 - 1912 - British India - European

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The buildings were designed, and inspired by the tastes of the English gentleman around and the aspiring Bengali Babu (literally a nouveau riche Bengali who aspired to cultivation of English etiquette, manners and custom as such practices were favourable to monetary gains from the British).

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Today many of these structures are in various stages of decay. Some of the major buildings of this period are well maintained and several buildings have been declared as heritage structures.Conservation efforts are patchy and are often affected by problems of litigation, tenant troubles, ownership disputes, old tenancy laws and a lack of funds.

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Museums and Libraries

Born as Lord Curzon's brainchild as a memorial to the Empress of India Victoria II after her death in 1902, the Victoria Memorial was modelled on the Taj Mahal and was comissioned in 1906. Opened to the public in 1921, it was designed by the architects William Emerson and his protege Vincent Esch at the extraordinary cost of Rupees 10.5 million, all of which was collected as voluntary donations, mostly from the British and Indian nobility. The memorial holds numerous paintings of the British royal family, miniature paintings of the Mughal School, oil paintings of the Company school (notably the uncle - nephew pair of Thomas Daniell and William Daniell), historial artefacts like the throne of the Nawab of Bengal, many lithographs and documents of historical interest,and various post-Raj artefacts significant in the history of Kolkata (added to the collection after independence). The memorial is set in extensive and beautiful lawns, and is lit up at night. A laser audio-visual show is held on the lawns every evening. The banshee on the top of the museum is said to be haunted, and has been prominently featured in many Kolkata stories and novels. It is regarded with pride and joy in Kolkata and colloquially referred to as the "Victoria".

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The Indian Museum is the largest museum in Asia and the oldest in the Asia - Pacific region (est. 1814 at the location of the Asiatic Society) . The Museum shifted to its present sprawling residence in 1875. Situated on Chowringhee Avenue, it houses perhaps the greatest collection of Indian Natural History and an Indian Art collection to rival the Smithsonian and the British Museum. Of specific note are the meteorite hall and dinosaur hall in the Natural History and Geology section, the numismatics section and the collections of Gandhara Art, Burmese woodwork, Mughal miniatures and Tibetan banner sections in the Indian Art section. [[The Anthropological Survey of India headquarters and the Government College of Art and Craft are housed in the same building. The Geological Survey of India headquarters moved from the museum to Bidhan Nagar recently. The Indian Museum has a library of excellent historical value, with a special focus on the Raj and Kolkata.

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The Marble Palace is a privately owned collection of eclectic sculptures, paintings and a small menagerie and aviary off Chittaranjan Avenue in North Kolkata. Built by Raja Rajendra Mullick in 1835, it houses, among other treasures two little-publicized Reubens and a Joshua Reynolds, not to mention over 50 varieties of marble which grace the interiors of this mansion.

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Birla Industrial and Technological Museum on Gurusaday Road, was inaugurated in 1959 as the first popular science museum in Asia. Modelled on the Deutsches Museum, it has interactive popular science exhibits and a significant collection of historical industrial holdings in India. Its collection of old gramophones, sound recorders, telephones, steam engines, road rollers and other industrial machinery of the period 1880 - 1950 is very significant. The museum sports a vintage model of the Rolls Royce Phantom make. It also actively organizes summer camps, awareness programs and astronomy observations for school children.

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Science City is a complex near the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass featuring a lot of interactive science and live bioscience exhibits, as well as having Kolkata's first OMNIMAX theatre.

Related Topics:
Science City - Eastern Metropolitan Bypass - OMNIMAX

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The Jorasanko Thakurbari is the ancestral home of the Tagore family and was converted into a museum in 1961. The huge sprawling brick mnsions were the cultural hub of Kolkata for close to a century and was a major force in the women's liberation movement. It hosted the first Brahmo wedding and was an important center in the Independence movement. The museum has three large galleries - one of the life and works of Rabindranath, a second gallery about his close relatives such as father Debendranath Tagore, Abanindranath Tagore, Gaganendranath Tagore and others, and a third gallery on the Bengal Renaissance in general.

