About
Kolkata
The
largest metropolis in India, Calcutta is a vibrant city on the move, volatile
and unpredictable. The Gateway to India, till 1912, and the capital of the Raj
in India, it still bears the Victorian imprint on its streets and structures.
A city just about ready to burst at the seams, Calcutta is home to more than
10 million people. The Ganges (called the Hooghly in Calcutta) is still the
inspiration, as it was to Job Charnok, East India Company agent, who reached
the shores in August 1690, to found the city. Calcutta, after London, was the
British Empire’s second city.
Calcutta, on-the-Hooghly, retains the aura of days long gone, weaving the past
and the present, the intense and the funloving into a charming fabric.
Home to four Nobel laureates - Ronald Ross, Rabindranath Tagore, Mother Teresa
and Amartya Sen, Calcutta is the nerve centre of intellect and human values,
where many modern movements began in art, cinema and theatre, science and
industry. India’s quest for freedom began here.
Calcutta is the gateway to Eastern India. A city with a rich heritage, bustling
streets and bewildering variety of facets. From October to March, Calcutta wears
a radiant look. Sunshine, mild winter, lights, colours, fairs, festivals, galas
and excursions, the mood is infectious and spirit sweeping.
It
is the commercial nerve-centre of the East, with major industrial plants, textile
mills and corporate units. Regal edifices, grubby alleys, bustling bazaars,
elegant hotels, people from all walks of life - Calcutta has it all.
The city is a hub of fervent activity in the realms of music, theatre, arts,
and sports. Calcutta has always prided itself on the many luminaries it has
sent forth, be it Tagore, Satyajit Ray, or Mrinal Sen. The intense dedication
to the arts manifests itself in a plethora of festivals, dance, music performances
and other cultural events. The Calcuttans are also famous for their all-consuming
passion for sports, especially, football and cricket.
Calcutta is a city of baffling paradoxes, a city that leaves its stamp on one's
mind ... forever.
General Information :
Area : Calcutta City Area 187.33 sq km.
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).
Best Season : October to March.
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