Kolkata the city of joy, not known for parties not known for glamour and neither known for power, rather known for its authenticity and culture. Not that i have lived all my life here, but how much time i have ever spent in this place makes me attached to this place stronger than ever. This city has its own shine with those tiny "chaa-dokans" (tea stalls) at every corner of each old lane of this place, the cricket madness which blooms like a flower during every cricket match, there is still a beautiful feeling in every cricket fan to watch a cricket match in the "eden gardens".
Even after so many decades, this place has though progressed on the road of development but its still the same old city preserving its richness of culture. This city is an exotic blend of conventional and modern lifestyle. Living up to expectations of every tourist, this city doesn’t leave any visitor disappointed. With those road side shopping, mishit doi (sweet curd) and the rickshaw rides, the city never fails to bring a smile on my face.
Trams being a major highlight of this city, is still a localite’s mode of transport. But sadly, there are some prick heads who do not like the existence of such awesome transport. Kolkata tram is the oldest operating electric tram in Asia and has been running since 1902. (sources : wikipedia)
The city whose taxis are distinguished by the colour yellow. With the congested roads and heavy traffic, these taxis still dominate the city roads instead of the dial taxis :P they are like a joy ride which can take you 
across the city provided you have cash in your wallet. :P But to every problem there is a solution and to the cash issues, comes the metro. Kolkata was the first city in India where underground metro was introduced.
Apart from these highlights, the best one to focus is the festival of "durga puja". The town is packed with people from all over the world. Every year people visit during this time just to witness the four day festival where bengalis specially rejoice to their heart's content and reconnect with their family and friends, Not only bengalis but each and every kolkatian enjoys this four days festival. :)
Durga Puja is an occasion when the familiar sound of Dhak, Dhunuchi nachh,the mild fragrance of Shiuli, gives a familiar tug to every Bengali heart. Sculptures work for months to carve out the beautiful idols and the pandals. There are neck to neck competitions between the pandals of different neighbourhoods and communities, each being not less than a wonder. Pandal viewing is an all night thing where people queue up justt to have a proper glimpse of the pandals, inside out. Personally, I have seen so many that have literally made me gasp and made me feel like capturing them all in one picture.
Another aspect of this city that pulls crowd to this city is the culture of art and music. There are numerous bands that play music of every form and apart from ethnic "Rabindra Sangeet" (songs written by Rabindranath Tagore) , they come up with some great rock bengali music and classical as well. My father always used to force me to listen to the traditional folk and some local band songs, but immatured me never bothered listening to them. But as i grew up, i started developing a taste for them giving break to the holly and bolly songs. In fact there are many bolly movies that have used the music of rabindra sangeet and imposed their own lyrics and there are few who are aware of it.
Finger-licking food is one unavoidable highlight. Starting from A to Z, all types of delicacies are available. Fish being the traditional delicacy, there are various preparations of fish. You name it, and you get it. :)
A proper bengali cuisine will make you want more of it :P
The sweets of this city is unbeatable and the tastiest one might have ever had. The famous being "roshogolla", I pop in so many at a time when I get to eat them after months regardless how many calories and how much weight i will gain :P This time when I took a box of roshogolla and opened it in front of my friends, all I was returned was an empty box. :/
This third largest metropolitan city of India is one of the few among the lot to provide ethnicity along with modern lifestyle. All you need is a visit and then you get to experience what i experience every day that i spend in my city, my Kolkata, where i was born, spent few years but it awaits me with the same warmth i leave with everytime.
And of course you need a personal guide contact me :P This is not some tourism publicity of the city or some advertisement. It's just a Kolkata that you must have never seen in magazines and heard in TV shows. It's the Kolkata from my eyes what I see it as and what it actually is. :)
