The largest metropolis in India, Kolkata is a vibrant city on the move, volatile and unpredictable. The Gateway to India, till 1912, and the capital of the Raj in India, it still bears the Victorian imprint on its streets and structures. A city just about ready to burst at the seams, Kolkata is home to more than 10 million people. The Ganges (called the Hooghly in Kolkata) is still the inspiration, as it was to Job Charnok, East India Company agent, who reached the shores in August 1690, to found the city. Kolkata, after London, was the British Empire’s second city.

Kolkata, on-the-Hooghly, retains the aura of days long gone, weaving the past and the present, the intense and the fun loving into a charming fabric.

Kolkata is the gateway to Eastern India. A city with a rich heritage, bustling streets and bewildering variety of facets. From October to March, Kolkata wears a radiant look. Sunshine, mild winter, lights, colours, fairs, festivals, galas and excursions, the mood is infectious and spirit sweeping.

It is the commercial nerve-centre of the East, with major industrial plants, textile mills and corporate units. Regal edifices, grubby alleys, bustling bazaars, elegant hotels, people from all walks of life - Kolkata has it all.

Kolkata is a city of baffling paradoxes, a city that leaves its stamp on one's mind ... forever.

Basic Information

State : West Bengal  

Area : 187 sq. km  

Population :12 million  

Language: Bengali, English, Hindi   

STD Code : 33