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Brief History of India
The name “India" is derived from the river Indus, along whose banks the Aryans from Central Asia came down over the Himalayas and into the Indo-Gangetic plain around 1500 BC.
The social, economic and political change involved is depicted in the two great epics of ancient India, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The old Vedic religion, naturalistic and sacrificial, gave way to the pragmatism of the Upanishads, and this in turn stimulated the rise of reformers like Vardhaman Mahavira and Gautama Buddha around the 5th century BC. Both Mahavira and Buddha sought only to reform Hinduism, but two religious faiths emerged known today as Jainism and Buddhism respectively.
The political history of India is the history of the rise and fall of many empires contributing to the diversity of Indian culture today.
With Vasco de Gama's arrival at Calicut on India's western coast in 1498, the latter half of India's medieval era saw the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French and the British entering India from the sea, initially as traders and later as colonisers.
The British overcame indigenous resistance (beginning with the Battle of Plassey in 1757) and French competition (the first Anglo-French war was fought in 1748), turning the Mughal Emperor into a puppet controlled by the East India Company. After the end of the First War of Independence in 1857, also termed the Great Indian Mutiny as many of the Company's indigenous troops supported the attempt to restore the ower of the Mughal Emperor, the British Crown took over the government of British India from the East India Company and ruled till 1947.
The freedom fighter’s fought bravely against the British and India attained independence on 15th August, 1947.
History of Kolkata
Job Charnock, agent of East India Company anchored on the east bank of the Ganga in August 1690 to found the city. Kolkata is situated in eastern India on the east bank of the River Hooghly. Three large villages Sutanuti, Gobindapur and Kalikata along the east bank of the river Ganges were bought by the British and the Mughal emperor permitted the East India Company to trade in return for an annual payment of Rs. 3,000/-.
Until 1912, Calcutta was the capital of India, later the capital city was moved to Delhi by the British.
Kolkata is the “City Of Palaces†as it has been known since the 18th century. The city is a standing museum of 3000 years of architecture, with a great variety of styles: Bengali Ek bangla and Ratna, Palladian, neo- Gothic, Serascenic, neo-Moghul, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Borocco, neo- Renaissance, Romantic, Medieval, even Bauhaus. The buildings have been well preserved.
After London, Kolkata was British Empire’s second city of pride. India’s quest for freedom started here.
It has been home to luminaries such as Rabindranath Tagore, Ronald Ross, Subhas Chandra Bose, Swami Vivekananda, Mother Teresa, Satyajit Ray, Satyendranath Bose and many others.
On August 24, 2001, the 309th anniversary of the founding of the Indian city of Calcutta, the city changed its name to Kolkata.
Kolkata, the “City of Joy" remains the intellectual and cultural capital of India. The city has shown enough resilience in the past to prove that it can continue as it is, stabilized at its level of decay while other cities of India are now experiencing.
Geography
Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, a metropolitan city is situated in eastern India at 22°33'N 88°20'E. The River Hooghly, a distributary of the River Ganga runs south through the state of West Bengal and flows into the Bay of Bengal.
Religion
Kolkata is a very cosmopolitan city and thus people of all religions reside together in harmony. The majority of the residents in this city are Hindus while Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Parsis; Buddhists etc. make up the rest of the population.
Festivals
Life never stops in Kolkata. At any time of the year there is something going on. India is a land of fairs and festivals that is characterized by colour, enthusiasm, feasts, processions, prayers and rituals. With so many communities, Kolkata has a core of public holidays. Most religious festivals are determined on the basis of the lunar or solar calendar and have religious associations. In Indian society festivals promote unity in diversity giving much emphasis on communal harmony. Festivals are celebrated with pomp and vigour.
People from all walks of life unite to celebrate various festivals of India – Saraswati Puja, Holi, Durga Puja, Id, Dusshera, Diwali, Christmas, New Year’s Day etc.
Weather
The city of Kolkata is situated where the river Hooghly merges into the Bay of Bengal. Kolkata has a tropical climate and has four seasons – spring, summer, monsoon and winter.
Spring is short between mid- February to mid April with temperatures ranging between 30- 35°C. Summers from mid- April to mid- June, are hot and the humidity nears saturation with the maximum temperature exceeding 40 °C. This is the most unpleasant period of the year. The monsoons are timely and heavy with the rains lashing the city between June and September and temperatures drop to the range of 25 °C - 35°C. It rains virtually every day. Winters are the best time to visit Kolkata, starting late October to early January. The temperature around New Year’s Eve can drop to 8°C at night but never below 15°C in the daytime.
Places of Interest
Kolkata, the gateway to Eastern India, is a vast juxtaposition of places of historical and cultural importance which you must visit while on your trip to the city. Here’s a list of places that deserve a look in.
The Kalighat Temple situated at Kalighat, is considered especially holy and Goddess Kali is worshipped here.
The Pareshnath Temple is a Jain Temple, situated on Badridas Temple Street.
