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Background of Kolkata Kolkata, earlier called Calcutta, is said to have been founded in the late 17th century by Job Charnock, an agent of the 'East India Company' of Britain.But the nearby ancient port of Tamralipta had been carrying on sea trade with the Roman Empire since about the 3rd century B.C. The Second City of the British empire Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Kolkata flourished and became the second largest city in the British Empire. From 1772, Kolkata was the capital of the British Empire in India. It remained so until 1911, when the capital was shifted to Delhi. 
Location of Kolkata The British lived in style, and Kolkata had three horse racecourses and a dog racecourse. One racecourse still conducts races in the heart of the city. There are also two 18-hole golf courses and two 9-hole ones within the city proper. CCFC of Kolkata is probably the second-oldest cricket club in the world. The Eden Gardens now has the largest cricket stadium in the world, and any international match here gets a full house of 100,000 people. The Kolkata Heritage Kolkata is the home of Bengalis in India, but people of nearly every race, religion or language. can be found here. Kolkata is the cultural capital of India. The city has links with six Nobel laurates, starting with Dr. Ronald Ross [Medicine] down to Mother Teresa [Peace] and Amartya Sen [Economics]. The rich Bengali cultural heritage of Rabindranath Tagore and Satyajit Ray were part of the "Bengal Renaissance" which has shaped the modern India as a liberal democracy. Kolkata was also the centre of progressive Hindu religious thought, and the Ramkrishna Mission of Kolkata is the largest Hindu charitable organisation which received donations of Rs 1.3 billions in 2002. Kolkata today Today, Kolkata is the premier city of Eastern India. It has a population of over 13 million, and it's hinterland has a population of nearly 300 millions. The main city is on the eastern bank of the river Hooghly (a branch of the Ganga in the largest delta of the world). ). The skyline near the river is dominated by the two bridges, the longest cantilever bridge in Asia and one of the longest cable-stayed cantilever bridges in the world. Attractions in Kolkata Kolkata is a major, though under-promoted tourist spot of India. Some of its well-known attractions are :
Near Kolkata Just 100 kilometres south of the city is the Sunderbans, the unique deltaic forest that is home to over 300 tigers and probably a thousand crocodiles. About 400 kilometres north of the city are the glorious Himalayas. You can hike to the base camp of Kanchenjunga, the third-highest peak in the world. The plantations producing the best tea in the world are also near Darjeeling in this area. Kolkata factfile Longitude : 88 24'E Latitude : 22 34'N Height from sea level : 5.3 m Area : 187.5 sq km (under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation) Population : 4,580,544 recorded residents, 12 mn in the metropolis as per UN reports Language and Religion : Kolkata is a cosmopolitan city, inhabited by people of nearly every religion and speaking every language. The majority of people are Hindus and the most popular language is Bangla. Links to some sites on Kolkata
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