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Gurusaday Museum, on Diamond Harbour Road, is the outcome of a lifetime of collection of traditional Bengal folk arts in undivided Bengal by Sir Gurusaday Dutt. On his death in 1941, the collection was handed over to the Bratachari Society founded by Sir Gurusaday Dutt to preserve and protect Bengal folk arts. It was opened as a museum to the public with the help of the Government of India in 1963. It contains, among other fine handicrafts, terracotta panels, kantha or folk quilt work, and patas ( or hand painted scrolls of the late 1900s), notably of the Kalighat school. The Asutosh Museum of Indian Art, on College Street, is the other museum specializing in Bengal folk arts, but with significant archaeological holdings from sites in West Bengal and Bihar like Chandraketugarh and Tamluk. The first university owned museum in India, it is run by the University of Calcutta and

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is named after its famous vice chancellor Sir Asutosh Mukherjee.

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Jawahar Shishu Bhavan is named after Jawaharlal Nehru, whose love for children was well known. The museum has a collection of dolls and toys from across the globe, and has a doll - based retelling of the Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. Established in 1972 close to the Victoria Memorial, and commonly referred to as "Nehru Children's Museum", this museum is aging awkwardly fast.

Related Topics:
Jawahar Shishu Bhavan - Jawaharlal Nehru - Indian - Epics - Ramayana - Mahabharata - 1972 - Victoria Memorial

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Kolkata also has some other small museums like the Maritime Museum, and the Police Museum.

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National Library of India located in Alipore is India's leading library and a public library. It was inaugurated in 1836 by the Governor General Lord Meltcalfe by transferring 4675 books from the College of Fort William. Public donations were the main source of books for the library, and by donations of Rupees 300 from proprietors. Dwarakanath Tagore was the first proprietor of the library. The library was initially only partially public, as poor students could use the library for a limited period of time. The Imperial Library was founded in 1891 by merging several libraries like those of the East India College and East India Board. Governor General Lord Curzon initiated the merger of these two libraries into a single Imperial Library in 1903 at the Metcalfe Hall. The goals of the library were to collect every book written about India at any time. The Assistant Librarian of the British Museum John Macfarlane was the first librarian and was succeeded by the first Indian librarian Harinath De. The library was moved to its present quarters in Belvedere Estate, Alipore and renamed the National Library. It is a fully public library which co-ordinates the activities of all other Indian public libraries. True to its goal, any book published in India today has to send one copy to the National Library, Kolkata in the spirit of the Library of Congress, United States.

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The other popular Kolkata libraries include the Ramkrishna Mission Library, maintained by Ramkrishna Mission, Kolkata which has a special children's section, as well as the large consulate-based libraries of British Council, Kolkata and of the United States Information Service, Kolkata. The Calcutta Club library has a historically significant collection, including the fully furnished and book-stocked reading room of Nirad C. Chaudhuri. The other historically significant libraries are those of Asiatic Society, Indian Museum, Presidency College, Scottish Church College, and

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St. Xavier's College, Calcutta.

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British Administrative Offices

High Court

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Bankshall Court

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Raj Bhavan or Government House, Kolkata, built in the early 19th century, is modelled on Kedleston Hall. The House was once the seat of the Viceroys of India; later, when the Government moved to New Delhi, it became the residence of the Governor of Bengal, a function that it fulfils to this day. While the basic features of Kedleston have been faithfully copied (the Palladian Front, the Dome etc.), Government House is a much larger, three storeyed structure. Also, the Government of India evidently did not have the funding constraints that forced the Curzons to leave their house incomplete: Government House has all four wings originally conceived for Kedleston. So today, a 'complete', brick built Kedleston, on a much grander scale, is located in its acres of gardens at the heart of the Kolkata business district.

