Over in the eastern India, in the state of West Bengal, the country's third largest metro area (pop 14.1 million) was founded in 1690 by the British colonizers as Calcutta, and was the capital of the Raj until 1911. Also dubbed "the City of Joy," it's a mix of splendid colonial-era and contemporary architecture, as well as modern-middle-class neighbourhoods and squalid slums.
Most of all, though, it's considered India's intellectual capital and foremost hotbed of creativity and the arts, giving rise to cultural figures such as 20th century poet Kazi Nazrul Islam; filmmaker Satyajit Ray; and poet, musician, and artist Rabindranath Tagore. The dynamism, cosmopolitanism, and Bengali culture of Kolkata give it a feel quite different from elsewhere in India
I stayed - and attending one of the best weddings I've ever attended - at one of the finest one of the city's finest hotels, The LaLiT Great Eastern Kolkata, a colonial-era grande dame which I used as a base to visit top Kolkata classics such as...
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