If Bangalore is the Seattle of India, then Kolkata is the sub-contintent's New York. It is an 'in your face' city that shocks and charms the unsuspecting visitor. Abject poverty and filth mix inexplicably with crumbling British Raj-era gems, sprawling gardens and historical colleges. Long known as the cultural capital of India, Kolkata continues to spawn generations of poets, writers, film producers and Nobel Peace Prize winners. If your visit only allows for a visit of one or two of India's metropolitan cities, then definitely consider placing Kolkata on your itinerary. Love it or hate it, you definitely won't forget the city on the Hooghly.

As in many large Indian cities, Kolkata has a fascinating train station, which is worth a visit even if you're not taking a train. A microcosm of Indian life, Howrah Station is filled with thousands of people eating, sleeping and even living in its interiors. Outside the station is one of the city's most recognized structures—the massive steel Howrah Bridge across the Hooghly River. If the volume of people in the station doesn't impress you, the mass movement of people across the bridge will. A less modern form of transportation is readily available in Kolkata—the hand-pulled rickshaw. A few years back the Indian government tried to take them off the streets, but relented in the face of opposition from the pullers themselves.

History

Founded in 1690 by Job Charnok of the British East India Company, Kolkata went on to become the Second City of The British Empire. Much of the city went on to decline since it ceased to be the capital of India in 1911. It has been plagued by its fair share of problems, but it remains a well and truly a living city. It is the cultural capital of India. Currently Kolkata is the State capital of west Bengal and is the gateway to Eastern India. To many a westerner Kolkata is a city of poverty and poor hygiene and but to millions it is the City of Joy.

Surely the experience will overwhelm most people visiting for the first time but with time you can get the feel of the warmth of it's people, it's rich colonial past, it's vibrant art and culture and so on. Kolkata and its people are passionate about art, literature, music, dance, theatre, and sports. Kolkata has produced international figures in many fields, most notable among them are Nobel Laureates Rabindranath Tagore (Literature), Amartya Sen (Economics), Sir Ronald Ross (Medicine), Prof. C.V. Raman (Physics), Mother Teresa, and Oscar-winning film-maker Satyajit Ray. Kolkata along with the rest of Bengal was also the hotbed of Indian freedom struggle.