Related Topics:
19th century - Kedleston Hall - Viceroy - Bengal

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Town Hall

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Writers' Building

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General Post Office

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Esplanade Mansion

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South Eastern Railway Headquarters, Garden Reach

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Howrah Station

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The Historic Hotels

The Great Eastern Hotel was born Auckland Hotel in 1841, at the crossroads of the Old Courthouse Street and British India Street, founded by confectioner David Wilson and named after the current Governor General Lord Auckland. It grew from strength to strength over the 19th and first half of the 20th century. Locally known as "Wilson's Hotel", it was also known as "Auckland Hotel and the Hall of Nations" in the 19th century, and was referred to as the "Japani Hotel" ( Japanese Hotel ) colloquially in the 20th century, due to the large number of Japanese tourists there. The hotel was extremely elite, referred to as the Jewel of the East and "the best hotel East of the Suez" by Mark Twain on his voyage along the Equator, and described by Rudyard Kipling in "The City of Dreadful Night". It had notable board members like the author Parry Chand Mitter and stockholders like W. C. Bonnerjee - president of the Indian National Congress. The hotel was famous for its new year parties thrown by Maharajahs ( like the Maharajah of Cooch Behar ) uptil the 1950s. It has been host to such notables as Queen Elizabeth II on her India visit, Nikita Khruschev's delegation in the 1950s, and visiting international cricket teams. The hotel kitchens, manned by the legendary Baruahs of Chittagong ( now in Bangladesh ), was the talk of Kolkata. It steadily progressed downhill since the 1970s, and was taken over by the Government of West Bengal in 1975 on grounds of insolvency. Labour union problems caused the hotel to worsen until a sensationalist news campaign by The Telegraph exposed the sorry state of the hotel in the 1990s. As of 2005, the Government of West Bengal is overcoming labour union issues and re-selling the hotel back to the private sector.

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The Grand Hotel had humble beginnings as Mrs. Monte's Boarding House at 13, Chowringhee Street. Acquired by the Armenian real-estate baron Arrathoon Stephen, it turned into a 3-story 500-room hotel. Acquired by Mohan Singh Oberoi in 1938, it became the Oberoi Grand. The hotel got a major lift during World War II when about 4000 soldiers were billeted there, and would party regularly. Events like the U.S. Marines' Ball at the hotel remind visitors of such times.

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City Parks

Maidan means "field" in Hindi and Bengali. The Kolkata Maidan was once a vast uninterrupted field, right down to the edge of the Hoogli, but is being encroached upon by the city and is fragmented by roads. The Maidan has nurtured sports like Polo, and has been the home of equastrianism, horse racing, football, cricket and rugby in Kolkata. It houses numerous clubs including the "big three" of Indian football - Mohun Bagan Athletic Club, East Bengal Football Club and Mohommedan Sporting Club along with their respective home stadiums. The arterial Chowringhee Avenue, Eden Gardens and the waterfront Millenium Park border the Maidan. The Maidan abounds with monuments and statues, the most famous of them being Shaheed Minar and the statue of ace footballer Gostho Pal.

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Rabindra Sarobar or "The Lake" is an artifical lake and urban park in the spirit of Central Park, New York City. The park has a lake and an island with a footbridge, an open air amphitheatre ( Nazrul Mancha ), a sports stadium ( Rabindra Sarobar Stadium ) , a children's park and the rowing clubs of Calcutta Rowing Club and Lake Club.

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The Salt Lake Central Park is a large urban park in the centre of the Bidhan Nagar township, with a lake in the middle and information technology and government offices along its fringes.

