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Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), is fondly called the City of Joy, a title (that means sustained happiness) it has aptly earned due to its liveliness, sweetness and an indomitably joyous attitude in the heart of its food crazy citizens. The city became known globally after a British named Job Charnock discovered this highly developed city in1690 AD and then the British made this city their Capital of India.

Kolkatans or Calcatians, as how the city's people are called, are one of the most extremely passionate people you will meet on Earth, but beware, they can be the craziest and the angriest people you have ever met as well! They are generally extreme, either extremely Optimistic, or extremely Pessimistic or extremely Balanced, but you will find two qualities common in almost all of them: their Sweetness and Liveliness, in sync with their lively & vibrant city whose hustle & bustle refuses to stop throughout the day & night. Kolkatans are mostly born with innate passion and a crazy love for sweets; you will find sweet shops catering incredibly innovative offerings for your sweet tooth throughout the city. And another thing you will find always on the streets of Kolkata: the multiple modes of cheap public transportation that are available round the clock.

Kolkata has many unique things that cannot be found in other Indian states. Kolkata is the only state (province) in India that has been blessed with natural Mountains, Forests, Oceans as well as Rivers: esp. the Ganges (the most holy river as Indians revere to). The state gets to experience all six seasons to their charm. Also Kolkata is the only Indian city where any person can still today eat to his full stomach at Rs. 10 (0.17 CAD) only, as well as, extravagantly at any of its luxurious & super costly dining places. Kolkata has the largest English medium school South Point School (my alma mater) that holds the Guinness World Record for the maximum number of pupils in a school. Moreover, Kolkata is the only Indian city that has been consistently giving the world multiple Nobel Laureates in every generation, ever since the start of that prestigious global prize to till date!

Kolkata is also called the Cultural Capital of India; this is an evident fact that you can easily notice when roaming around the city's affectionate roads - the shops, signboards and local advertisements are all in correct English, a thing that is incredibly hard to find in other parts of India, even in the capital Delhi. The higher educational standards of the city easily find expression in the quality of life and Kolkata has been rated as the safest city in India for women. 

The city is not just reputed for Nobel Laureates in every generation, but also due to its rich heritage of sportsmen to musicians, from great scientists to poets. It has a rich cultural heritage and a plethora of historical lineage associated with it and has many of the Unesco world heritage sites. Nobel Laureate Mother Teresa, one of the kindest persons on Earth, who was Sainted posthumously in recent times, hailed from Kolkata. Other great people from the city include Nobel laurates Rabindranath Tagore, Amartya Sen, Abhijit Banerjee, Saints Vivekananda & Sri Ramakrishna, Scientists Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, Acharya Sir Prafulla Chandra Ray, Satyendranath Bose, Meghnad Saha, et al.

You will find a mix of old & new building throughout Kolkata with the old ones mostly having British architecture. The city has one of the busiest bridges in the world, the Howrah bridge or Rabindra Setu - a cantilever bridge build without any welding or using any single nut of bolt, instead using only riveted joints. The city's museum, named Indian Museum is the biggest in Asia and has an incredible collection right from real dinosaur skeletons to Egyptian Pharaoh. Kolkata's Alipore Zoo has an excellent variety of delights for animal lovers; in fact many migratory birds from far west (the Americas) come to this zoo once a year during winter.

A write-up on the city can never be complete without Durga Pujo: the biggest festival of the Bengalis. Durga is the name of the Mother Goddess who has 10 hands with 10 different weapons and Pujo or Puja means worship in the Bengali language. Durga Pujo is in fact the largest annual public festival existing on Earth as well with an average of  footfalls; many people across the world don't know about only because of the fact that it's not so advertised globally as the other big festivals like the Rio Carnival (  footfalls) or Oktoberfest (  footfalls). Also the holy Kalighat Temple & Dakshineswar Temple are in the city. Ramakrishna Missions which are present globally and renowned for their high quality of social services also originated from this city and have their headquarters here.

Kolkata does have its share of the global problems like air-pollution, etc., but, the city still lives to its glorious history, with a passionate and loving heart for all in its core. Do visit once in your lifetime if you get a chance, and don't forget to call/message me up (+1 647 247 4950 / +91 8777 646061 / debarun.dutta@gmail.com) to voluntarily guide you on planning one of your most memorable 'once in a lifetime' experiences. You are Most Welcome to Kolkata! Enjoy the following Pictures & Videos from the City of Joy.

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Copyright © by Dr. Debarun Dutta 

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