The Shahi Imambara is a famous mosque situated on Garden Reach Road.
Academy of Fine Arts exhibits works of contemporary artists, group theatre and dance performances are held here and this is situated on Rabindra Sadan.
Belur Math a shrine is situated about 6 kms from the Howrah Station on the banks of the River Hooghly.
Birla Industrial and Technological Museum – exhibits industrial and technological models and is situated on Gurusaday Road.
Birla Planetarium is the largest planetarium in the world and provides a view of the stars and the solar system, situated at the junction of Chowringhee Road and Harish Mukherjee Road.
The Indian Museum is one of the biggest and oldest museums situated on Chowringhee Road.
Nicco Park is a theme park situated on Salt Lake.
Science City is a marvel of science, communication and environment the first and only institution of its kind in India situated on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass.
Zoological Gardens is a zoo with a large collection of animals, situated on Alipur.
The Victoria Memorial is a memorial situated on the Maidan.
Aquatica the only water theme park is situated quite close to Nicco Park.
Swabhumi a heritage park situated on Eastern Metropolitan Bypass.
Dakshineswar Temple has the idol of Kali, situated near Dunlop.
Eden Gardens the finest cricket stadium in the world is situated on Esplanade.
Nehru Children’s Museum depicts the story of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata in clay models are the most fascinating archives and has a huge collection of dolls , situated on Chowringhee.
The Howrah Bridge a cantilever bridge on the river Hooghly connects the cities of Howrah and Kolkata.
Vidyasagar Setu a feat of architecture situated on the River Hooghly.
The Maidan, Kolkata’s largest urban park is bordered by Chowringhee Avenue and B.B.D. Bagh.
Nandan is a cultural centre for theatre enthusiasts on the south east corner of the Maidan.
Nalban is a boating complex situated in Salt Lake.
Markets and Shops
Kolkata is a shopper’s delight, with a mind boggling number and variety of places to shop. An amazing array of merchandise – gold jewellery, electronics, kitchen-ware, leather, dry fruits, meat, pastries, Tibetan stones and copperware, made- to- order leather shoes and bags, carefully crafted silverware, costume jewellery and a wide range of traditional sarees and textiles can be bought here at affordable prices.
The New Market is one of the first and finest shopping plazas of its time. The market is flanked by a fresh foods market and grocery strip. Plenty of shops sell branded sarees, handloom material and readymade garments.
Interesting places to shop are the Vardaan Market, Pantaloons, West Side on Camac Street, the Air-conditioned Market on Shakespeare Sarani, the Vaibhav Shopping Complex on Lee Road, Metro Shopping Plaza on Ho Chi Minh Sarani and Sree Ram Arcade near Light House. If you are looking around for traditional and ethnic stuff you can check out Dakshinapan off Dhakuria Bridge |
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The Hooghly River (Bengali হà§à¦—লী, HuglÄ«; Anglicized alternatively spelled Hoogli or Hugli) is an approximately 260 km long distributary of the Ganges River in India. It splits from the Ganges near the city of Baharampur, and runs south through the Indian state of West Bengal, past the twin cities of Kolkata and Howrah, to empty into the Bay of Bengal. Two of its well known tributaries are Damodar and Rupnarayan.
It is an essential lifeline for the people of Kolkata. The fish from the river are important to the local economy. The river's presence is one of the reasons chosen by the British to settle there. The French colony at Chandannagar on the Hooghly was once the rival of British Calcutta, but was eclipsed by Calcutta in the colonial wars of the 18th century. In 1974 the Farakka Barrage began diverting water into the Hooghly during its dry season so as to reduce Calcutta's port silting difficulties. The modern container port of Haldia, on the intersection of lower Hooghly and Haldi River, now carries much of the region's maritime trade.One new port will be built in the deep sea to reduce load on Kolkata port.
Hooghly river valley was the most important industrial area of erstwhile state of Bengal. Due to declining jute industry, the prime industry of this region, it lost its glory. But still it is one of the biggest industrial areas of India. Except Kolkata and Howrah it has number of small cities which forms the Greater Kolkata Agglomeration, the second biggest Indian city and former capital.
Several bridges run over the Hooghly at Kolkata; the Howrah Bridge, the Vidyasagar Setu and the Vivekananda Setu bridges.
Boatmen paddle between Barrackpore and Serampore on the Hoooghly river. A photograph shot in 2006
Boatmen paddle between Barrackpore and Serampore on the Hoooghly river. A photograph shot in 2006
The town of Hooghly is located on the river, in the district of the same name. The origins of the name are uncertain, whether the city or the river was named first.
The nexus formed by the Hooghly River (Ganga) and the Bay of Bengal, called ‘Ganga Sagar’. This is a sacred place for Hindus. A dip in the ocean, where the river drains into the sea is considered to be of great religious significance particularly on the Makara Sankranti day when the sun makes a transition to Capricorn from Sagittarius and this place becomes home to vast fairs, drawing visitors and recluses from all over the state. |
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