The word Kolkata (
Bengali: কলকাতা[kolˈkata]) derives from Kôlikata (Bengali: কলিকাতা[ˈkɔliˌkata]), the Bengali language name of one of three villages that predated the arrival of the British; the other two villages were
Sutanuti and
Govindapur.[31]
There are several explanations for the etymology of this name:
Kolikata is thought to be a variation of Kalikkhetrô (
Bengali: কালীক্ষেত্র[ˈkaliˌkʰetrɔ]), meaning 'Field of [the goddess]
Kali'. Similarly, it can be a variation of Kalikshetra (
Sanskrit: कालीक्षेत्र, lit. 'area of Goddess Kali').
Another theory is that the name derives from
Kalighat.[32]
Alternatively, the name may have been derived from the Bengali term kilkila (
Bengali: কিলকিলা), or 'flat area'.[33]
The name may have its origin in the words khal (
Bengali: খাল[ˈkʰal]) meaning 'canal', followed by kaṭa (
Bengali: কাটা[ˈkaʈa]), which may mean 'dug'.[34]
According to another theory, the area specialised in the production of
quicklime or koli chun (
Bengali: কলি চুন[ˈkɔliˌtʃun]) and coir or kata (
Bengali: কাতা[ˈkata]); hence, it was called Kolikata).[33]
Although the city's name has always been pronounced Kolkata or Kôlikata in Bengali, the anglicised form Calcutta was the official name until 2001, when it
was changed to Kolkata in order to match Bengali pronunciation.[35]
The discovery and
archaeological study of
Chandraketugarh, 35 km (22 mi) north of Kolkata, provide evidence that the region in which the city stands has been inhabited for over two millennia.[36][37] Kolkata or Kalikata in its earliest mentions, is described to be a village surrounded with jungle on the bank of river Ganga as a renowned port, commercial hub and a hindu pilgrimage site for
Kalighat Temple. The first mention of the Kalikata village was found in
Bipradas Pipilai'sManasa Vijay (1495), where he describes how
Chand Sadagar used to stop in Kalighat to worship
Goddess Kali during in his path to trade voyage.[38][39] Later Kalikata was also found to be mentioned in
Mukundaram Chakrabarti's Chandimangal (1594),
Todar Mal's taxation-list in 1596 and Krishnaram Das's Kalikamangal (1676-77).[39][40] Kolkata's
recorded history began in 1690 with the arrival of the English
East India Company, which was consolidating its trade business in Bengal.
Job Charnock is often regarded as the founder of the city;[41] however, in response to a public petition,[42] the
Calcutta High Court ruled in 2003 that the city does not have a founder.[43] The area occupied by the present-day city encompassed three villages:
Kalikata,
Gobindapur and
Sutanuti. Kalikata was a fishing village; Sutanuti was a riverside weavers' village; and Gobindapur was a trading post for Indian merchant princes. These villages were part of an estate belonging to the
Sabarna Roy Choudhury family of zamindars. The estate was sold to the East India Company in 1698.[44]: 1
In 1712, the British completed the construction of
Fort William, located on the east bank of the Hooghly River to protect their trading factory.[45] Facing frequent skirmishes with
French forces, the British began to upgrade their fortifications in 1756. The Nawab of Bengal,
Siraj-ud-Daulah, condemned the militarisation and tax evasion by the company. His warning went unheeded, and the Nawab attacked; his capture of Fort William led to the killings of several East India company officials in the
Black Hole of Calcutta.[46] A force of Company soldiers (sepoys) and British troops led by
Robert Clive recaptured the city the following year.[46] Per the 1765
Treaty of Allahabad following the
battle of Buxar, East India company was appointed imperial tax collector of the Mughal emperor in the province of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, while Mughal-appointed Nawabs continued to rule the province.[47] Declared a
presidency city, Calcutta became the headquarters of the East India Company by 1773.[48]
In 1793, ruling power of the Nawabs were abolished, and East India company took complete control of the city and the province. In the early 19th century, the marshes surrounding the city were drained; the government area was laid out along the banks of the Hooghly River.