Related Topics:
Salt Lake - Central Park

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The Shibpur Botanical Gardens, spread over 270 acres, was founded in 1786 and is the oldest "botanics" in India. Housing 50,000 species, the Botanical Survey of India and one of the world's most historically relevant herbariums, it is famous for its 250 year old 98 feet tall banyan tree - which has the largest girth of any banyan tree ever recorded (1300 feet) . Alipur Zoological Gardens was founded in 1875, inaugurated by Edward VII, then Prince of Wales. Initially started from the personal menagerie of the then Governor General Schwendler, it grew based on gifts from British and Indian nobility - like Raja Suryakanta Acharya of Mymensingh in whose honour the open air tiger enclosure is named the Mymensingh Enclosure. The zoo was ill-reputed because of cross breeding experiments between lions and tigers to produce strains like tigons, ligers, and litigons. The most famous specimen in the zoo is probably the Aldabra Seychelles Giant Tortoise gifted to the zoo in 1875 ( brought by British seafarers to Lord Clive's menagerie from Seychelles ) , and over 250 years old now. The other success story of the zoo was a live birth of the rare Sumatran Rhinoceros in 1889. The zoo is presently downsizing to meet animal comfort requirements laid down by the Central Zoo Authority of India. The zoo is also on the flyway for several migratory birds like the Sarus Crane.

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Millenium Park is the newest city park on the banks of the River Hoogli.

Related Topics:
Millenium Park - Hoogli

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Theatres

Chitpur Jatra District

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Nandan - Rabindra Sadan Complex

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Art Galleries

Academy of Fine Art

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CIMA

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Statues and Memorials

The Shaheed Minar or "Tower of the Martyrs", (originally Ochterlony Monument) was constructed on the northern fringe of the Maidan in honour of Sir David Ochterlony who commanded the British East India Company forces in the Gurkha War of 1816 and the Nepal Wars in 1846. It was renamed Shaheed Minar in honour of the fallen freedom fighters after Indian independence.

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Other memorials in Kolkata include the Panioty fountain, and the William Jones obelisk at the South Park Street cemetery.

Related Topics:
Panioty fountain - William Jones - Obelisk - South Park Street cemetery

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Kolkata is full of statues celebrating British heritage and the Indian Renaissance and freedom movement. The Maidan is a particularly good place for statue-hunting. A few of the more notable landmarks:

Related Topics:
British - Indian - Maidan

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The statue of Netaji by Marathi sculptor Nagesh Yoglekar - at the Shyambazar five point crossing.

Related Topics:
Netaji - Nagesh Yoglekar - Shyambazar

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The statue of Lord Outram by Irish sculptor John Foli (1874) - in front of the Victoria Memorial, originally at the Park Street and Chowringhee Avenue crossing.

Related Topics:
Lord Outram - John Foli - Victoria Memorial - Park Street - Chowringhee Avenue

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The statue of Iswarchandra Vidyasagar by Bengali sculptor Pramod Gopal Chattopadhyay (1899) - on the premises of Sanskrit College.

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The statue of Rabindranath Tagore by Russian sculptor Aizekovich Azgur (1963) - at the Jorasanko Tagore residence.

Related Topics:
Rabindranath Tagore - Aizekovich Azgur - Jorasanko - Tagore

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The statue of David Hare by unknown sculptor (1847) - one of Kolkata's few marble statues, on the precincts of Presidency College.

Related Topics:
David Hare - Presidency College

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A comprehensive list of Kolkata statues can be found at http://www.catchcal.com/kaleidoscope/statue.asp .

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Sports Venues

Eden Gardens presently one of only two 100,000 seater amphitheatres for the game of cricket ( the other being Melbourne Cricket Ground ) was initially an extension of the Maidan under the supervision of Governor General Lord Auckland, and looked after by the Eden sisters of the Auckland family. The gardens house a transported burmese pagoda of exquisite design. The pavilion was built in 1871 and the 1st first class match played in the season of 1911-12. It has since hosted many international test matches, one day matches and tournaments, including the final of the Cricket World Cup in 1987. Its exalted status in cricketing history comes from the lush outfield, stellar performances ( like V.V.S. Laxman's 281), and not least the intense crowd support. The stadium has a history of crowd violence - involving riots in the stands in 1967 (when the stadium burnt), 1996 and 1999.

