Travel Agent In Kolkata

Alipore Zoological Gardens Kolkata: The Alipore Zoological Gardens (also informally called the Alipore Zoo, Calcutta Zoo or Kolkata Zoo) is India's oldest formally stated zoological park (as opposed to royal and British menageries) and a big tourist attraction in Kolkata, West Bengal. It has been open as a zoo since 1876, and covers 45 acres (18 ha). It is probably best known as the home of the now expired Aldabra Giant Tortoise Adwaita, which was reputed to have been over 250 years old when it died. It is also home to one of the few captive breeding projects involving the Manipur Brow-antlered Deer. The zoo has drawn a lot of criticism from the zoo community and conservationists in the past few decades, mainly for its cramped cages, as well as for its Panthera hybrid breeding program.

The zoo remains one of the most popular winter tourist attractions in Kolkata, but revenue earned is low as gate costs are highly subsidized. The ticket prices at the gate increased from Rs 5 to Rs 10 in the winter of 2003 (a doubling from approx. 12 c to 25 c in the exchange rate of the time). The footfall figures in 2005 showed an annual visitation of almost 20 lakh (2,000,000) — more than any other tourist attraction in Kolkata, and a peak of over 25,000 on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

The zoo displays a large number of crowd-pulling megafauna, including the Royal Bengal Tiger, African Lion, Jaguar, Hippopotamus, Great Indian One-horned Rhinoceros, Reticulated Giraffe, Grant's Zebra, Emu, Dromedary Camel and Indian Elephant. Previously, other megafauna like the Panthera hybrids and the Giant Eland were present.

The zoo sported a large collection of attractive birds, including some threatened species up until the 1980s - large parrots including a number of Macaw species, Conures, lories and lorikeets; other large birds like Touracos and Hornbills; colourful game birds like the Golden Pheasant, Lady Amherst's Pheasant and Swinhoe's Pheasant and some large flightless birds like the Emu, Cassowary and Ostrich. However, lack of pairing and exchange programs have caused a significant decline in the populations, causing some of the populations to die out.

Laid out on 45 acres (18 ha) of land, the Calcutta zoo has been unable to expand or modify its layout for over 50 years, and thus has a rather backdated plan. It contains a Reptile House (a new one has been built), a Primate House, an Elephant House, and a Panther House which opens out onto the open air enclosures for the lions and tigers. A separate Children's zoo is present, and the central water bodies inside the zoo grounds attract migratory birds.
The Calcutta Aquarium lies across the street from the zoo, and is affiliated to the zoo.

The zoo was among the first zoos in the world to breed white tigers and the common Reticulated Giraffe. While it has successfully bred some megafauna, its rate of breeding rare species has not been very successful, often due to lack of initiative and funding. One notable exception is the breeding programmed of the Manipur Brow-antlered Deer, or Thamin which has been brought back from the brink of extinction by the breeding program at the Alipore Zoo.

Esplanade, Kolkata : known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal. This is not a conventional esplanade in the sense that the place is not exactly situated alongside a waterbody. However, the river Ganges, also known as the Ganga or the Hooghly, is located nearby. This esplanade is located in the heart of the city and is one of the busiest portions.

The Esplanade was the name given to the northern portion of jungle, which later formed the Maidan. In olden days, it stretched from Dhurmotollah (now Lenin Sarani) to Chandpal Ghat on the Hooghly River. In the days of Warren Hastings, it formed a favorite promenade for ‘elegant walking parties’. The five principal streets of Kolkata abutted on it, says Sophia Goldborne, who wrote in 1780. The strengthening of British power, subsequent to their victory in the Battle of Plassey was followed by the construction of the new Fort William, in 1758. The European inhabitants of Kalikata gradually forsook the narrow limits of the old palisades and moved to around the Maidan.

The street named Esplanade Row, finds a mention in the map of 1784, running from Dhurmotollah right on to the banks of the river at Chandpal Ghat, passing on its way Government House and Council House, both facing south. Subsequently, it was divided by the gardens of Government House into two parts, Esplanade Row (East) and Esplanade Row (West). Esplanade Row (West) now runs between Government Place (West) and Strand Road, through the High Court. Esplanade Row (East) has been renamed Sidhu Kanu Dahar and occupies the northern end of the Maidan.

As a result of the movement of Europeans from the old palisades in the eighteenth century, Esplanade Row took on a new look. The most important public buildings and imposing private houses lined the northern side of the Esplanade, facing the Maidan on the south. “Esplanade Row,” wrote Mrs. Fay, “seems to be composed of palaces.”