Richard Wellesley,
Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William between 1797 and 1805, was largely responsible for the development of the city and its public architecture.[49] Throughout the late 18th and 19th century, the city was a centre of the East India Company's opium trade.[50] A census in 1837 records the population of the city proper as 229,700, of which the British residents made up only 3,138.[51] The same source says another 177,000 resided in the suburbs and neighbouring villages, making the entire population of greater Calcutta 406,700.
In 1864, a typhoon struck the city and killed about 60,000 in Kolkata.[52]
By the 1850s, Calcutta had two areas: White Town, which was primarily British and centred on
Chowringhee and
Dalhousie Square; and Black Town, mainly Indian and centred on North Calcutta.[53] The city underwent rapid industrial growth starting in the early 1850s, especially in the textile and jute industries; this encouraged British companies to massively invest in infrastructure projects, which included telegraph connections and
Howrah railway station. The coalescence of British and Indian culture resulted in the emergence of a new babu class of urbane Indians, whose members were often bureaucrats, professionals, newspaper readers, and Anglophiles; they usually belonged to upper-caste Hindu communities.[54] In the 19th century, the
Bengal Renaissance brought about an increased sociocultural sophistication among city denizens. In 1883, Calcutta was host to the first national conference of the
Indian National Association, which was the first avowed nationalist organisation in India.[55]
During the 1960s and 1970s, severe power shortages, strikes and a violent
Marxist–
Maoist movement by groups known as the
Naxalites damaged much of the city's infrastructure, resulting in economic stagnation.[25] During East Pakistan's secessionist
war of independence in 1971, the city was home to the
government-in-exile of Bangladesh.[24] During the war, refugees poured into West Bengal and strained Kolkata's infrastructure.[66] The
Eastern Command of the Indian military, which is based in Fort William, played a pivotal role in the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and securing the
surrender of Pakistan. During the mid-1980s,
Mumbai (then called Bombay) overtook Kolkata as India's most populous city. In 1985, Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi dubbed Kolkata a "dying city" in light of its socio-political woes.[67] In the period 1977–2011, West Bengal was governed from Kolkata by the
Left Front, which was dominated by the
Communist Party of India (CPM). It was the world's longest-serving democratically elected communist government, during which Kolkata was a key base for
Indian communism.[68][69][70] In the
2011 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, Left Front was defeated by the
Trinamool Congress. The city's economic recovery gathered momentum after the 1990s, when
India began to institute pro-market reforms. Since 2000, the information technology (IT) services sector has revitalised Kolkata's stagnant economy. The city is also experiencing marked growth in its manufacturing base.[71]
Spread roughly north–south along the east bank of the
Hooghly River, Kolkata sits within the lower
Ganges Delta of eastern India approximately 75 km (47 mi) west of the international border with Bangladesh; the city's elevation is 1.5–9 m (5–30 ft).[72] Much of the city was originally a wetland that was reclaimed over the decades to accommodate a burgeoning population.[73] The remaining undeveloped areas, known as the
East Kolkata Wetlands, were designated a "wetland of international importance" by the
Ramsar Convention (1975).[74] As with most of the
Indo-Gangetic Plain, the soil and water are predominantly
alluvial in origin. Kolkata is located over the "Bengal basin", a pericratonic tertiary basin.[75] Bengal basin comprises three structural units: shelf or platform in the west; central hinge or shelf/slope break; and deep basinal part in the east and southeast. Kolkata is located atop the western part of the hinge zone which is about 25 km (16 mi) wide at a depth of about 45,000 m (148,000 ft) below the surface.[75] The shelf and hinge zones have many faults, among them some are active. Total thickness of sediment below Kolkata is nearly 7,500 m (24,600 ft) above the
