Calcutta, the gateway city to eastern INDIA, is three hundred years old. Calcutta grew to be the capital of the British empire, with grand palaces, buildings, grand hostelries, and shops that traded in some of the finest goods of the world. Calcutta, is in in many ways a literary city too, most easily evinced in its people who are creative, and inclined to political and social debate. It also manifests itself in the lively theatre of the city and the excellent talent in writing, music and dance. Its many museums and libraries are a storehouse of information and archival wealth. Fine arts permeates all levels and sections of society. Calcutta's beautiful buildings have not been eclipsed by the highrises. There is a hint of the past everywhere, though visitors can never escape the present. It is a physical presence that makes for an amazing and bustling city. Calcutta has a social side too, a tradition of the finest clubs in the country. Leisure hours are spent at the many golf courses, and by the turf where races and polo are regular events. There's a lot to see in Calcutta, but the city also opens up the floodgates to travel opportunities in the east.
During Partition however, Calcutta was severely damaged as the economy collapsed due to the fall of the jute industry which passed into East Bengal. Then there were millions of refugees flowing in from the east. Both these contributed to abject poverty.
Come 1971, and the Bangladesh war brought home hordes of refugees to add to the distress. To top it all, there was a militant Naxalite movement around this time that led to serious political unrest. Power shortages, Industrial sickness and strikes were rampant. Calcutta has seen through bad times over and over again.
Despite the problems, Calcutta has risen up and produced many a people the country can be proud of. We have examples of Mother Teressa, Rabindranath Tagore, Saurav Ganguly, Satyajit Ray, Sharmila Tagore, Amritya Sen to name a few.
The British Capital in the past, Calcutta has become a city to be reckoned with due to a lot more factors than one can think. The people, the place, the culture all have made Calcutta a city of various colours and moods. The variety of monuments, the legendary Howrah Bridge, persona like Rabindranath Tagore and Mother Teresa, cricket player Saurav Ganguli have brought the city to life. The tram transport is still subsisting in this city though it symbolises backwardness of the city in terms of traffic. Apart from these, the city also has a few bests to flaunt like the the Indian Museum, Victoria Memorial and Maidan. The Durga Puja and Kali Puja are known to Indians all over the world. Apart from this, one can coin this city as the real capital depecting British Imperialism for the many reminiscents that have been kept intact till date.