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Top Attractions in West Bengal

Kolkata

Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly river, it is the principal commercial, cultural, and educational centre of East India, while the Port of Kolkata is India's oldest operating port and its sole major riverine port. As of 2011, the city had 4.5 million residents; the urban agglomeration, which comprises the city and its suburbs, was home to approximately 14.1 million, making it the third-most populous metropolitan area in India. As of 2008, its gross domestic product was estimated to be US$104 billion, which would be third highest among Indian cities, behind Mumbai and Delhi. As a growing metropolitan city in a developing country, Kolkata confronts substantial urban pollution, traffic congestion, poverty, overpopulation, and other logistic and socioeconomic problems. In the late 17th century, the three villages that predated Kolkata were ruled by the Nawab of Bengal under Mughal suzerainty. After the Nawab granted the East India Company a trading license in 1690, the area was developed by the Company into an increasingly fortified mercantile base. Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah retook Kolkata in 1756 after the Company started evading taxes and due to increasing militarisation of the fort. The East India Company retook it in the following year and in 1793 assumed full sovereignty. Under the Company rule and later under the British Raj, Kolkata served as the capital of British-held territories in India until 1911, when its perceived geographical disadvantages, combined with growing nationalism in Bengal, led to a shift of the capital to New Delhi. The city was a centre of the Indian independence movement; it remains a hotbed of contemporary state politics. Following Indian independence in 1947, Kolkata—which was once the centre of modern Indian education, science, culture, and politics—witnessed several decades of economic stagnation. As a nucleus of the 19th- and early 20th-century Bengal Renaissance and a religiously and ethnically diverse centre of culture in Bengal and India, Kolkata has established local traditions in drama, art, film, theatre, and literature that have gained wide audiences. Many people from Kolkata—among them several Nobel laureates—have contributed to the arts, the sciences, and other areas. Kolkata culture features idiosyncrasies that include distinctively close-knit neighbourhoods and freestyle intellectual exchanges . West Bengal's share of the Bengali film industry is based in the city, which also hosts venerable cultural institutions of national importance, such as the Academy of Fine Arts, the Victoria Memorial, the Asiatic Society, the Indian Museum and the National Library of India. Among professional scientific institutions, Kolkata hosts the Agri Horticultural Society of India, the Geological Survey of India, the Botanical Survey of India, the Calcutta Mathematical Society, the Indian Science Congress Association, the Zoological Survey of India, the Institution of Engineers, the Anthropological Survey of India and the Indian Public Health Association. Though home to major cricketing venues and franchises, Kolkata differs from other Indian cities by giving importance to association football and other sports.

Howrah

Howrah or Haora is an industrial city, a municipal corporation in the Howrah district, West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the district, and also the headquarters of the Howrah Sadar subdivision of the district. Located on the west bank of the Hoogli River, it is a twin city to Kolkata. Howrah is the second smallest district after Kolkata. The two cities are connected by four bridges on the river Ganges, these being the Howrah Bridge (also known as Rabindra Setu), the Vidyasagar Setu (also known as the second Hooghly Bridge), the Vivekananda Setu (also known as Bally Bridge), the Nivedita Setu and ferry services between various jetties. Howrah Station serves as a terminal for two railway zones of India: the Eastern Railway and the South Eastern Railway. There are six other railway stations with the city, including the railway junction at Santragachhi and the terminal at Shalimar Station—all the six are part of the South Eastern Railway network. Two national highways—NH 2 and NH 6—are connected to Vidyasagar Setu via Kona Expressway. One endpoint of the Grand Trunk Road is at the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden here, where the Great Banyan tree stands. Bengal Engineering & Science University, over 150 years old, is a prestigious engineering university located in the city.