crystalline basement; of these the top 350–450 m (1,150–1,480 ft) is
Quaternary, followed by 4,500–5,500 m (14,760–18,040 ft) of
Tertiary sediments, 500–700 m (1,640–2,300 ft)
trap wash of
Cretaceous trap and 600–800 m (1,970–2,620 ft)
Permian-
CarboniferousGondwana rocks.[75] The quaternary sediments consist of clay, silt and several grades of sand and gravel. These sediments are sandwiched between two clay beds: the lower one at a depth of 250–650 m (820–2,130 ft); the upper one 10–40 m (30–130 ft) in thickness.[76] According to the
Bureau of Indian Standards, on a scale ranging from I to V in order of increasing susceptibility to earthquakes, the city lies inside
seismic zone III.[77]
The annual mean temperature is 26.8 °C (80.2 °F); monthly mean temperatures are 19–30 °C (66–86 °F). Summers (March–June) are hot and humid, with temperatures in the low 30s Celsius; during dry spells, maximum temperatures sometime exceed 40 °C (104 °F) in May and June.[78] Winter lasts for roughly 2+1⁄2 months, with seasonal lows dipping to 9–11 °C (48–52 °F) in December and January. May is the hottest month, with daily temperatures ranging from 27–37 °C (81–99 °F); January, the coldest month, has temperatures varying from 12–23 °C (54–73 °F). The highest recorded temperature is 43.9 °C (111.0 °F), and the lowest is 5 °C (41 °F).[78] The winter is mild and very comfortable weather pertains over the city throughout this season.
Often, in April–June, the city is struck by heavy rains or dusty squalls that are followed by thunderstorms or hailstorms, bringing cooling relief from the prevailing humidity. These thunderstorms are
convective in nature, and are known locally as kal bôishakhi (কালবৈশাখী), or "Nor'westers" in English.[79]
Rainfall
Rains brought by the Bay of Bengal branch of the
south-west summer monsoon[80] lash Kolkata between June and September, supplying it with most of its annual rainfall of about 1,850 mm (73 in). The highest monthly rainfall total occurs in July and August. In these months often incessant rain for days brings life to a stall for the city dwellers. The city receives 2,107 hours of sunshine per year, with maximum
sunlight exposure occurring in April.[81] Kolkata has been hit by several cyclones; these include systems occurring in
1737 and
1864 that killed thousands.[82][83] More recently,
Cyclone Aila in 2009 and
Cyclone Amphan in 2020 caused widespread damage to Kolkata by bringing catastrophic winds and torrential rainfall.
Pollution is a major concern in Kolkata. As of 2008[update],
sulphur dioxide and
nitrogen dioxide annual concentration were within the national ambient air quality standards of India, but respirable
suspended particulate matter levels were high, and on an increasing trend for five consecutive years, causing smog and haze.[92][93] Severe air pollution in the city has caused a rise in pollution-related respiratory ailments, such as lung cancer.[94]
Two planned townships in the greater Kolkata region are
Bidhannagar, also known as Salt Lake City and located north-east of the city; and
Rajarhat, also called
New Town and located east of Bidhannagar.[31][103] In the 2000s, Sector 5 in Bidhannagar developed into a business hub for information technology and telecommunication companies.[104][105] Both Bidhannagar and New Town are situated outside the Kolkata Municipal Corporation limits, in their own municipalities.[103]
Kolkata is the commercial and financial hub of
East and
North-East India[97] and home to the
Calcutta Stock Exchange.[106][107] It is a major commercial and military port, and is one of five cities in eastern India (alongside
Bhubaneswar,
Guwahati,
Imphal, and
Kushinagar) to have an international airport. Once India's leading city, Kolkata experienced a steady economic decline in the decades following India's independence due to steep population increases and a rise in militant