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Yuva Bharati Krirangan, also called the Salt Lake Stadium, is a 122,000 - strong amphitheatre used for soccer matches and concerts. It is purposely not a home stadium for any soccer team. It hosted the bulk of the 3rd South Asian Federation Games in Kolkata in 1987.

Related Topics:
Yuva Bharati Krirangan - Home stadium - South Asian Federation Games - 1987

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The Netaji Indoor Stadium, adjacent to the Eden Gardens, is a 120,000 seater air-conditioned indoor stadium, having hosted internationally significant events like the last rites of Mother Teresa in 1997. Constructed in 1975 to host the World Table tennis Championships, it also has the Kshudiram Anusilani Kendra - a smaller auditorium without gallery facilities for training purposes.

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The Calcutta Cricket and Football Club (originally the Calcutta Cricket Club) is the second oldest cricket club in the world, after the Marleybourne Cricket Club. Founded in 1792 as the Calcutta Cricket Club, it merged later with the Calcutta Football Club (founded 1872) to become the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club, and is located on Gurusaday Road. It has arguably the most picturesque cricket ground in Kolkata. Recent evidence in the form of an article in Hicky's Bengal Gazette, suggests the club existed in 1780 - which would make it the oldest cricket club in the world.

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The Royal Calcutta Turf Club is the oldest turf club in India, and one of the most beautiful and largest in the world. Encompassing a significant area of the Maidan, it was founded in 1847, and is distinguished for its "Monsoon Track" - one of the fastest draining tracks in the world. It was conferred the epithet "Royal" by George V in 1912.

Related Topics:
Royal Calcutta Turf Club - India - Maidan - 1847 - Monsoon Track - George V - 1912

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Kolkata is one of the few cities in the world to boast of three beautiful 18 hole golf courses within city limits - at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club, Tollygunj Club and Fort William. The Royal Calcutta Golf Club, founded in 1829, is the oldest golf club outside the British Isles. It was variously located in Dum Dum and Maidan, but finally settled down in Tollygunj and was conferred the epithet "Royal' by George V at the Delhi Durbar in 1911.

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Kolkata is home to the world's oldest active polo club, the Calcutta Polo Club. Situated on the Maidan, the club was founded in 1862 and is the second oldest polo club in the world. Kolkata has yet another polo club in the Fort William Polo Club. The CPC polo grounds are located in the maidan and maintained jointly with the RCTC.

Related Topics:
Polo - Calcutta Polo Club - Maidan - 1862 - Fort William Polo Club

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Kolkata is also home to one of the oldest squash and rackets clubs in the world - the Calcutta Racket Club, founded in 1793.

Related Topics:
Calcutta Racket Club - 1793

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South Club, established in 1920, has beautiful tennis courts in Deshapriya Park, and has been venue for Davis Cup matches.

Related Topics:
'''South Club''' - 1920 - Deshapriya Park - Davis Cup

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Rabindra Sarobar is the home and pool for the rowing clubs of Lake Club and Calcutta Rowing Club.

Related Topics:
Rabindra Sarobar - Lake Club - Calcutta Rowing Club

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Markets and Malls

New Market is Kolkata's historic shopping district. Opened in 1874, it was named Hogg Market after the commissioner Sir Stuart Hogg. The beautiful fountain and benches at the market no longer exist, but the popularity of the market has not waned, and the beautiful gothic clock tower recalls the British heritage of the market. It was renamed New Market after Independence. New Market led the way for Christmas and New Year festivities with confectionary shops like Nahoum's putting up a special spread. The market is organized on the basis of merchandize. It burnt down partially in 1985 but has been restored and expanded with a new building since.