Tipu Sultan Mosque Tipu Sultan Mosque at the junction of Esplanade Row (East) and Dhurmotollah Street was built by his eighth son, Prince Gholam Mohammad. It was declared a heritage building by Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

Howrah or Haora Kolkata: is an industrial city, a municipal corporation in the Howrah district, West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the district, and also the headquarters of Howrah Sadar subdivision of the district. Located on the west bank of the Hoogli River, it is a twin city of Kolkata.
Hooghli River flows between the twin cities of Howrah and Kolkata. Howrah Bridge (Rabindra Setu), a cantilever bridge with one endpoint next to Howrah station, and Vidyasagar Setu, a cable-stayed bridge with one endpoint near Shalimar station, connect the two cities. Both the bridges are counted among the longest ones in the world within their types. Also, between various jetties in Howrah and Kolkata, there are ferry services available, which was introduced in 1970's. The jetties on Howrah side are at Howrah Station, Ramkrishnapur, Shibpur, Shalimar and Nazirganj.

The Howrah Bridge is a bridge that spans the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India. It was originally named the New Howrah Bridge because it links the city of Howrah to its twin city, Kolkata (Calcutta). On 14 June 1965 it was renamed Rabindra Setu, after Rabindranath Tagore a great poet and the first Indian Nobel laureate. However it is still popularly known as the Howrah Bridge.

The bridge is one of the four on the Hooghly River and is a famous symbol of Kolkata and West Bengal. The other bridges are the Vidyasagar Setu (popularly called the Second Hooghly Bridge), the Vivekananda Setu and the newly built engineering marvel Nivedita Setu. Apart from bearing the stormy weather of the Bay of Bengal region, it successfully bears the weight of a daily traffic of approximately 80,000 vehicles and, possibly, more than 1,000,000 pedestrians. It is the sixth longest bridge of its type in the world.

In 1862, the Government of Bengal asked George Turnbull, Chief Engineer of the East India Railway Company to study the feasibility of bridging the Hooghly River — he had recently established the company's rail terminus in Howrah. He reported on 29 March with large-scale drawings and estimates that:
1. The foundations for a bridge at Calcutta would be at a considerable depth and cost because of the depth of the mud there.
2. "The impediment to shipping would be considerable".
3. A good place for the bridge was at Pulta Ghat "about a dozen miles north of Calcutta" where a "bed of stiff clay existed at no great depth under the river bed".
4. He recommended and designed a suspended-girder bridge of five spans of 400 feet and two spans of 200 feet.
The bridge was not built.

Construction of the New Howrah Bridge was started on 1937. The Cantilever Era was prevailing at that time, and engineers felts that cantilever bridges were more rigid than suspension bridges. This bridge is one of the finest cantilever bridges in the world - left to India by the Purulian engineers. It is also known as Howrah Bridge.

The New Howrah Bridge was built between 1937 and 1943 and had a single 450 m span. It is technically a cantilever truss bridge, constructed entirely by riveting, without nuts or bolts. It is currently used as a road bridge, but previously had a tram route as well. The bridge also has sister bridges over the river at different points, namely the Vidyasagar Setu and the Vivekananda Setu.

Howrah Bridge is the gateway to Kolkata. Built on the Hooghly River, its original purpose was to facilitate military transportation between Kolkata and the industrial town of Howrah during World War II. It remains a cantilever bridge connecting the city to its main railway station, the Howrah Station, one of the busiest railway stations of the world.

The bridge is 705 metres long and 30 metres wide. More than 26,500 MT of high-tensile steel went into this unique bridge supported by two piers, each nearly 90 meters above the road. An engineering marvel, it expands as much as a metre during a summer day. The eight-lane bridge carries a steady flow of approximately 80,000 vehicles, and possibly more than 1,000,000 pedestrians and thousands of cattle every day. Its best view is from the middle of the river (but photography there is prohibited). The ferries running from below the Howrah Station another way to cross the river and view the bridge.

The discovery of the nearby Chandraketugarh, an archaeological site, provides evidence that the area has been inhabited for over two millennia. The city's documented history, however, begins with the arrival of the English East India Company in 1690, when the Company was consolidating its trade business in Bengal. Job Charnock, an administrator with the Company was traditionally credited as the founder of this city. However some academics have recently challenged the view that Charnock was the founder of the city, and in response to a public interest litigation the High Court ruled in 2003 that the city does not have a specific founder.