trade-unionism, which included frequent strikes that were backed by left-wing parties.[71] From the 1960s to the late 1990s, several factories were closed and businesses relocated.[71] The lack of capital and resources added to the depressed state of the city's economy and gave rise to an unwelcome sobriquet: the "dying city".[108] The city's fortunes improved after the
Indian economy was liberalised in the 1990s and changes in economic policy were enacted by the West Bengal state government.[71] Recent estimates of the economy of Kolkata's metropolitan area have ranged from $150 to $250 billion (
PPP GDP), and have ranked it
third-most productive metro area of India.[109]
Flexible production has been the norm in Kolkata, which has an
informal sector that employs more than 40% of the labour force.[31] One unorganised group,
roadside hawkers, generated business worth ₹ 87.72 billion (US$ 2 billion) in 2005.[110] As of 2001[update], around 0.81% of the city's workforce was employed in the
primary sector (agriculture, forestry, mining, etc.); 15.49% worked in the
secondary sector (industrial and manufacturing); and 83.69% worked in the
tertiary sector (service industries).[97]: 19 As of 2003[update], the majority of households in slums were engaged in occupations belonging to the informal sector; 36.5% were involved in servicing the urban middle class (as maids, drivers, etc.) and 22.2% were
casual labourers.[111]: 11 About 34% of the available labour force in Kolkata slums were unemployed.[111]: 11 According to one estimate, almost a quarter of the population live on less than 27 rupees (equivalent to 45 US cents) per day.[112]
The
demonym for residents of Kolkata are Calcuttan and Kolkatan.[123][124] According to provisional results of the 2011 national census, Kolkata district, which occupies an area of 185 km2 (71 sq mi), had a population of
4,486,679;[125] its population density was 24,252/km2 (62,810/sq mi).[125] This represents a decline of 1.88% during the decade 2001–11. The
sex ratio is 899 females per 1000 males—lower than the national average.[126] The ratio is depressed by the influx of working males from surrounding rural areas, from the rest of West Bengal; these men commonly leave their families behind.[127] Kolkata's literacy rate of 87.14%[126] exceeds the national average of 74%.[128] The final population totals of census 2011 stated the population of city as 4,496,694.[4] The urban agglomeration had a population of 14,112,536 in 2011.[6]
As of 2003[update], about one-third of the population, or 15 lakh (1.5 million) people, lived in 3,500 unregistered
squatter-occupied and 2,011 registered
slums.[111]: 4 [129]: 92 The authorised slums (with access to basic services like water, latrines, trash removal by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation) can be broadly divided into two groups—bustees, in which slum dwellers have some long term tenancy agreement with the landowners; and udbastu colonies, settlements which had been leased to refugees from present-day Bangladesh by the government.[129][111]: 5 The
unauthorised slums (devoid of basic services provided by the municipality) are occupied by squatters who started living on encroached lands—mainly along canals, railway lines and roads.[129]: 92 [111]: 5 According to the 2005 National Family Health Survey, around 14% of the households in Kolkata were poor, while 33% lived in slums, indicating a substantial proportion of households in slum areas were better off economically than the bottom quarter of urban households in terms of wealth status.[130]: 23 Mother Teresa was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize for founding and working with the
Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata—an organisation "whose primary task was to love and care for those persons nobody was prepared to look after".[131]
Languages
Languages spoken in Kolkata city (2011 census)[132]
According to the 2011 census, 76.51% of the population is
Hindu, 20.60%
Muslim, 0.88%
Christian and 0.47%
Jain.[144] The remainder of the population includes
Sikhs,
Buddhists, and other religions which accounts for 0.45% of the population; 1.09% did not state a religion in the census.[144] Kolkata reported 67.6% of
Special and Local Laws crimes registered in 35 large Indian cities during 2004.[145]
Kolkata is administered by several government agencies. The