Related Topics:
New Market - 1874 - Hogg Market - Stuart Hogg - New Market - Christmas - New Year - Nahoum's - 1985

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Kolkata has seen a spurt of shopping malls with the rise of the buying power of the Kolkata populace. Shopping arcades like Shoppers' Stop and Emami Shoppers' City in Central Calcutta have brought international brands from Swarovski to Godiva to the city, breaking the city's dependence on the older market complexes like A.C. Market and Vardhaan Market, which were mainly Chinese import dependent. Swabhumi has been modelled as an ethnic shopping arcade near the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass.

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Places of Worship

Dakshineshwar Kali Temple

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Kalighat

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Birla Temple

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Belur Math

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Bhoothnath

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Tipu Sultan Mosque

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Nakhoda Masjid

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St. Paul's Cathedral, Kolkata stands on the "island of attractions" in Kolkata - beside Victoria Memorial, Nandan - Rabindra Sadan theatre complex, and the Birla Planetarium. It was completed in 1847, after being in construction for 8 years. Major William Nairn Forbes, with the assistance of C.K. Robinson designed the cathedral, modelling the tower and spire upon the Norwich Cathedral. The tower was rebuilt along the lines of Bell Harry Tower in Canterbury Cathedral following the 1834 Calcutta earthquake. The Bishop's House across the street is also a very impressive piece of architecture.

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St. John's Church

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Greek Orthodox Church

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Armenian Church

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Synagogue

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Bridges of Kolkata

Howrah Bridge or Rabindra Setu

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The Second Hooghly Bridge or Vidyasagar Setu

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Bally Bridge or Vivekananda Setu

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British Era Clubs

Perhaps one of the last cities in the world where a "club" stills means a watering hole and not a discotheque, Calcutta has quite a hangover of Imperial clubs, which are struggling to change from an anglophillic, chauvinist image to an intellectual and modern one.

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Calcutta Club

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Bengal Club

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Tollygunj Club

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Royal Calcutta Golf Club

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British Era Buildings

LIC Building

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Esplanade Mansion

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Howrah Station

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Sealdah Station

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State Bank

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S. E. Railway HQ

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Educational Institutes of Academic and Historical Interest

Asiatic Society

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University of Calcutta

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Presidency College

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Kolkata Medical College

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Scottish Church College

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Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta

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Indian Association for the Cultivation of Sciences

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Jadavpur University

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St. Xaviers' College

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David Hare Training College

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Hindu School

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Hare School

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Sanskrit Collegiate School

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Amusement Parks

Park Circus has been the location for all big tops in Kolkata since the last century. This distinction earlier went to the Auckland Circus Gardens ( now Eden Gardens ) but shifted to Park Circus (at the end of Park Street) at the turn of the century. Recent fiascos, including a circus fire in 2005, and animal atrocity charges, have left the circus industry down in the dumps, and Park Circus now hosts more winter fairs than circuses.

Related Topics:
Park Circus - Big top - Auckland Circus Gardens - Eden Gardens - Park Street

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A host of new amusement parks have sprung up in recent times - the most notable being Nicco Park - the first modern amusement park in Kolkata and Aquatica - the theme water park, both in Bidhan Nagar.

Related Topics:
Nicco Park - Aquatica - Bidhan Nagar

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Walks

The College Street walk involves a walk down Kolkata's most academic street - with historical institutions like Presidency College, Calcutta Medical College, Bethune College, Scottish Church College, the University of Calcutta and India Coffee House. The sidewalks are overrun with pedestrians, and the streets with vehicles, but the ambience of the street comes from literally hundreds of used book stores on either side of the street selling a potpourri of literature and text books. Operation Sunshine - Kolkata's drive to remove street hawkers, had a special clause ruling out hawkers on College Street. College Square at the heart of College Street, has a square pool. Bookstores of repute include Dasgupta's and those of publishing houses Chuckerverty, Chatterjee and Sons and Rupa and Co.. Putiram's Cabin is a much-loved snack and sweet shop on College Street.

