Visible places of Kolkata

Important Tourist Attractions

B.B.D. Bagh
    Named after three young freedom fighters-Benoy, Badal and Dinesh, is a square built around the old Lal Dighi tank, which still exits. It was later called the Tank Square and then the Dalhousie Square. It is still the 'heart' of Calcutta and many famous buildings housing important businesses and banks are located here.

Other interesting buildings in the B.B.D. Bagh (Dalhousie) area are the Royal Exchange (a one-time residence of Robert Clive and now the office of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry), St. John's Church. This church's yard has the Mausoleum of 'Calcutta's Founder', Job Charnock. The building is supposedly the oldest piece of masonry in Calcutta.

Calcutta High Court
    The Highest seat of judiciary in West Bengal. One of the oldest in India

(constructed in 1872), built in the Gothic style of architecture, it is a landmark in Calcutta. An extension was added later, which retains its architectural symmetry. Near Eden Gardens.

Calcutta University
    The University of Kolkata is a hallowed institution of higher learning and was founded in 1857 under the direction of the Court of Directors of the erstwhile East India Company. The University of Kolkata was set up along with the similar Universities at Madras and Bombay.

The primary motive to set up Universities in key metropolitan cities of India by the East India Company was due to the fact the British regime needed trained and highly skilled manpower to run their day to day administration. To achieve this goal, the British regime introduced Institutions of higher learning which in the years to come would supply a steady stream of highly educated and intelligent young men to work in the British East India Company.

Fort William
    The Military H.Q. of the Eastern Command. located on the Maidan, adjacent to Red Road. Named after Kind William III it can accommodate a garrison of 10,000 men.

General Post Office (GPO)
    A piece of novel architecture located in the B B D Bag area. Controls the entire postal system of Calcutta.

Marble Palace
    Situated close to the Tagore residence in the northern part of the city, the Marble Palace which houses an age-old art gallery owned by the Mallick family of Chorbagan. Built in 1835 by Rajendra Mallick, this art gallery personifies the earliest effort at collecting by a private individual. European art objects, oil paintings, both original and copies, and a varied assortment of Chinese and Japanese porcelain are amongst its prized collections. The paintings include works by Rembrandt, Reynolds, Rubens and Van Goyen besides many others. There is also a small zoo of birds and non-carnivorous animals. The Marble Palace has confirmed its place in the annals of history despite the colossal presence of the Indian Museum.

Metro Railways
   The chaos of Kolkata streets are legendary. In the past, Kolkata was synonymous with potholed streets, packed-to-the-full buses and a sea of humanity almost of tsunami-esque proportions converging on the streets of Kolkata. But, with changing times, Kolkata has indeed evolved into a more organized city, thanks to the underground Metro Railways in Kolkata, which has to a great extent eased the traffic flow in Kolkata.

Nandan
    A cultural centre for film enthusiasts and professionals, largely patronised by the late Satyajit Roy who inaugurated Nandan and designed its intriguing emblem. Its three motion picture theatres have the best screening facilities in Calcutta. One hall is used largely by film clubs to screen art movies for their members. Situated adjacent to the Academy of Fine Arts Complex.

Raj Bhawan
    Now the residence of the Governor, was once the residence of the Governor-General of India. Based on an idea of the then Governor-General, Marquis of Wellesley, the building was modelled to resemble Lord Curzon's ancestral home - Kedleston Hall.

Saheed Minar
    A monument similar to Qutab Minar of Delhi. This was known as Octerloney Monument. Located near Esplanade on the Maidan and seat of many memorable political meetings.

Victoria Memorial
    Built between 1906 and 1921 on the lines of the Taj Mahal in memory of Queen Victoria. Topped with a moving angel this memorial faces the Calcutta Maidan. It houses paintings, manuscripts, and other objects of historic value in its Museum and Art Gallery. Two regular sound and light shows are held in the evening. Closed on Mondays.