Kolkata Municipal Corporation, or KMC, oversees and manages the civic infrastructure of the city's 16 boroughs, which together encompass 144 wards.[133] Each ward elects a councillor to the KMC. Each borough has a committee of councillors, each of whom is elected to represent a ward. By means of the borough committees, the corporation undertakes urban planning and maintains roads, government-aided schools, hospitals, and municipal markets.[146] As Kolkata's apex body, the corporation discharges its functions through the mayor-in-council, which comprises a
mayor, a deputy mayor, and ten other elected members of the KMC.[147] The functions of the KMC include water supply, drainage and sewerage, sanitation, solid waste management, street lighting, and building regulation.[146]
Kolkata's administrative agencies have areas of jurisdiction that do not coincide. Listed in ascending order by area, they are:
Kolkata district; the
Kolkata Police area and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area, or "Kolkata city";[148] and the
Kolkata metropolitan area, which is the city's urban agglomeration. The agency overseeing the latter, the
Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority, is responsible for the
statutory planning and development of greater Kolkata.[149] The Kolkata Municipal Corporation was ranked first out of 21 cities for best governance and administrative practices in India in 2014. It scored 4.0 on 10 compared to the national average of 3.3.[150]
The Kolkata Port Trust, an agency of the central government, manages the city's river port. As of 2023[update], the
All India Trinamool Congress controls the KMC; the mayor is
Firhad Hakim, while the deputy mayor is Atin Ghosh.[151] The city has an apolitical
titular post, that of the
Sheriff of Kolkata, which presides over various city-related functions and conferences.[152]
As the seat of the
Government of West Bengal, Kolkata is home to not only the offices of the local governing agencies, but also the
West Bengal Legislative Assembly; the state secretariat, which is housed in the Writers' Building; and the
Calcutta High Court. Most government establishments and institutions are housed in the centre of the city in B. B. D. Bagh (formerly known as Dalhousie Square). The Calcutta High Court is the oldest
High Court in India. It was preceded by the
Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William which was established in 1774. The Calcutta High Court has jurisdiction over the state of
West Bengal and the
Union Territory of the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Kolkata has lower courts: the
Court of Small Causes and the City Civil Court decide civil matters; the
Sessions Court rules in criminal cases.[153][154][155] The
Kolkata Police, headed by a police commissioner, is overseen by the
West Bengal Ministry of Home Affairs.[156][157] The Kolkata district elects two representatives to India's lower house, the
Lok Sabha, and 11 representatives to the state legislative assembly.[158]
The Kolkata police district registered 15,510
Indian Penal Code cases in 2010, the 8th-highest total in the country.[159] In 2010, the crime rate was 117.3 per 100,000, below the national rate of 187.6; it was the lowest rate among India's largest cities.[160]
Utility services
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation supplies the city with potable water that is sourced from the Hooghly River;[161] most of it is treated and purified at the Palta pumping station located in North 24 Parganas district.[162][failed verification] Roughly 95% of the 4,000 tonnes of refuse produced daily by the city is transported to the dumping grounds in
Dhapa, which is east of the town.[163][164] To promote the recycling of garbage and sewer water, agriculture is encouraged on the dumping grounds.[165] Parts of the city lack proper sewerage, leading to unsanitary methods of waste disposal.[81]
In 1856, the Bengal Government appointed
George Turnbull to be the Commissioner of Drainage and Sewerage to improve the city's sewerage. Turnbull's main job was to be the Chief Engineer of the
East Indian Railway Company responsible for building the first railway 541 miles (871 km) from
Howrah to
Varanasi (then
Benares).
