#8 Spooky Rabindra Sarobar Metro

While metros are under construction in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore, Kolkata metro dates back to 1984. It is, in fact, the oldest metro in India and the least expensive one. And the spookiest metro station is Rabindra Sarobar. The highest number of suicides have been committed at this station – 7 out of 10 people found this place to be the best suicidal point. But obviously, there are multiple stories of people seeing creepy images and figures disappearing with the last train of the day. So, if you want to have a unique encounter, you can try the last train through this station! 

#7 Kolkata Street Food

Talking about interesting facts about Kolkata and missing out on its street – impossible! Kolkata’s street food can satiate any taste bud. Name any state in India, and you will find the authentic dishes of that place with superb customization. The locals love to fill their mouths with spicy phuchkas, chops, telebhajas, ghugni, and jhal muri. You also get stomach filling food like egg mutton roll luchi alurdom, Mughlai paratha, and chowmein. To get some global feeling, you can try out the different varieties of dumplings, pasta, and shawarmas. Kolkata is the birthplace of fusion cuisine which we savour so deliciously as Indo-Chinese cuisine.

According to a Times of India Survey in 2018, it has won the award for the best destination for an astounding variety of street food.

#6 Transportation still has Trams

Kolkata is one of the most well-connected cities in India, and needless to say one of the least expensive ones. You still get trams in Central, North and some parts of South Kolkata, there are buses at regular frequency connecting the city with the outskirts. Metro-rail service has been there since ages, and it’s expanding to connect the areas like New Town and Dakshineswar. You get share autos and rickshaws connecting the gallis and nukkars withthe main roads. And, then there are some costly options like Yellow Taxis and App cabs. 

#5 Calcutta Polo Club

Polo, which has been formalized and popularized by the Brits, has its origin in India – Manipur. They played the game as ‘Sagol Kangjei,’ ‘Kanjai-bazee’, or ‘Pulu.’ Inspired by the game, two British soldiers, Captain Robert Stewart and (later Major General) Joe Sherer wanted to enjoy it with their peers, so they established the Calcutta Polo Club in 1862. Thus this club is the oldest polo club in the world. The first Ezra Cup was held on this ground in 1880, and the ground is still in running condition. The club’s president Keshav Bangur, has introduced special discounts on students’ membership, to know more, click here.

#4 2nd GDP Contributor

One of the cities which has seen the maximum ups and downs is Kolkata. During the British Raj, it was not only the capital of India, but it was also the major port and commerce center in the world economy. Thanks to various socio-economic conditions in the city from the 1960s to 1990, many factories closed down and many businesses got transferred. But do you know the GDP of this supposedly “dying city” is second among all Indian metros? Some GDP facts about Kolkata – nominal GDP is expected to reach US$169 billion in 2030, with a per capita nominal GDP of US$7,400.In 2015, The Brookings Institution, a U.S. based think tank in collaboration with JPMorgan ranked Kolkata second among all Indian metros. And 32nd among 300 major metropolitan economies of the world on overall economic performance for the year 2013-’14.

According to this report, with annualized GDP per capita growth of 4.7% and employment growth of 2.5% Kolkata scored over every Indian city, except Delhi.

#3 Love for Football

Though it’s not a secret, Kolkata’s love for football is worth mentioning when we speak about Kolkata facts. When the world gets geared up for the FIFA World Club, Kolkata colours itself in different shades of Green-Blue and White-Blue. The entire city changes its colour and embraces the charm of football with vigour. Indian Football Association (IFA) conducts the Officer’s Choice Blue Calcutta Premier League 157 mostly Kolkata based clubs and units. Being started in 1898, it is one of the oldest league in Asia and is considered as worls’s one of the oldest football competitions.

#2 A Street that Hosts daily Book Fair

Being the land which has nourished many great poets, and authors, it is a dream place for book readers. It helds a book fair every day on College Street. Approximate footfall in this market on a daily basis is 2 million. It’s widely talked about as the second largest second-hand book market in the world. There is no single book whose copy is not available in this market – but you need to search, and you need to know the correct shops. In fact, it is said that if you couldn’t find a book in College Street, in all probabilities that book never existed!

#1 Howrah Bridge

One of the most interesting facts about West Bengal includes the Howrah Bridge. The inception of the idea of Howrah Bridge dates back to 1871, but the construction started in 1936, and if not for World War II hostilities, the structure would have surely looked different. To taste the capacity of the bridge, a tram passed through it was as the first vehicle. But, since 1993 due to the increase in traffic, Trams are no more allowed on it. Currently, it is the 6th longest cantilever bridge in the world and the only one in our country. As an honour to our first Nobel laureate, Rabindra Nath Tagore, we also call it Rabindra Setu. 

The post Interesting Facts About Kolkata – Our City Of Joy appeared first on KolkataFusion.

