Kolkata
 Kolkata the City of Joy. Take time to explore and you’ll find dramatic
colonial architecture and historic temples, art centres and museums,
botanicalgardens and air-conditioned shopping malls, along with some of
the best restaurants in India. For culture vultures, dozens of venues
showcase Bengali dance, poetry, art, music, film and theatre – as you
might expect from the city that produced Nobel Prize–winning poet and
painter Rabindranath Tagore and film director Satyajit Ray.
Although it played a central role in the rise of the British empire, Kolkata is a surprisingly recent creation. The city was founded by the British merchant Job Charnock in 1686,
according to traditional sources. However, Indian historians start their history of Kolkata long before the British arrived, when the land belonged to the Sabarna Ray Caudhuri zamindars, a wealthy family of Bengali landowners. In 2003, the descendents of the zamindars obtained a High Court injunction declaring that Job Charnock should no longer be
regarded as the founder of Kolkata.
Many Kolkatans took an active roll in the struggle for Indian Independence, which forced the British to transfer the capital to Delhi in 1912.
Things have come on a long way since then. In 2000, the government of West Bengal officially renamed Calcutta with its pre-British title, Kolkata.
Kolkata sprawls along both banks of the wide Hooghly River, but most things of interest to travellers are on the east bank, between the two bridges. However, Kolkata’s main railway station is on the west bank in the residential suburb of Howrah (Haora).
The business district of Kolkata takes up several blocks of British colonial buildings around BBD Bagh. Most of the posh hotels, upmarket restaurants and government offices are located in the streets around Park
Street, but some are located in Salt Lake City, a planned development about 7km east of the centre.
Other Useful Information
Sights
Sights Victoria Memorial
At the southern end of the Maidan, Victoria Memorial (admission Indian/foreigner Rs 10/150; opens 10am-5pm Tue-Sun) is possibly the most impressive reminder of the British Raj in all India. It’s a classic piece of Victorian with vast swathes of shining white marble and portraits
statues of all the main players in the history of British India. It looks a bit like a cross between St Paul’s Cathedral and the Taj Mahal.
Indian Museum
Kolkata’s main museum (Chowringhee Road; admission Indian/foreigner Rs 10/150, camera Rs 50opens 10am-5pm Tue-Sun Mar-Nov, till 4.30pm Dec-Feb) covers a impressive range of subjects, from natural history to modern art.
New Market
Known as Sir Stuart Hogg Market in British times, this busy covered market (Lindsay
Street; opens 10am-9pm Mon-Sat) has plenty of clothing and an interesting ‘wet and dry’ section with food and household goods.
The nearby street hawkers’ market (Chowringhee Road) is worth a look – you can find everything here from sunglasses and leather belts to herbal medicines and 1950s magazines sold at the original cover price.
Asiatic Society
Founded in 1784 by the visionary English scholar Sir William Jones, the Asiatic Society (1 Park
Street; admission free; opens 10am-5pm Mon-Fri) established as one of the first museums in Asia in 1814, though most of the exhibits were transferred to the Indian Museum in 1875. Still, an interesting collection of valuable books and illuminated manuscripts remains, including a letter signed by
Mughal King Shah Jahan and a famous stone inscription by the emperor Ashoka (c 250 BC) from Orissa.
St Paul’s Cathedral
Constructed between 1839 and 1847Kolkata’s principal place of Christian worship, St Paul’s Cathedral (Cathedral
Road; opens 9am-noon & 3-6pm, services in English 7am, 7.30am & 8.30am Mon-Sat, 6pm Sun) dominates the southern end of the Maidan.
MP Birla Planetarium
One of many philanthropic gifts to Kolkata from the wealthy Birla family, this is an old-fashioned planetarium (Chowringhee
Road; admission Rs 20; English shows 1.30pm & 6.30pm). It’s one of the largest in the world and it offers the best way to see the stars in
Kolkata. The building is loosely styled on the Buddhist stupa at Sarnath.
Academy of Fine Arts
A fine collection of Mughal miniatures and works by Rabindranath Tagore and other famous Bengali artists
housed in the Academy of Fine Arts (2 Cathedral Road; admission Rs 5; opens noon-7pm Tue-Sat, 3-7pm Sun).
Nehru Children’s Museum
Just south of Chowringhee, this interesting little museum ( 94/1 Chowringhee
Road; admission Rs 5; opens 11am-7pm Wed-Sun, 3-7pm Tue) has colourful dioramas telling the story of the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, and a fine collection of dolls, including a special ‘Hindu wedding’ Barbie.
BBD Bagh
Hemmed in by Old Court House Street and Netaji Subhash Road, BBD Bagh was the main administrative centre for the British in India. Originally known as Dalhousie Square,
Kolkata Panorama
Part of a drive to rehabilitate the buildings of the British administration, this is a multimedia museum (Esplanade West; guided tour Indian/foreigner Rs 10/100; opens 11am-6pm Tue-Sun) housed in the old Kolkata town hall. It contains an interesting collection of models and interactive exhibits covering the last 500 years of Bengali history and culture
St John’s Church
Fading quietly away in a secluded courtyard just south of BBD Bagh, this imposing church (K Sankar Roy
Road; admission Rs 10; opens 8am-5pm) was built in 1787. The overgrown
graveyard contains some important colonial graves, including the octagonal mausoleum of Job Charnock, the ex-founder of Kolkata.
Millennium Park
Neatly laid out on the east bank of the Hooghly, this municipal park (Strand
Road South; admission Rs 5; opens 10am-8.30pm, last entry 8pm) is a popular promenade spot for Kolkata families. It’s a great place to watch life go by on the river and there are great views of the Howrah Bridge.
Howrah Bridge (Rabindra Setu)
This amazing feat of engineering is similar in size to Sydney Harbour Bridge, and with a stream of some 100,000 vehicles daily, it is easily the busiest bridge in the world. The bridge leaps dramatically across the Hooghly in a single 450m span, but photography is strictly prohibited
You can take pictures from outside, but photography is not permitted inside the memorial. There’s an informative sound-and-light show (Indian/foreigner Rs 10/20; from 7.45pm Mar-Sep, 7.15pm Oct-Feb) in English.
Eden Gardens
At the northern end of the Maidan are the pleasantly laid out Edengardens
(admission Rs 2; opens 5am-6.30pm), centred on a lake with a picturesque Burmese pagoda, brought here from Myanmar in 1856.
Hooghly Ghats
It may not look that appealing for a dip, but the Hooghly plays an important role in the religious life of Kolkata Hindus. Each morning and evening, devotees bathe and make offerings at ghats along the Hooghly
Maidan & Fort William
The vast park known as the Maidan stretches 3km from north to south and is dotted with statues,gardens, sporting clubs and fountains. At the south end of the Maidan is the second Fort William constructed in 1758 after Siraj-ud-daula destroyed the original fort.
Birla Mandir
This vast marble-and-sandstone temple (Gariahat Road; opens 6-11.30am & 4-9pm) was constructed by the Birla family, arguably India’s wealthiest clan.
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