Writer's Building
    The seat of the West Bengal Government Secretariat, it is located in B B D Bag. Built during the days of the Raj, this building epitomises the political revolution of Bengal.
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History of Kolkata

Kolkata, formerly spelled Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located in eastern India on the east bank of the River Hooghly. The city is a colonial city developed by the British East India Company and then the British Empire. The city was the capital of the British Indian empire till 1911 when the capital was relocated to Delhi. Kolkata witnessed a fast rise as the second city of the British Empire in the 19th century accompanied by the development of a culture that was a coalescence of European philosophy with Indian tradition. The city is also noted for its revolutionary history, ranging from Indian struggle for independence to the leftist Naxalite and trade union movements. Labelled the "Cultural Capital of India", "The City of Processions", "The City of Palaces", and the "City of Joy", Kolkata has also been home to luminaries such as Rabindranath Tagore, Subhash Chandra Bose, Mother Teresa and Satyajit Ray. Problems related to rapid urbanisation started to plague the city from 1930s and still the city is an example of an urban hotbed of the developing nations.

Name and origins

The rent-roll of Akbar, the 16th century Mughal emperor, and the work of a Bengali poet, Bipradas Pipilai, of the late 15th century, both make mention of the city's early name being Kolikata, from which Kolkata/Calcutta are said to derive

There is much discussion about the origin of the city's name. The most accepted view is that it comes from the Hindu goddess Kali and the original name was Kalikshetra, "the place of Kali".

Other theories include:

    * The name comes from the location of the original settlement beside a khal ("canal" in Bengali)
    * The place was known for the manufacture of shell-lime, the name deriving from kali ""lime") and kata ("burnt shell")
    * The name is derived from the Bengali kilkila ("flat area"), which is mentioned in the old literature.

The area where the city is now located was originally inhabited by the people of three villages: Kalikata, Sutanuti and Gobindapur. However, the boundaries of the three villages gradually became less distinct, and before the battle of Plassey, the city could be divided into four different sub-areas: European Kolkata (Dihi Kolkata); a residential village with some sacred spots (Gobindapur); a traditional Indian market (Bazar Kalikata or Burrabazar); and a riverine mart concentrating on cloth trade (Sutanati). After the battle of Plassey in 1757, the British started rebuilding the city with the idea of making it the capital for their empire.

The Calcutta High Court ruled in 2003 that Job Charnock, the Englishman generally believed to be the founder of the Calcutta, is not the founder of the city and that hence Kolkata has no birthday. According to the Court, the city has its genesis in the Maurya and Gupta period and it was an established trading post long before the Slave Dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals, the Portuguese, the French or the British established a modern township there.

References to the existence of an ancient riverine port (named Kalikata) exist in the travel journals of Chinese scholars and Persian merchants dating from centuries BCE. The Hindu epic Mahabharata, lists the King of "Vanga", as having fought alongside the Kauravas in the great war.

The British East India Company chose the place for a trade settlement. In 1698, the East India Company bought three villages (Sutanuti, Kalikata and Gobindapur) from a local landlord family of Sabarna Roy Choudhury. The next year, the company began developing the city as a Presidency City. In 1727, onthe order of King George I, a civil court was set up in the city. The Calcutta Municipal corporation (now renamed Kolkata Municipal Corporation) was formed and the city had its first mayor.

Capital of British India

Kolkata was named the capital of British India in 1772. A contemporary description refers to "the splendid sloth and languid debauchery of European society", when "great men rode about in State coaches, with a dozen servants running before and behind them to bawl out their titles". It was during this period that the marshes surrounding the city were drained and the government area was laid out along the banks of the Hooghly River. There are lively descriptions of British life in the city in 1780-82 in the letters of Eliza Fay. Richard Wellesley, the Governor General between 1797–1805, was largely responsible for the growth of the city and its public architecture which led to the description of Kolkata as 'the City of Palaces'. Miss Emily Eden (the sister of the Governor General, who gave her name to Eden Gardens), in 1836 wrote of Calcutta: "Depend upon it, Calcutta is the finest place in the world. I know there are towns with far larger and grander buildings; but then they are not half so clean, and new, and beautiful, as this bride-like city. I have been standing on the roof of the house the last half-hour for air, and, as it was midnight, had an opportunity of seeing all the gay company - returning from an entertainment at the government-house; and I assure you I never witnessed any thing that could compare with the splendour exhibited." By the early 19th century, Kolkata was split into two distinct areas — one British, one Indian, known as 'Black Town'. Even at the time, the poverty of the 'Black Town' shanties was considered shocking. The city underwent rapid industrial growth from the 1850s, especially in the textile and jute sectors; this caused a massive investment in infrastructure projects like rail roads and telegraph by British government.
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