State-owned
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, or BSNL, as well as private enterprises, among them
Vodafone Idea,
Bharti Airtel,
Reliance Jio are the leading telephone and cell phone service providers in the city.[170]: 25–26 : 179 with Kolkata being the first city in India to have cell phone and
4G connectivity, the
GSM and
CDMA cellular coverage is extensive.[171][172] As of 2010[update], Kolkata has 7 percent of the total broadband internet consumers in India; BSNL, VSNL, Tata Indicom, Sify, Hathway, Airtel, and Jio are among the main vendors.[173][174]
Kolkata Metro is the oldest rapid transit system in India. According to a 2013 survey conducted by the
International Association of Public Transport, in terms of a public transport system, Kolkata ranks among the top of the six Indian cities surveyed.[177][178] The Kolkata Metro, in operation since 1984, is the oldest underground mass transit system in India.[179] It spans the north–south length of the city. In 2020, part of the Second line was inaugurated to cover part of Salt Lake. This east–west line will connect Salt Lake with Howrah. The two lines cover a distance of 33.02 km (21 mi). As of 2020[update], four Metro rail lines were under construction.[180]
Commuter rail
Kolkata has five long-distance railway stations, located at
Howrah (the largest railway complex in India),
Sealdah,
Kolkata,
Shalimar and
Santragachi, which connect Kolkata by rail to most cities in West Bengal and to other major cities in India.[181] The city serves as the headquarters of three railway zones out of eighteen of the
Indian Railways regional divisions—the Kolkata Metro Railways,
Eastern Railway and the
South-Eastern Railway.[182] Kolkata has rail and road connectivity with
Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.[183][184][185]
Bus transport and tram
Buses, which are the most commonly used mode of transport, are run by government agencies and private operators.[186] Kolkata is the only Indian city with a tram network, which was operated by the
Calcutta Tramways Company. It has now renamed to
West Bengal Transport Corporation.[187] The slow-moving tram services are restricted to certain areas of the city. Water-logging, caused by heavy rains during the
summer monsoon, sometimes interrupt transportation networks.[188][189]
Roads and expressways
The city has witnessed a steady increase in the number of registered vehicles; 2002 data showed an increase of 44% over a period of seven years.[190][191] As of 2004[update], after adjusting for population density, the city's "road space" was only 6% compared to 23% in Delhi and 17% in Mumbai.[192] The Kolkata Metro has somewhat eased traffic congestion, as has the addition of new roads and
flyovers. Agencies operating long-distance bus services include the West Bengal Transport Corporation and various private operators. The city's main bus terminals are located at
Esplanade and
Babughat.[193] The Kolkata–Delhi and Kolkata–
Chennai prongs of the
Golden Quadrilateral, and
National Highway 12 start from the city.[194]
At present, Kolkata has two
expressways, but they are not considered to be as separate dedicated expressways in the national level, as both are parts of the
National Highway 16 (NH-16). They are
Belghoria and
Kona expressways. In the coming years, Kolkata will get dedicated expressways and will be connected directly with many major metropolises and cities of India, also internationally, to
Nepal. They are as follows:
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, located in Dum Dum, about 16 km (9.9 mi) north-east of the city centre, operates domestic and international flights. In 2013, the airport was upgraded to handle increased air traffic.[200][201]
Water
The
Port of Kolkata, established in 1870, is India's oldest and the only major river port.[202] The Kolkata Port Trust manages docks in Kolkata and
Haldia.[203] The port hosts passenger services to
Port Blair, capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands; freighter service to ports throughout India and around the world is operated by the
Shipping Corporation of India.[202][204] Ferry services connect Kolkata with its twin city of
Howrah, located across the Hooghly River.[205][206]
As of 2011[update], the healthcare system in Kolkata consists of 48 government hospitals, mostly under the
Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of West Bengal, and 366 private medical establishments;[207] these establishments provide the city with 27,687 hospital beds.[207] For every 10,000 people in the city, there are 61.7 hospital beds,[208] which is higher than the national average of 9 hospital beds per 10,000.[209] Ten
medical and dental colleges are located in the Kolkata metropolitan area which act as
tertiary referral hospitals in the state.[210][211] The
Calcutta Medical College, founded in 1835, was the first institution in Asia to teach modern medicine.[212] However, These facilities are inadequate to meet the healthcare needs of the city.[213][214][215] More than 78% in Kolkata prefer the private medical sector over the public medical sector,[130]: 109 due to the overburdening of the public health sector, the lack of a nearby facility, and excessive waiting times at government facilities.[130]: 61
