ON WEST BENGAL > Kolkata-City
of Knowledge > Social
Infrastructure
Kolkata has long been the cultural capital of India. The people
of Kolkata are full of zest and always on the move.
Active clubs, posh hotels and busy bazaars highlight the city.
The citizens are renowned to be connoisseurs of art and sport.
Their passion for football and cricket is legendary.
Kolkata hosts a plethora of festive events and is a mega centre
for arts and culture, offering something for everyone. A person
who visits Kolkata once can never forget the city, such is its
magic.
Kolkata has excellent educational facilities at the primary,
secondary and tertiary levels with some of the countries top schools
and colleges, three universities, six engineering colleges (including
4 in the private sector) and four medical colleges. English is
the medium of instruction in many schools and in all colleges
and universities, some of which offer hostel facilities.
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Affordable housing facilities are easily available in the Salt
Lake Area, where the hub for all IT related activities is located,
in the New Kolkata Township of Rajarhat that is being developed
adjacent to Salt Lake, and in the colonies along nearby VIP Road
and Eastern Metropolitan Bypass. Land cost and rent rates are
50% to 80% cheaper when compared to those in Delhi and Mumbai.
The general cost of living is low compared to the other metropolitan
cities of the country (see chart). Excellent residential accommodation
is also available in the city, the most expensive being in Ballygunge,
Alipore and Centre City around Park Street, the hub of the city’s
nightlife and close to all the best shopping. Other attractive
residential locations are widely available in urban and suburban
areas.
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The city, with a long history of film making, boasts of a
host of internationally renowned, award winning filmmakers like
Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak, and celebrated exponents of
the fine arts like Jamini Ray, Nandalal Basu and Ramkinkar Baij,
stalwarts of the Bengal School of Arts. There are dozens of
cinema halls and several theatres where plays are staged, many
of these in the city center itself.
Eden Gardens Stadium is the second largest cricket stadium
in the world. The stadium at Salt Lake is the largest soccer
stadium in Asia.
Netaji Indoor Stadium is another magnificent
stadium, fully air-conditioned and purpose built for indoor
sports, exhibitions and conferences.
The
Annual "Kolkata Book Fair", largest open air book
fair in the country, second largest in the world
The Calcutta International Film Festival
- an annual event - is the first film festival not sponsored
by the Central Government
Finest country clubs in the nation
A variety of Fairs and Exhibitions are
held throughout the year |
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The Royal Calcutta Golf Club is the second oldest golf club in
the world. The Tollygunge Club is famous for its golf course and
other country club facilities.
The Royal Calcutta Turf Club is one of the largest horse racing
tracks in India and hosts a number of national events.
The club culture in Kolkata is a social legacy from the time
of the British Raj and has gained popularity over the years.
Some of the clubs from a very long list are The Bengal Club,
the Tollygunge Club, the Calcutta Club, the Calcutta Cricket
and Football Club (the oldest of its kind outside the UK), the
Calcutta Polo Club (oldest in the world), the Calcutta Swimming
Club, the Bengal Rowing Club, the Calcutta Rowing Club, the
South Club (famous for its tennis champions) and Saturday Club.
Each club has a distinct character of its own and caters to
a range of general and specific interests and age groups, thus
adding a unique flavour to the social life of the city. New
clubs that have recently been set up close to Salt Lake are
Space Circle and Ibiza, each with a comprehensive range of facilities.
Health clubs and fitness centers are available in most of
the clubs and all the major hotels.
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Parks
and Museums
Science City, a Rs. 600 million high-tech Science Museum close
to Salt Lake, is a 21st century marvel of science, communication
and environment. It is the first and only institution of its
kind in India with a Space Theatre. The Birla Industrial and
Technological Museum on Gurusaday Road is another excellent
science museum.
Most of Kolkata’s amusement parks are near Salt Lake
and easily accessible by private and public transport. Nicco
Park is the city’s first composite amusement park, and
Aquatica is a water theme park with a go-kart track. Clown Town
has a championship standard go-kart track with an ice skating
rink. Nalban is a boating resort and Swabhumi is the Heritage
Park.
The city has many Parks and Gardens, of which the extensive
Brigade Parade Ground in the heart of the city is the most popular
one.
Main tourist attractions are the Victoria Memorial Hall, Mullick
Palace, the Botanical Gardens and the Zoological Gardens. The
Indian National Museum is the largest museum in India and the
National Library is one of the largest libraries in Asia.
Healthcare
Several modern hospitals and nursing homes in the heart of
the city provide quality health care, many set up recently under
private initiative. The Duncan Gleneagles Hospital and Rabindranath
Tagore Institute of Cardiac Diseases were recently set up near
Salt Lake. Blood Banks and ambulance services are conveniently
available. All localities have their own polyclinics and 24-hour
chemists.
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Shopping
Shopping in Kolkata is an experience in itself. Besides the
traditional shops and a multitude of street vendors, Kolkata
has several modern shopping complexes - Metro Plaza, Emami Shoppers'
City, Westside, Pantaloons and the brand new Forum City, which
has Shoppers Stop, and other renowned branded outlets such as
Cotton World and Be.
The Air-Conditioned Market, Shreeram Arcade, Vardaan Market and
New Market are the other well-known shopping complexes. Other
large markets are the ones in Gariahat, College Street, Bowbazar
and Dakshinapan.
For music and book lovers, the city has Musicworld and Planet
M, the Oxford Book Store and the Landmark bookshop.
Raymond’s Poddar Court Showroom is one of its biggest
selling outlets in the country and has won their "Excellence
in Retail Sales" award for the last three years. Sales
of Pantaloons, the reputed national retail chain, is the highest
in Kolkata.
The
retail business has taken Kolkata by storm. Speciaity restaurants,
theme parks and mega retail chains have begun to dot the
city. About 2.8 lakh sq.ft. of prime real estate has already
been taken by various retail marts, and another 2 lakh sq.
ft. is in the pipeline.
(Newsletter of Chesterton Meghraj) July
- August, 2001 |
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Restaurants
and Hotels
Food is a passion in the city, and one is spoilt for choice
given the wide range of restaurants that serve Indian, Continental
and Oriental cuisine, with menus to suit every palate and pocket.
South Indian, Bengali, Northern Frontier, Thai, Chinese, Japanese,
French, Italian – all these cuisines are available and
more. Regular food festivals are organised to serve other regional
specialities from around the world.
Kolkata has a wide variety of hotels to suit every pocket.
Two new five-star hotels, the Hyatt Regency and the ITC Sheraton
Sonar Bangla, have recently opened near Salt Lake. They join
the ranks of the other five star hotels - Taj Bengal, Oberoi
Grand, Hotel Hindustan International and The Park. Four star
hotels are The New Kelinworth, Peerless Inn, Airport Hotel and
the newly opened Golden Park. The Radisson Ffort is a new resort
facility about fifty kilometers from the city, while the latest,
the Lakeland Country Club and Resort is just across the river.
Three-star and other less expensive hotels are widely available
for the budget conscious visitor.
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Regional
Tourism
World famous tourist destinations nearby are Darjeeling with
its tea gardens and magnificent view of the Himalayas, the Sunderbans
with its mangrove forests and tiger population, and Shantiniketan,
Rabindranath Tagore’s institution of learning.
Convenient International destinations close by are Nepal and
Bhutan in the Himalayas, Dubai in the Middle East and the acclaimed
cities of South East Asia – Singapore, Bangkok and Hong
Kong, to name but a few, all connected by flights from the city’s
International Airport.
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