Kolkata by Air: Dumdum airport direct services to other important cities of India such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata provides direct flights to most of the countries in the Southeast Asia.

Kolkata by Rail: Howrah railway stations, Sealdah railway stations, Super-fast trains Rajdhani Express and Shatabdi Express connect the city to Delhi and nearby cities. Coromandel and Gitanjali Express connect Kolkata to Chennai and Mumbai.

Kolkata by Road: Esplanade Terminus in the heart of the city is the main bus terminus. Kolkata is connected with most of the Indian cities by road.

The Indian Museum Kolkata: Is the largest museum in India and has rare collections of antiques, armour and ornaments, fossils, skeletons, mummies, and Mughal paintings. It was founded by Dr Nathaniel Wallich a Danish botanist at Serampore (originally called Frederischnagore) near Kolkata (Calcutta), India, in 1814. It is a multi-disciplinary institution of national standing and is one of oldest museums in the world.

This was the first museum of its kind in Asia. The Indian museum rose from the Asiatic Society of Bengal which was created by Sir William Jones in 1784. Many relics and curiosities were sent in initially and the space required was granted by the Government of India between Park Street and Chowringhee. In February 1814, Dr Nathaniel Wallich wrote a letter supporting the formation of a museum in Calcutta which he said should have two sections - an archaeological, ethnological and technical section and a geological and zoological one. The latter was taken charge of by Wallich. After the resignation of Dr Wallich curators were paid salaries ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 200 a month. Until 1836 this salary was paid by the Asiatic Society but in that year its bankers, Palmer and Company became insolvent and the Government began to pay from its public funds. A temporary grant of Rs 200 per month was sanctioned for maintenance of the museum and library and Dr JT Pearson of the Bengal Medical Service was appointed Curator followed shortly by Dr John McClelland and on his resignation by Edward Blyth. In 1840, the Government took a keen interest in the geology and mineral resources and this led to an additional grant of Rs 250 per month for the geological section alone. A new building became a need and this was designed by Walter R Granville and completed in 1875 for the cost of Rs 1,40,000. In 1879 it received a portion of the collection from the India Museum (South Kensington) when that collection was dispersed.

The Zoological and Anthropological sections of the museum gave rise to the Zoological Survey of India in 1916, which in turn gave rise to the Anthropological Survey of India in 1945.

The Marble Palace Kolkata: is a privately owned collection of eclectic sculptures, paintings and a small menagerie and aviary off Chittaranjan Avenue in North Kolkata. Built by Raja Rajendra Mullick in 1835, it houses, among other treasures two little-publicized Reubens and a Joshua Reynolds, not to mention over 50 varieties of marble which grace the interiors of this mansion.

The house was built in 1835 by Raja Rajendra Mullick, a wealthy Bengali merchant with a passion for collecting works of art. The house continues to be a residence for his descendants, and the current occupants are the family of Raja Rajendra Mullick Bahadur. Raja Rajendra Mullick was the adopted son of Nilmoni Mullick, who built a Jagannath temple which predates Marble Palace, and still stands within the premises, but is only accessible to members of the family.

The house is basically Neoclassical in style, while the plan with its open courtyards is largely traditional Bengali. Adjacent to the court-yard, there is a thakur-dalan, or place of worship for members of the family. The three-storey building has tall fluted Corinthian pillars and ornamented verandas with fretwork and sloping roofs, built in the style of a Chinese pavilion. The premises also include a garden with lawns, a rock garden, a lake and a small zoo.

The house contains large quantities of Western sculpture and Victorian furniture, paintings by European and Indian artists, and other objets d'art. Decorative objects include large chandeliers, clocks, floor to ceiling mirrors, urns, and busts of kings and queens. The house is said to contain two paintings by Rubens, The Marriage of St. Catherine and The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian. There are also said to be two paintings by Sir Joshua Reynolds, The Infant Hercules Strangling the Serpent and Venus and Cupid. Other artists said to figure in the collections include Titian, Murillo, and John Opie.

The collection of art objects is lavish, though random. Genuinely valuable pieces of art share space with a lot of kitschy art objects of little value. Geoffrey Moorhouse in his book Calcutta says it looks "as if they had been scavenged from job lots on the Portobello Road on a series of damp Saturday afternoons.

Located next to the palace is the Marble Palace Zoo, the first zoo opened in India, also by Raja Rajendra Mullick. It now primarily serves as an aviary, including peacocks, hornbills, pelicans, storks, and cranes. The menagerie also contains monkeys and several species of deer.

