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Kolkata (Calcutta)

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Victoria Memorial, Kolkata, India..For more info search Victoria Memorial (India) in Wikipedia

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Overview

India鈥檚 third-largest city is a daily festival of human existence, simultaneously noble and squalid, cultured and desperate, decidedly futuristic though still in transition. By its old spelling, Calcutta readily conjures images of human suffering to most Westerners 鈥� although that's not a complete picture of this 330-year-old metropolis. Locally, Kolkata is regarded as India鈥檚 intellectual, artistic and cultural capital. Although poverty is certainly apparent, the self-made middle class drives the city's core machinery, a nascent hipster culture thrives among its millennial residents and its dapper Bengali gentry frequent grand colonial-era clubs.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Belur Math in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. (Photo by: IndiaPictures/UIG via Getty Images)

    Belur Math

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Set very attractively amid palms and manicured lawns, this large religious centre is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, inspired by 19th-century鈥�

  • Victoria Memorial, Kolkata

    Victoria Memorial

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    The incredible Victoria Memorial is a vast, beautifully proportioned festival of white marble: think US Capitol meets Taj Mahal. Had it been built for a鈥�

  • Botanical Garden

    Botanical Gardens

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Despite being an awkward journey by public transport, Kolkata鈥檚 lovely 109-hectare Botanical Gardens makes for a great place to escape from the city鈥檚鈥�

  • Idol Crafting

    Kumartuli Idol-makers

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Countless clay effigies of deities and demons immersed in the Hooghly during Kolkata鈥檚 colourful pujas (offering or prayers) are created in specialist鈥�

  • Marble Palace

    Marble Palace

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Built in 1835 by a raja from the prosperous Mallick family, this resplendent mansion is as grand as it is curious. Its marble-draped halls are overstuffed鈥�

  • Indian Museum

    Indian Museum

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    India's biggest and oldest major museum celebrated its bicentenary in February 2014. It's mostly a lovably old-fashioned place that fills a large鈥�

  • Tagore鈥檚 House

    Tagore鈥檚 House

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    The stately 1784 family mansion of Rabindranath Tagore has become a shrine-like museum to India鈥檚 greatest modern poet. Even if his personal effects don鈥檛鈥�

  • KOLKATA, INDIA - 2015/04/17: On the evening of Chaitra Sankranti the last day of Bengali calendar resident of Kalighat dress up like Hindu deities popularly known as Sang (Pantomime ) for a procession in the surrounding of Kalighat Temple. (Photo by Saikat Paul/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

    Kalighat Temple

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    This ancient Kali temple is Kolkata鈥檚 holiest spot for Hindus, and possibly the source of the city鈥檚 name. Today鈥檚 version is the 1809 rebuild, with鈥�

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