Kolkata is over 300 years old and had a fairy tale beginning. Amongst the British merchants sailing down the river Hoogly was one Job Charnock who rowed ashore to Sutanati, one of a cluster of three villages, the other two being Govindpur and Kalikata. Kolkata owes its origin to this English gentleman as he did pronounce the name of the last village.

During the British Raj Kolkata was known as the Jewel of the East and was the Capital of the country till 1911. It still bears the Victorian imprint on its streets and structures. Today, it is still the most important with in the east, the nerve center of trade and industry of the State.

The History of Kolkata dates back to late seventeenth century. While the archaeologists believe that the area has been inhabited for over two thousand years, the documented history of Kolkata, however, starts from the arrival of the British East India Company in 1690. The company, headed by Job Charnock, decided in view of spreading its business in Bengal, to establish a city. In 1772, the city was declared the capital of British India.

In 1905, the partition of Bengal resulted in widespread public protest and boycott of British goods. These activities, forced the British to move their capital to New Delhi in 1911.

Some of the famous excursions sites near Kolkata are:

Shanti Niketan
Shanti Niketan, Tagore’s university township, is a must on any itinerary that plots Bengal as a stopover. The hot springs here are famous for curing many chronic diseases.

The Belur Math
The Belur Math is the headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission. It is a universal place of pilgrimage, visited by people belonging to diverse castes and creeds. It is committed to social service, religious harmony, spiritual attainment and renunciation.

The Dakshineshwar Temple
The Dakshineshwar Temple is dedicated to Goddess Kali, and was the dwelling place of Ramakrishna Paramhansa, the spiritual guru of Swami Vivekananda, most of his life.

Durga Puja
One of the most important festivals here is the Durga Puja, a celebration of the victory of good over evil. During the puja lasting ten days with different rituals, the whole city is decorated like a bride.

Vasant Panchami
In spring, the city celebrates Vasant Panchami, a festival where Saraswati, the Goddess of wisdom and learning is worshipped. Apart from these, the city celebrates the festival of colour Holi or Dol Yatra as it is called in Bengal with traditional pomp and gaiety.
Poila Baishak
This is the Bengali New Year that starts with the worship of Lord Ganesha.