Because Marble Palace remains a private residence, photography is prohibited. Entry is free, but a permit must be obtained 24 hours in advance from the West Bengal Tourism Information Bureau at BBD Bag, Kolkata. Inside the house, there are guides who give visitors a tour of the house, although the parts of the house which are still inhabited remain off-limits. Marble Palace is open from 10am to 4pm on all days except Mondays and Thursdays.

Birla Industrial and Technological Museum Kolkata: on Gurusaday Dutta Road, was inaugurated in 1959 as the first popular science museum in Asia. Popular science exhibits and a significant collection of historical industrial holdings in India. Its collection of old gramophones, sound recorders, telephones, steam engines, road rollers and other industrial machinery of the period 1880–1950 is very significant.

The first science museum in India was set up by the industrialist Ghanshyam Das Birla at BITS, in Pilani in a hall (185 sq.mt area) of the Tower Building. The museum depicted mainly the industries and business enterprises of the Birlas. The museum was opened to the public in 1954. Ten years later the museum was shifted to the present building.

Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal and physician was impressed to see Deutsches Museum of Munich. He thought to set up a science museum and a planetarium in Calcutta. Dr. Roy requested to Ghanshyam Das Birla for a help. Ghanshyam Das Birla donated his residential house to the then prime minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru. The three storied Victorian style architectural building along with five bighas land of ‘Birla Park’, where they had lived for thirty five years.
Existing galleries
• Biotechnology
• Electricity
• Fascinating Physics
• Life Science
• Mathematics. Inaugurated on 8th May, 2010
• Metals
• Mock-up Coal Mine
• Motive Power
• Popular Science
• Television
• Transport

Science City Kolkata: is a complex near the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass featuring a lot of interactive science and live bioscience exhibits, as well as having Kolkata's first OMNIMAX theatre.

Galleries
Dynamotion Hall
Hands-on and interactive exhibits on various topics of science encouraging visitors to experience with props and enjoy the underlying scientific principles.
• Illusions. A permanent exhibition on the world of illusions with interactive exhibits, explores how motion and placement make a different in the visual perception.
• Powers of Ten. 43 exhibits unfold the smallest or the biggest of the universe through zooming in or out in the order of ten.
• Fresh Water Aquarium. Variety of fresh water fishes in 26 tanks; provide the bio-diversity of the fish species.
• Live Butterfly Enclave. A colony of live butterflies hatched here and screening of a film Rang Bahari Prajapati on life cycle of butterfly.

Earth Exploration Hall
Inaugurated on 6 December, 2008 by Ambika Sony, the then Union Minister for Culture, India. A permanent exhibition on earth is housed in a two storied hemispherical building that displays the details of the southern hemisphere in the ground floor and northern hemisphere in the first floor. Slicing a huge earth globe at the centre of the hall into 12 segments vertically in each hemisphere, important features of each segment such as physical geography, lands and people, flora and fauna and other dynamic natural phenomenon on earth have been highlighted around the central globe with the modern display technologies such as attractive visuals, interactive multimedia, video walls, panoramic videos, tilting tables, computer kiosks and 3-D effects theatre wearing a special Polaroid spectacle.

Evolution Park
A theme tour of 1300 square meter covering 7 large walk through dioramas with 71 robotic pre-historic animals, 26 dinosaurs and 140 early plant model set to their periods. It portrays the story of evolution of animal life, specially the extinct species.

Space Odyssey
Comprising Space Theatre equipped with Helios Star Ball planetarium supported by 150 special effect projectors and Astrovision 10/70 Large format Film Projection system housed in a 23 meter diameter tilted dome having unidirectional seating arrangement for 360 person, fascinating and immersive shows on sciences. Now the Astrovision film The Living Sea has been screening from May 23, 2010.

3-D Vision Theater. A show based on stereo back projection system where visitors experience 3D effect by Polaroid spectacles.
• Mirror Magic. There are 35 exhibits based on reflection of light.
• Time Machine. 30-seater motion simulator provides virtual experience of space flight or journey into unknown world sitting in a casual maneuvered by hydraulic motion control system.

Maritime Centre
Depicts maritime history of India, artifacts, dioramas and interactive exhibits on shipping and navigation systems. There is an unmanned quiz corner also.

Science Park
In a tropical country like India, the outdoor is sunny and more inviting than the indoors for most part of the year. In a Science Park, people come closer to plants, animals and other objects in their natural surroundings and also learn about the basic principles of science in an open air learning environment. The park interactive exhibits are engineered so as to tolerate all the weather. Science Park has become the integral part in all the centres of NCSM. It comprises Caterpillar Ride, Gravity Coaster, Musical Fountain, Road Train, Cable Cars, Monorail Cycle, butterfly nursery and several exhibits on physical and life sciences and a maze set up in a lush green ambience.