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The Free School Street walk between Park Street and New Market involves a walk past Kolkata's best budget hotels in the Free School Street - Sudder Street area. The used book and record shops sport an eclectic collection due to trade with generations of budget travellers the world over. The street also has the house William Makepeace Thackeray was born in, the Calcutta Fire Services headquarters, and one of the best places to buy cold cuts is at Kalman's, a shop of Hungarian origin. Free School Street dining can be eclectic, with Shamiana - offering cheap Mughlai cuisine, Prince and Princess cheap Bengali cuisine, and Mocambo upscale continental dining, to name a few . Free School Street ( now called Mirza Ghalib Street) is Kolkata's answer to New York City's Hell's Kitchen, and is not particularly safe after dark.

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The Southern Avenue walk takes one past Kolkata's artificial lake and urban park - the Rabindra Sarobar, and numerous playgrounds. Early morning walks make for excellent people and dog watching as well as nature watching and cricket watching. At end of Southern Avenue lies Gol Park with some of the best sweet shops in Kolkata like Ganguram's and the used book store alley, and the shopping district of Gariahat.

Related Topics:
Southern Avenue - Rabindra Sarobar - Southern Avenue - Gol Park - Ganguram's - Gariahat

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The Chowringhee Avenue walk between Elgin Road and B.B.D. Bagh takes one past the St. Paul's Cathedral, Bishop House, Birla Planetarium, Kolkata's prominent eyesore oof a highrise Chatterjee International, Tata Centre, the Indian Museum, Asiatic Society, the Maidan, the Esplanade, Grand Hotel, and the historic Metro theatre, once the first point of release in the Eastern Hemisphere for Metro Goldwyn Mayer films. Fine dining at the Grand Hotel, the home of the essentially Kolkata snack - the "roll" - Nizam's, the authentic sherbet shop Paragon and New Market are all a stones throw away.

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The Office Para (Office district) walk around features the British seat of administration in India - within a few blocks lie the Writers' Building, Raj Bhavan, Calcutta High Court, the General Post Office and B. B. D. Bagh. The express streetside lunch providers make for a delicious, cheap, unbelievably quick and dubiously hygienic meal which has to be eaten to be believed.

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A ramble through the Maidan takes one past clubs of every description from football clubs to the Press Club (Kolkata), stadiums of the big three football clubs and Eden Gardens, the Victoria Memorial, Chowringhee Avenue, Fort William, the Shaheed Minar, the Royal Calcutta Turf Club and a whole host of statues. Cricket, soccer, horse races and even the occasional rugby game can be watched at leisure on the Maidan. Horseback tours through the Maidan, and horse drawn tours around it, are quite popular.

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The Strand Road walk is the riverside walk past the "ghats" or piers, the palatial State Bank of India headquarters, the Kolkata Maritime Museum and the promenade in Millenium Park. The Hoogli makes for excellent riverboat and people watching, and the Haora skyline is ramshackle but interesting. A look up and down the river shows the famous Howrah Bridge and Vidyasagar Setu. Kolkata's best ice cream joints, not to mention the occasional "floatel" are on Strand Road.

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The Park Street walk goes down Kolkata's foremost dining district with noted restaurants and eateries like Shiraz, Flury's, Trinca's and Hot Kati Roll joints. Kolkata's nightlife revolves around Park Street's nightclubs, pubs and coffee houses. Park Street has famous buildings like the Asiatic Society, St. Xavier's College, Calcutta and the Church of the Seventh Day Adventists, and the South Park Street Cemetery has cenotaphs and tombs of the who's who of the British Raj and the Kolkata Armenians. One end of Park Street links up to Chowringhee Avenue and the Maidan while the other end goes to Park Circus.

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◄ Kolkata: Kolkata Culture

Kolkata: Education ►

~ Table of Content ~

►	Introduction
►	History
►	Modern Kolkata
►	Geography
►	Ethnic Communities in Kolkata
►	Festivals
►	Kolkata Culture
►	Places of Interest
►	Education
►	Media
►	Sports
►	Transport
►	Kolkata in the Media
►	Trivia
►	See also
►	External links

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