An
Overview of Kolkata :
Situated on the banks of river Hooghly, Kolkata is the capital city of the
state of West Bengal. The cosmopolitan city with its notable revolutionary
history has played an important role in the Indian Struggle of Independence
and remained the capital city of the British India until 1911. This
wonderful cultural land of Rabindranath Tagore, Subhash Chandra Bose, Mother
Teresa and Satyajit Ray has earned many titles over the centuries like the
'Cultural Capital of India', the 'City of Processions' and the 'City of
Joy'. Today this busy and flourishing city happens to be the commercial hub
of eastern India.
Climate of Kolkata :
Kolkata enjoys a subtropical climate with temperature often exceeding to 40
degrees celsius during May and June. In winters temperature dips to a low of
12 degrees celsius. The city receives rainfall from the south west monsoons
with heavy showers in the month of August.
Tourist Attractions of Kolkata :
» Victoria Memorial - This great architectural
structure was built in the early 20th century. Made of white marble, the
memorial represents a brilliant combination of the European and the Mughal
architecture. Built in the memory of Queen Victoria, this monument has a
huge collection of pictures, statues, manuscripts, letters etc belonging to
the Nawabi and the British times in Bengal. Covering an area of 64 acres, it
also houses a large statue of Queen Victoria.
»
Howrah Bridge This bridge is one of the finest examples of engineering
marvel. Mad eup of high tensile steel, this bridge took six years to
complete. It connects the industrial city of Howrah with Kolkata. It is
nearly 90 meters in height above the road level supported by two piers. The
bridge has a span of almost 500 meters with no pillars in the middle. The
bridge is also called the Rabindra Setu.
» Dakshineswar Temple - Situated on the banks of
river Ganges, this temple was built by Rani Rasmoni in the 19th century. The
temple is dedicated to Goddess Kali and is one of famous pilgrimage centres
in India. The temple has its association with Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa,
the renowned guru of Swami Vivekananda.
» Birla Planetarium - This planetarium is situated
near Chowringhee Road. Spectacular views of the stars followed by
astronomical shows with commentaries in different languages pull in a good
number of tourists to this place. This planetarium is one of its kind in the
commonwealth countries and is especially liked by the kids.
Getting to Kolkata :
Kolkata has fabulous rail, road and air links to all parts of India and
abroad. It has both the international and domestic airports at Dumdum, about
17 km northeast of city centre. It is linked by regular flights to all
important cities of India such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Patna, Lucknow
etc. The city is easily accessible with its two railway stations- Howrah and
Sealdah, with trains running to all the major cities. Being the capital city
it also has an excellent network of good roads providing excellent
connectivity.