The Jorasanko Thakur Bari Kolkata: is the ancestral home of the Tagore family and was converted into a museum in 1961. The museum has three large galleries - one of the life and works of Rabindranath, a second gallery about his close relatives such as father Debendranath Tagore, Abanindranath Tagore, Gaganendranath Tagore and others, and a third gallery on the Bengal Renaissance in general.

The Thakurbari (Bangla: House of the Thakurs (anglicized to Tagore) in Jorasanko, north of Kolkata, West Bengal, India is the ancestral home of the Tagore family. It is currently located on the Rabindra Bharati University campus.

It was built in the 18th century by Prince Dwarkanath Tagore (Rabindranath Tagore's grandfather). Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) was born here.

The house is has been restored to reflect the way the household looked when the Tagore family lived in it and currently serves as the Tagore museum for Kolkata. The museum offers details about the history of the Tagore family including its involvement with the Bengal Renaissance and the Brahmo Samaj.

A visit to Jorasanko Thakur Bari is always an exhilarating experience. Apart from the heritage routine, Rabindra Bharati University organizes regular cultural programmes on the poet’s birthday, Panchise Baisakh, when thousands flock to Jorasanko Thakur Bari, and on other occasions, such as his death anniversary, Baishe Shravan. It also organises a festival of arts, Aban Mela.

Gurusaday Museum Kolkata: On Diamond Harbour Road, is the outcome of a lifetime of collection of traditional Bengal folk arts in undivided Bengal by Sir Gurusaday Dutt. On his death in 1941, the collection was handed over to the Bratachari Society founded by Sir Gurusaday Dutt to preserve and protect Bengal folk arts. It was opened as a museum to the public with the help of the Government of India in 1963. It contains, among other fine handicrafts, terracotta panels, kantha or folk quilt work, and patas ( or hand painted scrolls of the late 1900s), notably of the Kalighat school.

The Asutosh Museum Kolkata: Of Indian Art, on College Street, is the other museum specializing in Bengal folk arts, but with significant archaeological holdings from sites in West Bengal and Bihar like Chandraketugarh and Tamluk. The first university owned museum in India, it is run by the University of Calcutta and is named after its famous vice chancellor Sir Asutosh Mukherjee.

Jawahar Shishu Bhavan Kolkata:Is named after Jawaharlal Nehru, whose love for children was well known. The museum has a collection of dolls and toys from across the globe, and has a doll - based retelling of the Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. Established in 1972 close to the Victoria Memorial, and commonly referred to as "Nehru Children's Museum", this museum is aging awkwardly fast.

Sabarna Sangrahashala Kolkata: Located at Baro Bari, Barisha, Kolkata 700008, is the only family museum of Kolkata which is open to public. It was established in 2005 by the Sabarna Roy Choudhury Paribar Parishad and already has become a great tourist destination specially for those who want to know more about the history of Kolkata. The Museum possesses some of the rarest Kabulatipatras, documents and articles of historical importance.

Kolkata also has some other small museums like the Maritime Museum, and the Police Museum.

Aquatica park (Kolkata) is an 8-acre (32,000 m2) water theme park in Kolkata, Aquatica park was started in 1999. The water theme park Aquatica is located in Kochpukur, Rajarhat, just beside the Rajarhat New Town area. One of the largest water amusement parks in Kolkata. Recently another water theme park, Wet 'O' Wild, has come up near Nicco Park in the Salt Lake City area.
Aquatica has a number of rides including tremendously exciting ones like the Black Hole, the Wave Pool, Niagara Falls, Tornado and the Aqua Dance Floor.

Millennium Park (Kolkata) A relatively new park in Kolkata, inaugurated on 26 December 1999. Millennium Park is situated along the strand on eastern shore of Hooghly River near Babughat and opposite to Koilaghat. The park consists of landscaped gardens and children's amusement rides.

Nicco park (Kolkata) This park has a variety of fascinating and interesting rides including Asia's largest wooden roller coaster. Other notable rides include Kolkata's longest cable car ride and India's first "4D" movie experience. There is also a water park which has seven slides and Eastern India's largest wave pool. Set up in Salt Lake, on the north-eastern fringe of Kolkata (Calcutta), this amusement park covers an area of 40 acres.
Today, Nicco Park in Kolkata enjoys the proud distinction of being the first amusement park in the world to obtain ISO 9002 certification from a well-known European Certifying Authority.