According to the Indian 2005 National Family Health Survey, only a small proportion of Kolkata households were covered under any health scheme or
health insurance.[130]: 41 The
total fertility rate in Kolkata was 1.4, the lowest among the eight cities surveyed.[130]: 45 In Kolkata, 77% of the married women used
contraceptives, which was the highest among the cities surveyed, but use of modern contraceptive methods was the lowest (46%).[130]: 47 The
infant mortality rate in Kolkata was 41 per 1,000 live births, and the mortality rate for children under five was 49 per 1,000 live births.[130]: 48
About 18% of the men and 30% of the women in Kolkata are
obese—the majority of them belonging to the non-poor strata of society.[130]: 105 In 2005, Kolkata had the highest percentage (55%) among the surveyed cities of
anaemic women, while 20% of the men in Kolkata were anaemic.[130]: 56–57 Diseases like
diabetes,
asthma,
goitre and other
thyroid disorders were found in large numbers of people.[130]: 57–59 Tropical diseases like
malaria,
dengue and chikungunya are prevalent in Kolkata, though their incidence is decreasing.[216][217] Kolkata is one of the districts in India with
a high number of people with
AIDS; it has been designated a district prone to high risk.[218][219] As of 2014, because of
higher air pollution, the
life expectancy of a person born in the city is four years fewer than in the suburbs.[220]
Kolkata is known for its literary, artistic and revolutionary heritage; as the former capital of India, it was the birthplace of modern Indian literary and artistic thought.[237] Kolkata has been called the "City of Furious, Creative Energy"[238] as well as the "cultural [or literary] capital of India".[239][240] The presence of paras, which are neighbourhoods that possess a strong sense of community, is characteristic of the city.[241] Typically, each para has its own community club and on occasion, a playing field.[241] Residents engage in addas, or leisurely chats, that often take the form of freestyle intellectual conversation.[242][243] The city has a tradition of political
graffiti depicting everything from outrageous slander to witty banter and limericks, caricatures and propaganda.[244][245]
Key elements of
Kolkata's cuisine include rice and a fish curry known as machher jhol,[269] which can be accompanied by desserts such as roshogolla, sandesh, and a sweet yoghurt known as mishti dohi. Bengal's large repertoire of seafood dishes includes various preparations of ilish, a fish that is a favourite among Calcuttans. Street foods such as beguni (fried battered eggplant slices),
kati roll (flatbread roll with vegetable or chicken, mutton or egg stuffing), phuchka (a deep-fried crêpe with tamarind sauce) and
Indian Chinese cuisine from Chinatown are popular.[270][271][272][273]
The most popular sports in Kolkata are
football and
cricket. Unlike most parts of India, the residents show significant passion for football.[288]Indian Football Association, the oldest football association of the country is based here. It administers football in West Bengal. Kolkata is home to India's top football clubs such as
Mohun Bagan A.C.,
East Bengal Club and the
Mohammedan Sporting Club.[289][290] The
Calcutta Football League, which is the oldest football league in Asia was started in 1898. Mohun Bagan A.C., one of the oldest football clubs in Asia, is the only organisation to be dubbed as "National Club of India".[291][292] Two clubs of the city -
Mohun Bagan Super Giant and
East Bengal FC compete in the
Indian Super League (ISL).[293] Football matches between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, called as the
Kolkata Derby, witness large audience attendance and rivalry between patrons.[294] The multi-use
Salt Lake Stadium, also known as Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, is India's second largest stadium by
seating capacity. Most matches of the
2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup were played in this stadium including both Semi-final matches and the Final match. Kolkata also accounted for 45% of total attendance in 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup with an average of 55,345 spectators.[295] The
Calcutta Cricket and Football Club is the second-oldest cricket club in the world.[296][297]
As in the rest of India, cricket is popular in Kolkata and is played on various grounds throughout the city.[298][299] Kolkata is home to
Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise
Kolkata Knight Riders and also the
Cricket Association of Bengal which regulates cricket in West Bengal and the
Bengal cricket team. Tournaments, especially those involving cricket, football, badminton and
carrom, are regularly organised here on an inter-locality or inter-club basis.[241] The Maidan, a vast field that serves as the city's largest park, hosts several minor football and cricket clubs and coaching institutes.[300]Eden Gardens, which has a capacity of 80,000 as of 2017[update],[301] hosted the final match of the
1987 Cricket World Cup.
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ab"District Census Handbook – Kolkata"(PDF). Census of India. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner. p. 43.
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