A Bengali proverb goes like this – “Bangalir Baro Maashey Tero Parbon” which means the Bengalis celebrate 13 festivals in 12 months. Bengalis love celebrating their culture, traditions and age-old rituals in a grand way so much so that every month we end up celebrating some festival or the other with food, fun and fiesta. The Kolkata Book Fair happens to be one of these Bengali festivals.

Not only religious rituals, Bengalis dearly love reading and discussing literature with each other. With the International Kolkata Book Fair, we grandly celebrate our affinity with books every year, listing it as the 14^th Parbon or festival of the Bengalis. How did it all start? Let’s trace back to the history of the fair and see how far the fair has come.

History of Kolkata Book Fair

1974

Back in 1974, a few young publishers met in Coffee House for their regular Adda session. They discussed about organizing an annual meet up of the book lovers from near and far which can boost up the sales of the books as well. In 1975, keeping the meet up in focus, The Publishers and Booksellers’ Guild was founded.

1976

In 1976, the first book fair which would be later known as the ‘International Kolkata Book Fair, was organised by the Guild. It set up 56 stalls and 34 publishers participated in the fair. The venue was the ground opposite the Academy of Fine Arts. In the same year, The Publishers and Booksellers’ Guild participated in the World Book Fair and the Frankfurt Book Fair. The latter was the primary inspiration behind the organisation of the Kolkata Book Fair.

1983

The year 1983 was an eventful year for the Book Fair here. Visitors like the delegates from the International Publishers’ Association, Frankfurt Book Fair attended the fair with thousands of visitors from different countries. In the same year the Kolkata Book Fair got international accreditation.

1988

Gradually, the size of the fair grew thanks to the increasing participants. To accommodate a large number of stalls and book lovers, the venue was shifted to Maidan in 1988.

1991

From 1991, the book fair started to have a focal theme. Initially, Indian states became the focal themes and since 1997, a foreign country started becoming focal theme every year. The literature and culture of the focal theme state or country was highlighted during the entire span of the event.

Another major cultural development occurred simultaneously in the Maidan grounds during the Kolkata Book Fair during the 90s. It was the development of the concept of ‘Bangla Music Band’. In the early 90s, talented singers spearheaded by ‘Mohiner Ghoraguli’ founder Goutam Chattopadhyay could be spotted performing impromptu songs in the Maidan ground when the book fair was underway. They would sit with a guiter and go on singing the numbers they composed.

Crowds would gather around maybe with their just bought books in hands and spend hours mesmerized with their performances. The songs told about the common livelihood, common joys and sorrows. The Bangla Band members instantly struck a chord with the fair-goers. Gradually, the Kolkata Book Fair became synonymous with everything the Bengali Culture is all about – Books, Adda, Music, Tea and Food.

1997

The year 1997 was a catastrophic year for the book fair. On the 6^th day of the fair, a fire broke and almost all the book stalls got destroyed. Each publisher incurred heavy loss due to the fire. As phoenix rises from the fire again, the book fair was reorganized with the undying initiative and determination of the Guild, book lovers and the State Government. Huge discounts were available on the books. Many visitors bought books in huge numbers just to support the publishers and lend a hand in solidarity.

2007

However, in the year 2007, the Guild lost the ongoing case filed against them by a few environmentalists. The venue had to be shifted to the Salt Lake Stadium within a day. The footfalls decreased due to inclement weather and poor commuting facilities but the book lovers braved against all odds to attend the fair even in such circumstances.

2008

The Guild organised book fair did not happen in 2008. The Calcutta High Court ruled against the Park Circus Maidan as the prospective venue. The Guild members decided to postpone the annual fair and move to the Supreme Court for legal assurance regarding the book fair venue. Another group organized a smaller fair named ‘Book Fair 2008’ but its efficacy was questioned.

2009

In 2009, the Calcutta Book Fair got a permanent address in Milan Mela Fair Ground. A theme song, “Oi Daakche Boi (Books beckoning)” was made. The organization created different pavilions for the visitors. And the book lovers loved the arrangements. The turnover was huge.

2011

In 2011, the Guild decided to make entry to the book fair free for all.

2014

From 2014, Kolkata Literary Festival was started getting organized during the Book Fair. The eminent writers started to join in the event to discuss the latest trends in literature and take part in healthy criticisms.

2018

In 2018, the address of the Kolkata Book Fair changed again. As the Milan Mela Complex was under renovation, it was held at the Central Park Mela Ground.

Since 2018, the Central Park Mela Ground had been witnessing a considerable number of footfalls of book lovers, writers, publishers and the likes. Just when people have started to think that physical books are a passé, the crowd gathering in different stalls to buy their favourite books, meet their favourite authors and join listening impromptu musical performances have started proving them wrong, in the Fair fortnight, like every other year. 

2021

However, due to the current pandemic situation, the Kolkata Book Fair 2021 had been postponed indefinitely. We would be revealing the Kolkata Book Fair 2021 dates after the Guild fixes them.

The post The 14th Parbon of the Bengalis – The Kolkata Book Fair appeared first on KolkataFusion.