Tourist information on Kolkata makes your stay in the city of joy more comfortable and pleasant. Tourist information on Kolkata acts as a tour guide around the city of Kolkata. The history of the city and the modes of transportation which the tourists can avail of are provided by the Tourist on information on Kolkata. Kolkata covers an area of 187.33 square kilometers. The population of the city is about 45, 80,544. 81.31% is kolkata's literacy rate. The STD code of the city is 033. The city is a curious mixture of its old name Calcutta epitomized by old aristocratic palaces and its modern name Kolkata characterized by sprawling malls and high rises. It still remains the cultural capital of India. The legacy of the Bengali bhadralok is retained in today's intellectuals flaunting their jholas.

History of Kolkata:

Kolkata, the city of joy India, remained India's capital till 1911. Great personalities like Rabindranath Tagore, Mother Teresa, and Satyajit Ray have graced this place. Founded by Job Charnok in 1690, the city consisted of Sutanuti, Gobindapur and kolikata. He made it the centre of trade of the East India Company. Recent controversy has it that Job Charnok was not the real founder but the aristocratic family of the Suibarnachaudhuris was entrenched in the city from before. Leaving aside the recent row it can be said that the city came into prominence, when the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud Daula captured it in 1756. This was followed by the black hole tragedy which is assumed to have killed numerous British civilians in one suffocating room. But in the battle of Plassey in the following year the British general and the astute diplomat Robert Clive, recovered the city from the hands of the Nawab, resulting in his defeat in the Battle, where he was supported by the Frenchmen. The battle was a major issue between the British and French because the Seven Years' war whish was being fought at Britain between the British and the French was replicated on the Plassey soil. The victory of any one side would give them a fair chance of establishing their political foothold on Bengal. The battle of Plassey was a "mere skirmish" which ended the independent nawabship of Bengal. Warren Hastings made Calcutta the base of Justice with the Supreme Court being established in 1774. The drain of wealth during the battle of Plassey took a toll on the Bengal economy and it had to bear the brunt for a long time to come. Between 1820 and 1930 the seeds of nationalism were sown which saw its culmination in 1905, when it rose against Curzon's plan of the partition of Bengal. Numerous anti partition and swadeshi movements gained ground. Rabindranath Tagore took the lead. The capital of India was finally shifted from Delhi to Calcutta.

Modes of Transportation in Kolkata:

Getting around to the city of joy is made easy with the different modes of transportation for the tourists to avail. Kolkata runs10 international airlines besides Air India and the country's domestic airlines. Indian airlines service is available between Kolkata and Agartala, Ahmadabad, Bagdogra, Bangalore, Chennai (Madras), Delhi, Dibrugarh, Guwahti, Imphal, and Mumbai (Bombay), as well as Bangkok, Dhaka, Katmandu, Singapore, Yangon. Air India operates between Kolkata and Mumbai. Alliance airlines run services between Kolkata and Agartala, Ahmadabad, Aizawl, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Delhi, Dimapur, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jorhat, Luck now, Jaipur, Patna, Port Blair, Silchar, Tezpur and Vishakhapatnam. Jet airways run operate between Kolkata and Nagpur, Bangalore, Chennai, Bagdogra, Delhi, Imphal, Guwahti, Hyderabad, Jorhat, Mumbai. Sahara Airlines fly between Kolkata and Luck now, Mumbai, Patna, and Visakhapatnam.

Airline Codes Domestic:

• A1 Air India
• CD Alliance Airlines
• IC Indian Airlines
• NW Jet Airways
• S2 Sahara Airlines

International Air Services are operated by Air India, Biman Bangladesh, British Airways, Druk Air, Royal Brunei Airlines, Royal Dutch Airlines, Royal Jordanian Airlines, Royal Nepal Airlines, Singapore Airlines, and Thai Airways International.

Airline codes International:

• AI Air India
• BA British Airways
• BG Biman Bangladesh
• BI Royal Brunei Airlines
• KB Druk Air
• KL Royal Dutch Airlines
• RA Royal Nepal Airlines
• RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines
• SQ Singapore Airlines
• SU Aeroflot
• TG Thai Airways International

Rail: The two most important stations are Howrah and Sealdah. The Howrah Station is divi8ded into two blocks. I to 16 comprise of the main building and 17 to 22 belong to the new annex building. Tourist Railway booking Office is on the 1st floor at 6 Fairlie Place near BBD Bagh. The office remains open from Monday to Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm, 1:30 to 4 pm and on Sunday between 9am and 2 pm.

Road: Buses commute between Kolkata and other major cities of India.

Local Transport: Bus, taxis (yellow- non ac and blue arrow-air conditioned) and trams (still unique to Kolkata) help tourists to commute in Kolkata. Hand driven and cycle rickshaws, and auto rickshaws are relatively cheap. The metro railway is Kolkata's pride and is and is increasingly becoming an important mode of transport.

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