Calcutta Stock Exchange (CSE), located at the Lyons Range, Kolkata, India, was incorporated in 1908 and is the second largest bourse in India.
Kolkata is the main business, commercial and financial hub of eastern India and the northeastern states. India's second-largest Stock.

New Market is Kolkata's historic shopping district. Opened in 1874, It was named Hogg Market after the commissioner Sir Stuart Hogg. The beautiful fountain and benches at the market no longer exist, but the popularity of the market has not waned, and the beautiful gothic clock tower recalls the British heritage of the market. It was renamed New Market after Independence.
Shopping arcades like Forum Mall and Emami Shoppers' City in Central Calcutta have brought international brands from Swarovski to Godiva to the city, breaking the city's dependence on the older market complexes like A.C. Market and Vardaan Market, which were mainly Chinese import dependent. City centre has sprung up in the residential area of Salt Lake City, which is fast becoming a new destination for Calcuttans.

Kalighat One of the oldest neighborhoods in South Kolkata, A famous temple Kalighat Kali Temple dedicated to the goddess Kali is situated in Kalighat. This is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas. The right toe of Dakshayani is said to have fallen here. The Shakti here is known as Kalika, while the Bhairava is Nakulesh. It is a very famous place and a pilgrimage for Shakta (Shiva and Durga/Kali/Shakti worshippers) followers within the Hindu religion.

Kalika Temple
One Raja Basanta Roy, uncle of Pratapaditya and the King of Jessore, Bangladesh perhaps built what is now known as Old Temple. This temple was situated on the banks of river Adi Ganga. The natmandir, a hall attached to the sanctum sanctorum is in the southern side while Shiva's temple is situated in the north-east. There is also a temple dedicated to Radha Krishna built in 1843 by a zamindar of Baowali. The specialty of Kali of this temple is the long protruded tongue made of gold. This is a different appearance from the other visualizations of Kali.

Kalighat temple has references in 15th century texts. The original temple was a small hut. The present temple was built by the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family of Barisha in 1809. They offered 595 bighas of land to the Temple deity so that worship and service could be continued smoothly. It is believed by some scholars that the name Calcutta was derived from Kalighata. In the early days traders halted at Kalighat to pay patronage to the goddess. The temple was initially on the banks of Hooghly. The river over a period of time has moved away from the temple. The temple is now on the banks of a small canal called Adi Ganga, connecting to Hooghly. The present dakshina Kali idol of touchstone was created by two saints - Brahmananda Giri and Atmaram Giri. It was Padmabati Devi, the mother of Laksmikanta Roy Choudhury who discovered the fossils of Sati's finger in a lake called Kalikunda. This made Kalighat as one of the 51 Shakti Pithas.

Kalika's Image
The image of the deity is incomplete. Only the face of the deity was made first. The hands, made of gold and silver, the tongue, the Shiva statue and all the jewellery were added over the years. On snanyatra day, while giving the divine Mother the ceremonial bath, the priests tie their eyes with cloth coverings. On auspicious occasions like Kali Puja, Durga Puja, Poila Boishakh, the Bengali New Year day and sankranti large number of devotees throng the place with offerings.

Adi Ganga
Kalighat was a Ghat (landing stage) sacred to Kali on the old course of the Hooghly river (Bhagirathi). The name Calcutta is said to have been derived from the word Kalighat. The river over a period of time has moved away from the temple. The temple is now on the banks of a small canal called Adi Ganga which connects to the Hoogly. The Adi Ganga was the original course of the river Hoogly (Ganga). Hence the name Adi (original) Ganga.

Worship
The temple is visited by pilgrims from all over India irrespective of sectarian differences. The thousands of pilgrims who flock daily to the Kalighat temple treat Kali very much like a human mother, bringing her their domestic problems and prayers for prosperity, and returning when their prayers are fulfilled to express their gratitude. Their attitude towards the Goddess is guided by their religious traditions and training, their spiritual and intellectual capacities, and the guidance of their temple priests.

Legend
Kalighat is regarded as one of the 51 Shakti Peethas of India, where the various parts of Sati's body are said to have fallen, in the course of Shiva's Rudra Tandava. Kalighat represents the site where the toes of the right toe of Dakshayani or Sati fell. Legend has it that a devotee discovered a luminant ray of light coming from the Bhagirathi river bed, and upon investigating its source came upon a piece of stone carved in the form of a human toe. He also found a Svayambhu Lingam of Nakuleshwar Bhairav nearby, and started worshiping Kaali in the midst of a thick jungle.

