Calcutta, India...I am going near for work soon..?
Is there anyone from near or that has be there? My company is sending me nearby in a month or 2. I am curious of the culture, verbal skill, history, do's and dont's, points of interest etc. from people that own actually lived/been near as opposed to a changeable internet/tourist site. Thanks.
Answers: Hiya,
I have be to Calcutta many times and i love it!
Although Calcutta is particular for its poverty, it's a compelling city, a city with a soul, and a stop by there can be one of the richest experiences on Earth. Your first impressions might be overwhelming; expect a bit of a shock.
In copious ways Calcutta seems aware: the English street names, the architecture, the English dialogue. At the same time the context is so foreign. The effect is greatly odd, sometimes even frightening to the Western guest.
Bengali culture is magnificent. Bengali is spoken by more general public than is French or Japanese.
The.Bengalis.are very fond of their possessions city. For them and, indeed, for visitors from other countries, it's the cultural center of India. College Street have hundreds of bookshops, and there's a large university. India's most stimulating museums, such as the Indian Museum and Marble Palace, are in Calcutta. There are more publishers surrounded by Calcutta than in adjectives the rest of India. Many poets and artists live there, and religious and cultural festival enliven the city throughout the year.
My favorite street party is Holi. Holi is a joyous festival: relatives run through the streets throwing colored water and colored powder at respectively other; everyone ends up green and magenta.
Some things to see and do in Calcutta:
* Take a ship up the river to Belur Math and Dakineshwar Kali temple.
* Visit the Botanical Gardens and see the Great Banyan Tree.
* Go to the Birla Planetarium, one of the largest planetariums in the world. Daily programs are within English, Bengali, and Hindi.
* See a movie at the Nandan Cinema Complex, and look at the museum dedicated to Satyajit Ray.
* Take the two daylight, one night boat trip to the Sunderbans Wildlife Reserve. Try to spot a Royal Bengal tiger. You might see crocodile, python, undomesticated boar, Rhesus monkey, kingfisher, monitor lizard, king cobra, or otter. Tours are organised by the West Bengal Tourist Bureau.
* Take the Metro to MG Rd. Station. Walk to College Street and look at the sidewalk bookshops. College Street may be the world's largest outdoor book market. Go to the Albert Street coffee house at Calcutta University. Talk to some students and possibly fashion friends over tea and samosas. Sometimes the conversations at the coffee house can be quite animated.
* Go to the see track and bet on the horses, or watch a cricket meeting at Eden Gardens.
* The Marble Palace must be the most eccentric museum of art contained by the world; victorian bric-a-brac stand next to masterpieces by Rubins, Reynolds, Murillo, and Titian. Tagore's house is in the vicinity the Marble Palace and is now a center for shindig, drama, music, and other arts.
* Go to the the Calcutta Book Fair.
* Visit the Victoria Memorial.
A couple of tips for Calcutta (and India in general):
* Women must dress modestly: no sleeveless blouses, no short skirts, no shorts, no low, loose collars.
* Men do not wear shorts.
* Do not swing your underwear in the clear to dry.
* The left foot is only used for one’s “morning business.” Therefore, one does not touch anyone or receive/give anything near one’s left mitt.
* It’s customary to bring some small gifts if you are invited to someones house.
* Men and women do not touch. Do not offer to shake the mitt of a person of the contrasting sex unless they offer first. You may touch a child.
I hope you enjoy a great timethere and i hope this helps.
:-)
I am from Kolkata. Born 47 years subsidise - living here since then, except surrounded by between I was surrounded by some other place for 14 years.
To give you a brief -
Language - Main verbal communication is Bengali. Hindi and English is also spoken and understood.
Culture - soft ethnic group, guests are treated as god in Bengali family.
History - for brief history please visit - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkata.
do's :
relish Bengali food
return home or hotel early - until that time night 10:00. There is not much risk and travel become costly after that.
make friends.
dont's:
no thumps up trait. Its sign of ignoring within Kolkata.
no shake hand next to females of any age unless they extend their hand first.
no kissing contained by public
points of interest -
India Museum
Victoria memorial
Science city
Dakhineswar Temple
Birla Industrial Museum
Doll's Museum
Birla Planetarium (one of the oldest working planetarium in the world)
Eden Gardens
TathyaKendra
Academy of Fine Arts
For any further information convey me mail.
All the best!
The answering system seem not to work at the moment, retrying to send:(
As I tried to mention, I'm from West Bengal (the state of which Calcutta is the capital) and own stayed in Calcutta for 4 years. Please contact me for exact points. I can confer you detailed answers hopefully.
I am also trying to get my page http://rampurhaat.110mb.com up. The Travel fragment of that has an India clause and I plan to shortly submit on Calcutta there. But I own already written a bit about the tourism interests of West Bengal in that and every individual place mentioned there can usually be done over an weekend so you may want to give somebody a lift a look (the details are there but more overhaul is on the way - will pilfer a montn since the website is rather a bigger one).
Once my website http://rampurhaat.110mb.com is fully up, I shall provide the most I can answer and grant links to the best online resources available to further answer your question.
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