TOUR IN KOLKATA

TOURIST ATTRACTION IN KOLKATA

Kolkata (also known as Calcutta) is currently the third-most populous metropolitan city in India after Delhi and Mumbai.

Kolkata City Skyline

During the British colonial era from 1700 to 1912 Kolkata was the capital of British India. Kolkata witnessed a spate of frenzied construction activity in the early 1850s by several British companies. The construction was largely influenced by the conscious intermingling of Neo-Gothic, Baroque, Neo-Classical, and Oriental designs. Unlike many north Indian cities, whose construction stresses minimalism, much of the layout of the architectural variety in Kolkata owes its origins from European styles and tastes imported mainly by the British, and lesser extent of the Portuguese and French.

Today, many of these structures are in various stages of decay. Some of the major buildings of this period are well maintained and several buildings have been declared as heritage structures. Conservation efforts are patchy and are often affected by problems of litigation, tenant troubles, ownership disputes, old tenancy laws and a lack of funds.

Kolkata, the City of Joy

Museums and libraries:

• National Library of India located in Alipore is India's leading public library. It was inaugurated in 1836 by the Governor General Lord Metcalfeby transferring 4675 books from the College of Fort William. Public donations were the main source of books for the library, and by donations of Rupees 300 from proprietors. Dwarakanath Tagore was the first proprietor of the library. The library was initially only partially public, as poor students could use the library for a limited period of time. The Imperial Library was founded in 1891 by merging several libraries like those of the East India College and East India Board. Governor General Lord Curzon initiated the merger of these two libraries into a single Imperial Library in 1903 at the Metcalfe Hall.

• The Indian Museum is the largest museum in Asia and the oldest in the Asia - Pacific region (est. 1814 at the location of the Asiatic Society). The Museum shifted to its present sprawling residence in 1875. Situated on Chowringhee Avenue (now J.L. Nehru Road), it houses perhaps the greatest collection of Indian natural history and an Indian Art collection to rival the Smithsonian Institution and the British Museum. Of specific note are the meteorite hall and dinosaur hall in the Natural History and Geology section, the numismatics section and the collections of Gandhara Art, Burmese woodwork, Mughal miniatures, and Tibetan banner sections in the Indian Art section. The Anthropological Survey of India headquarters and the Government College of Art and Craft are housed in the same building. The Geological Survey of Indiaheadquarters moved from the museum to Bidhan Nagar recently. The Indian Museum has a library of excellent historical value, with a special focus on the Raj and Kolkata.