Chinsurah

Chinsurah (also known as Hooghly-Chinsura or Hooghly) is a city in the state of West Bengal, India. It lies on the Hooghly River, 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of Kolkata (Calcutta). It is in the district of Hooghly and is home to the district headquarters. Chuchura houses the commissioner of the Burdwan Range. It forms a part of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) region. The District Court building of Chinsurah is the longest building in West Bengal. Chinsurah is the home to the new state-of-the-art 1000 KW DrM transmitter of Prasar Bharti which enables 'Akashvaani Maitree' to be broadcast across Bangladesh. This Special Bangla Service of All India Radio was launched in the wake of the Bangladesh Liberation Movement and played a key role during the war, broadcasting Indian news bulletins in Bangladesh. It continued till April 2010, but was discontinued thereafter due to decommissioning of the Super Power Transmitter at Chinsurah.

Kalimpong

Kalimpong is a hill station in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located at an average elevation of 1,250 metres . The town is the headquarters of the Kalimpong district, a part of the district of Kalimpong. The Indian Army's 27 Mountain Division is located on the outskirts of the town. Kalimpong is known for its educational institutions, many of which were established during the British colonial period. It used to be a gateway in the trade between Tibet and India before China's annexation of Tibet and the Sino-Indian War. Kalimpong and neighbouring Darjeeling were major centres calling for a separate Gorkhaland state in the 1980s, and more recently in 2010. The municipality sits on a ridge overlooking the Teesta River and is a tourist destination owing to its temperate climate, magnificent Himalayan beauty and proximity to popular tourist locations in the region. Horticulture is important to Kalimpong: It has a flower market notable for its wide array of orchids; nurseries, which export Himalayan grown flower bulbs, tubers and rhizomes, contribute to the economy of Kalimpong. Home to ethnic Nepalis, indigenous Lepchas, other ethnic groups and non-native migrants from other parts of India, the town is a religious centre of Buddhism. The Buddhist monastery Zang Dhok Palri Phodang holds a number of rare Tibetan Buddhist scriptures. The Kalimpong Science Centre, established under the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council in 2008 is a recent addition to its many tourist attractions. The Science Centre, which provides for scientific awareness among the students of the town and the locals sits atop the Deolo Hill.

Indian Museum

The Indian Museum is the largest and oldest museum in India and has rare collections of antiques, armour and ornaments, fossils, skeletons, mummies, and Mughal paintings. It was founded by the Asiatic Society of Bengal in Kolkata, India, in 1814. The founder curator was Dr Nathaniel Wallich, a Danish botanist. It has six sections comprising thirty five galleries of cultural and scientific artifacts namely Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Geology, Zoology and Economic Botany. This multipurpose Institution with multidisciplinary activities is being included as an Institute of national importance in the seventh schedule of the Constitution of India. It is one of oldest museums in the world. This is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The present Director of the Indian Museum is Dr. B. Venugopal. The museum was closed to the visitors due to massive restoration and upgrades from 1 September 2013 to 3 February 2014.

Prinsep Ghat

Prinsep Ghat is a ghat built in 1841 during the British Raj, along the Kolkata bank of the Hooghly River in India. The Palladian porch in the memory of the eminent Anglo-Indian scholar and antiquary James Prinsep was designed by W. Fitzgerald and constructed in 1843. Located between the Water Gate and the St Georges Gate of the Fort William, the monument to Prinsep is rich in Greek and Gothic inlays. It was restored by the states public works department in November 2001 and has since been well-maintained. In its initial years, all royal British entourages used the Prinsep Ghat jetty for embarkation and disembarkation. Prinsep Ghat is one of the oldest recreational spots of Kolkata. People visit it in the evenings on weekends to go boating on the river, stroll along the bank and purchase food from stalls there. One stall selling ice-cream and fast food has been there for more than 40 years. A 2-kilometre stretch of the beautified riverfront from Princep Ghat to Babughat was inaugurated on 24 May 2012. It has illuminated and landscaped gardens and pathways, fountains, and renovated ghats. One of the songs in the Bollywood film Parineeta was shot here on the ghats. Prinsep Ghat also has a railway station named after it. The station is part of the Kolkata Circular Railway which is maintained by Eastern Railway. The station code is PPGT. There is a jetty nearby called the Man-O-War jetty that belongs to the Kolkata Port Trust and commemorates the role played by the port in the Second World War. The jetty is mainly used by the Indian Navy.

