Calcutta , also famous as the "City of Joy" is one of the largest city of India and the capital of West Bengal. It is a city made famous by its people and its culture. However, being one of the most populated cities in the world, it has its associated problems. Still all Calcuttans regard it as a "fascinating , bewitching and bewildering" city and it is well worth a visit. Calcutta is known to a lot of people because of mother Teresa and her charity works. Although she passed away, the helping of the poorest of the poor still continues.

Popular belief is that Calcutta was an obscure village before 1686, when Job Charnock, a British merchant decided to make a settlement there. However, recent studies suggest that Calcutta was an area of pilgrimage in the medieval age.

Durga Puja, which is celebrated every autumn, is the main festival of Calcutta and it is a good time to visit Calcutta and get the essence of the city. For five days, the city is all lit up and resonant with the sound of drums. The pandals (where the festivals take place) and the idols of the gods and the goddesses are great works of art.

Apart from religious festivals, there is a myriad of other attractions that make the city richer in its latent tradition. The gorgeous structure of the Victoria Memorial, the tranquility of the St. Paul's Cathedral, the glittering lights of the Second Hooghly Bridge cast a mystic spell over the city centre. The old buildings of North Calcutta, the Marble Palace, The National Musuem preserve the heritage that the city has been flaunting for centuries.

Its the people who always form the attribute of a place, be it urban or rural. Calcutta is no exception. It can be proudly asserted that the Calcuttans are one of the most hospitable and cordial people by any world standards. The city, in fact, derives its vibrant ambience from the people. A rich tradition of education runs in the blood of the Calcuttans and time and again Calcutta has produced some of the best brains in the fields of literature, art, music, science to name a few. In a scorching day when the merciless sun renders someone paralysed by a heat stroke, you can still find a large group of people rushing to his or her help, irrespective of the meagre resources they might have. This is something that is defintely missing in many cities of the world, although they might be studded with skyscrapers and mammoth concrete structures. After all, if there is no feeling or emotion associated then a city would just be a necropolis in spite of all its glittering bounty.