Kalighat is also associated with the worship offered to Kali by a Dasanami Monk by name Chowranga Giri, and the Chowringee area of Calcutta is said to have been named after him.

History
The Kalighat temple in its present form is only about 200 years old, although it has been referred to in Mansar Bhasan composed in the 15th century, and in Kavi Kankan Chandi of the 17th century. Only two types of coins of Chandragupta II, who incorporated Vanga in the Gupta Empire, are known from Bengal. His Archer type coins, which became the most popular type of coinage with the Gupta rulers after Kumaragupta I, have been found in Kalighat. This is evidence of the antiquity of the place.

The original temple was a small hut. A small temple was constructed by King Manasingha in the early Sixteenth century. The present temple was erected under the patronage of the Sabarna Roy Chowdhury family of Banisha. It was completed in 1809. The Haldar family claims to be the original owners of the temple property. But this was disputed by the Chowdhrys of Banisha. In the nineteen sixties a committee was formed for the administrative management of the temple with representation from the Government and the Haldar family. The responsibility of conducting the worship rests with the Haldars and their heirs, generally known as shebaits.

Kolkata Jain Temple (also called Parasnath Temple) a Jain temple at Badridas Temple Street is a major tourist attraction in Kolkata (Calcutta), India. The temple was built by a Marwari Shrimal Jain named Seth Badridas in 1867. Pratishtha was done by Sri Kalyansurishwarji Maharaj.

The Dakshineswar Kali Temple is a Hindu temple located in Dakshineswar near Kolkata. Situated on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, the presiding deity of the temple is Bhavatarini, an aspect of Kali, literally meaning, 'She who takes Her devotees across the ocean of existence. The temple was built by Rani Rashmoni, a philanthropist and a devotee of Kali in 1855.The temple is famous for its association with Ramakrishna a mystic of 19th Century Bengal.

The temple compound, apart from the nine-spired main temple, contains a large courtyard surrounding the temple, with rooms along the boundary walls. There are twelve shrines dedicated to Shiva—Kali's companion—along the riverfront, a temple to Radha-Krishna, a bathing ghat on the river, a shrine dedicated to Rani Rashmoni. The chamber in the northwestern corner just beyond the last of the Shiva temples, is where Ramakrishna spent a considerable part of his life.

History
The Dakshineswar Kali Temple was founded around the middle of the 19th Century by Rani Rashmoni. Rani Rashmoni belonged to Kaivarta caste and was well known for her philanthropic activities. In the year 1847, Rashmoni, prepared to go upon a long pilgrimage to the sacred Hindu city of Kashi to express her devotions to the Divine Mother. Rani was to travel in twenty four boats, carrying relatives, servants and supplies. According to traditional accounts, the night before the pilgrimage began, Rashmoni had a vision of the Divine Mother, in the form of the goddess Kali in a dream and reportedly said, There is no need to go to Banaras. Install my statue in a beautiful temple on the banks of the Ganges River and arrange for my worship there. Then I shall manifest myself in the image and accept worship at that place.

Profoundly affected by the dream, Rani immediately looked for and purchased land, and promptly began construction of the temple. The large temple complex was built between 1847 and 1855. The 20-acre (81,000 m2) plot was bought from an Englishman, John Hastie and was then popularly known as Saheban Bagicha, partly old Muslim burial ground shaped like a tortoise, considered befitting for the worship of Shakti according to Tantra traditions, it took eight years and nine hundred thousand rupees to complete the construction, and finally the idol of Goddess Kali was installed 31st May 1855, amid festivities at the temple formally known as Sri Sri Jagadishwari Mahakali, with Ramkumar Chhattopadhyay as the head priest; soon his younger brother Gadai or Gadadhar (later known as Ramakrishna) moved in and so did nephew Hriday to assist him. The next year, Ramkumar Chhattopadhyay died, the position was given to Ramakrishna, along with his wife Sarada Devi, who stayed in the south side of the Nahabat (music room), in a small room on the ground floor, which now a shrine dedicated to her.

From then until his death 30 years later in 1886, Ramakrishna was responsible for bringing much in the way of both fame and pilgrims to the temple.

St. Paul's Cathedral is a Anglican cathedral of the Church of North India - a united church which is part of the Anglican Communion - in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is the seat of the Diocese of Calcutta, The building itself stands on the "island of attractions" in Kolkata - beside the Victoria Memorial, Nandan - Rabindra Sadan theatre complex, and the Birla Planetarium.