Babughat

Babughat is one of the many ghats built during British Raj, along the river bank of Hooghly on its bank on Strand Road at Kolkata side. The ghat has a tall colonial structure, which is the landing berth of the ghat. It is a fine Doric-Greek style pavilion with huge pillars. The ghat, originally known was Baboo Raj Chandra Ghat, is now only known by first words Baboo-ghat or Babu-ghat. Babu / Baboo in Bengali means Sahib or gentleman. The ghat is named after Babu Raj Chandra Das, husband of Rani Rashmoni and zamindar of Janbazar, who built it in 1830, in memory of her late husband. A marble tablet beneath the pediment implies that some of the credit for the erection of the ghat must go to Lord William Bentinck as he encouraged such spending with a view to improve public amenities. It is second oldest ghat of Kolkata. The pavilion today is completely encroached by vendors and pandas. The old colonial structure and stairs leading to the river are in various stages of decay and derelict. A section of ghat originally meant for bathing of ladies has turned in to a garbage point. However, ever so, the ghat is bustling with crowds since morning till late evening with people who use it for bathing, puja, religious ceremonies, massage and leisure. During Chhat Puja, a huge crowd can be seen on Babughat performing their puja. The ghat is also used during Durga Puja, Saraswati Puja rather in all festivals for immersion of idols. Further, Babughat is always bustling with passengers, who use it cross the river to reach Howrah Station just across the river and also other areas of Howrah, ferries for which are available at frequent intervals, which take off from the jetty connected to ghat. The water ferry is run and maintained by Inland Waterways Corporation. Ferry services are available from Babughat to Howrah, Chandpal, Telkal Ghat, and Bally. Also just outside the ghat is a bus terminus. Babughat is one of the main bus termini in the Kolkata apart from two others located at Esplanade and Howrah station. From there one can find interstate buses going into Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and other cities of West Bengal. Also there is another bus terminus from where one can find buses going in to all directions of Kolkata and its neighborhood. These buses also carry the goods and merchandise to other states and people can find hand-carts and cycle-carts carrying merchandise to be loaded on various buses. The Babughat has vantage advantage as the business and commercial hub of city BBD Bagh is near-by. For this reason Babughat is humming with people and activities throughout twenty-four hours of day and night. Further, Eden Gardens railway station of Kolkata Circular Railway is located just adjacent to Babughat and as such people commuting by train also get off and board trains from here. The Eden Gardens and Netaji Indoor Stadium, West Bengal State Assembly, Calcutta Swimming Club, Calcutta High Court, Writer's Building, Princep Ghat are all located in vicinity of Babughat. Further, Millennium Park, a newly developed amusement park cum picnic spot opened in December 1999, along the Hooghly river stretch is also located just a few minutes walk from Babughat. As Babughat is a unique junction point of Kolkata where one can find various modes of transport like, bus, ferry and train to go towards various direction, intelligence agencies of India had expressed concern that terrorists are using Babughat as transit point.

Maluti temples

Maluti temples are a group of 78 extant terracotta temples, located in the Maluti village near Shikaripara in Dumka District on the eastern part of the Indian state of Jharkhand. These temples, according to the Indian Trust for Rural Heritage and Development, are dated between 17th and 19th centuries. The kings of Baj Basanta dynasty built these temples in Maluti, which was their capital, inspired by their family deity Goddess Mowlakshi. Many of the temples here are deified with different denominations of gods and goddesses, apart from the tutelary deity Mowlakshi, and others such as Shiva, Durga, Kali and Vishnu. Conservation of these temples has been proposed by the Global Heritage Fund, which would enhance the economy of the Maluti village due to increased tourism. GHF has declared this site as one among the world’s 12 most endangered cultural heritage sites.

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