| WHY GO |
| Calcutta, the capital of West Bengal, is a sophisticated, charming and friendly city, that belies its popular image as poverty-stricken and chaotic. The city was home to one of the world's most famous figures, Mother Teresa. Calcutta has some of the country's finest remnants of British colonial architecture; the great open expanse of the Maidan, Fort William, the white edifice of the Victoria Memorial and the Palladian villas are all symbols of the British Raj when Calcutta was the Indian Capital. Dalhousie Square, with its 18th-century Writers' Building and modern high rises, and Chowringhee, with its glittering shops and restaurants, hotels and cinemas, are all British in temperament. But in old North Calcutta, in the busy streets of Shambazar and at the Kali temple at Kalighat, the city's personality is still distinctly Bengali. Calcutta has a rich cultural, intellectual and political heritage and Bengali theatre is amongst the finest in India. |
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