City of Joy...

Calcutta is the city where people from different communities like Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jains, Buddhists, Parsee, Chinese have coexisted in harmony from time in memorial. The City of Calcutta is home to ancient architecture, universities, museums, libraries, play grounds, amusement parks, shopping malls, night clubs, hotels and other entertainment options for people of all age. Calcutta has been nick named as the 'City of Joy'for the lifestyle the city provides. The city is also regarded as the 'Cultural capital of India' for its enriched culture, literature, food, festivities and people. The city of Calcutta which remained the capital of British India till 1911, before the capital got shifted to Delhi, is a bridge between the old world and the modern one.

Victoria Memorial Hall

                  Calcutta being an old and historically important city has streets and corners that have many stories to tell. The people with an lazy approach towards life have great sense of hospitality towards the visitors of the city. This involvement of people of Calcutta in different activities like Literature, Movies, Music, Sports, Fine arts and Food, have made the city one of the most visited cities of the Globe. The city is famous for its old architectures which are influenced by different thoughts of the people residing in the city over different period of time. Some of the most famous architectural marvels of the city are Victoria Memorial Hall, Marble Palace, St. Pauls Cathedral, Dakhineshwar Kali Temple, Nakhoda Masjid, Calcutta Town Hall, Atmosphere Kolkata, The 42 and many more. The one thing that comes in every bodies mind with the name of Calcutta is the famous Howrah Bridge (Rabindra Setu), It is the largest cantilever of Asia and is the only one of its kind in India. At night the Howrah Bridge with its lights looks nothing less than the 'Crown of Calcutta'.

                   Calcutta is known well for its love toward cultural crafts like literature, films, music. The city have heritage of being the place of work of many cultural legends who have won great prizes and awards including the famous Nobel Prize and Oscars. Great personalities like Rabindranath Tagore, Kaji Nazrul Islam, Sarat Chandra Chattopadyay, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Sukumar Roy, Satyajit Roy, Mrinal Sen, Rittik Ghatak, Hemanta Mukhapadhyay, Manna Dey, Kishore Kumar, R.D. Burman have been part of the day to day life of the people of Calcutta through there immortal works. The National Anthems of two nations of the World India and Bangladesh was created by Rabindranath Tagore who was the first Indian to receive the Nobel Prize in the field of Literature. Whereas the extreme craftsmanship of Satyajit Ray in the field of World Cinema, Illustrations brought him the Oscar lifetime Achievement Award.

                   The people of Calcutta are absolute enthusiasts and that is clear from their love towards sport. The most favorite sport of people of Calcutta is Football. The Calcutta Maidan is home for local football with National Level Clubs which are some of the best among the nation. The Calcutta Derby in between the clubs East Bengal and Mohun Bagan is nothing less than any European League Derby and is integral part of the emotion of the Bengali's. Other favorite sports of people of Calcutta include Cricket, Hockey, Swimming and Polo. The city of Calcutta has some best stadiums of the World the most famous of them are 'Eden Gardens' also known as the Mecca of Cricket, 'Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan' (Saltlake Stadium) which is the 2nd largest stadium in the World in terms of audience capacity, Netaji Indoor Stadium. Some of the eminent players who have brought immense fame to the city of Calcutta include Dhyan Chand, Gosto Pal, Sailen Manna, P.K. Banerjee, Chuni Ghoswami, Sourav Ganguly, Wriddhiman Saha, Arati Saha, Bula Choudhury and many more.

Calcutta Maidan - Lungs of  the City

                   The city of Calcutta is known for its food more than anything. The food across the city is a distinct indicator of the culture and diversity of Calcutta. The street food is influenced by the different communities and is very famous across the people of Calcutta and the visitors of the city. The authentic Bengali cuisine food is mostly eaten by the people of the city. People of Calcutta are often termed as 'Mache Bhat E Bangali' (Fish eating Bengali)- Fish plays a important part in the menu and Hilsa and Prawn are the absolute king of the show when it comes to fishes. The city is famous for food from different parts of World which include Chaats, Phuchka, Kathi Rolls, Kebabs, Biriyani, Chinese, Tibetan, Lebanese, Continental and most importantly Sweets. The city of Calcutta is famous for its wide range of sweets and iconic sweet shops which serve some of the best sweets like Rosogolla, Sandesh, Pantua, Mishti Dahi and many more. The visitors of Calcutta often remark the people of Calcutta as sweet as 'Rasagulla' since most of the dwellers of Calcutta are sweet spoken and show great hospitality towards there guests.

                     According to Indian journalist Vir Sanghvi , “You want your city clean and green, stick to Delhi.You want your city rich and impersonal, go to Bombay.You want them hi-tech and full of draught beer, Bangalore’s your place.But if you want a city with a soul, come to Calcutta.”. With all the charms the city of Calcutta has it can be said nothing less than the 'City of Joy'.