Construction
The building was initiated by Bishop Daniel Wilson in 1839 and was completed in 1847, in Gothic Revival style with stained glass windows and two frescoes in Florentine Renaissance style. A military engineer, Major William Nairn Forbes, designed the cathedral with the assistance of C.K. Robinson, modelling the tower and spire upon the Norwich Cathedral. The tower was rebuilt along the lines of Bell Harry Tower in Canterbury Cathedral following the 1934 Calcutta earthquake. The Bishop's House across the street is also architecturally notable. St. Paul’s was consecrated in 1874.

Architecture
The cathedral conforms to the Neo-Gothic or the Gothic Revival style of architecture that was greatly patronized by the British during the days of the colonial era. The main cathedral hall is large, with beautifully carved wooden pews and chairs along with the stained glass window to the west, the intricate colored artwork covering the eastern walls, the two marvelous Florentine frescoes. The church is 247 ft. in length and 81 ft. in width and the tower is 201 ft. high. The Cathedral is set within huge grounds with several ancient trees. There is a small meditation spot on the grounds, set up recently in collaboration with distinguished citizens of Tagore's Shantiniketan. The interior of the church is a feast for the eyes, with excellent floral designs on the walls. Beautiful architecture and exquisite mural painting captivates the beholder. The life and work of St. Paul is vividly described in pictures. Bishop Wilson lies in his eternal slumber in a coffin inside an underground chamber. The commission plate conferred on him by Queen Victoria is still exhibited here. The ambience of the church is very soothing and tranquil.

The Tipu Sultan Shahi Mosque is a famous mosque in Kolkata, India. Located at 185 Dhartamtalla Street, the mosque is a relic of architectural and cultural heritage.People from all sections of society and religions are allowed to visit the mosque and take pictures of this historical premise. The building was built in 1832 by Prince Ghulam Mohammed, the youngest son of Tipu Sultan.

Current Administration
The mosque has been headed by the Shahi Imam, since its construction. Presently Syed Mohammed Noorur Rahman Barkati is the Imam of the mosque. His father, Salman Barkati, was also the Shahi Imam till his death in 1985.
The expenses of the mosque are covered by the income from various rental properties owned by Masjid trust, headed by officials appointed by the Kolkata High Court.

Restoration Efforts
The Tipu Sultan Shahi Masjid Protection & Welfare Committee was founded in the late 1980s by Seraj Mubarki, Mohammad Sharfuddin, Izhar Khan and Syed Zafar to motivate and educate people about the damage caused to the masjid by the Metro railway. This committee is headed by the Shahi Imam with Mohammad Sharfuddin as its chairman and Aziz Mubarki as its secretary.
The committee was established to negotiate with the Kolkata Metro Train Authorities to repair the damage caused by the construction underneath the building. The Metro train authorities agreed to demolish the damaged part of the Mosque and rebuild it.

Historically, Calcutta was the centre of activity in the early stages of the national movement of independence.

In the suburbs of Calcutta, at the Barrackpore military barracks, sepoy Mangal Pandey sparked off a huge revolt that shook the foundations of the British Empire. This movement is sometimes also called the Indian Mutiny.

Other societies based on nationalist or religious thoughts were started, like the Hindu Mela.Revolutionary organisations like the Jugantar and the Anushilan Samiti were formed with a goal to use force against the British rulers. The early nationalists were inspired by Swami Vivekananda. The rousing cry that awakened India's soul was penned by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, now the national song of the nation, an ode to the land of Bharat (India) as the Divine Mother, "Vande Mataram".

The Elgin Road residence of Subhash Chandra Bose in Calcutta was the place from where he escaped the British to reach Germany during the Second World War. He was the co-founder of the Indian National Army and the Head of State of the Arzi Hukumate Azad Hind, formed to counter and combat the British Raj in India and was renamed Netaji by poet laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

Association football (sometimes referred to as 'soccer'), cricket and field hockey are popular sports in the city. Kolkata, a major centre of football activity in India and home of top national football clubs such as Mohun Bagan AC, Chirag United S.C., Mohammedan Sporting Club and East Bengal, is known as Mecca of Indian Football.
Calcutta Football League, which started in 1898, is the oldest football league in Asia. Mohun Bagan AC, one of the oldest football clubs in Asia, is the only club to be entitled 'National Club of India'. Kolkata is also home to Kolkata Knight Riders IPL cricket team franchise.