Kolkata culture
Encyclopedia
Kolkata has long been known for its literary, artistic and revolutionary heritage. As the former capital of India, Kolkata was the birthplace of modern Indian literary, artistic and scholastic thought. Kolkatans tend to have a special appreciation for art and literature; its tradition of welcoming new talent has made it a "city of furious creative energy".
s in Kolkata signify a neighbourhood with a strong sense of community, and are usually sharply defined on the basis of loyalties (like which households contribute economically to which public or "barowari
" puja). Para
s culture typically segregate Kolkata communities on the basis of origin (West Bengal origin "ghotis
" versus East Bengal origin "bangal
s" - there are para
s which have names like "prothom bangal para" (first bangal para)), occupation and socio-economic status (paras have names like "kumorpara" (potter para)), and sometimes even politics and religion.
Typically, every para
has its own community club, with a club room ("club ghar"), and often a playing field. People of a para
habitually indulge in adda
or leisurely chat in "rock"s or "rowacks" (porches) and teashops in the evenings after work. North Kolkata para
s typically have more street life at late nights with respect to South Kolkata para
s. Sports (cricket
, football
, badminton
) and indoor games (carrom
) tournaments are regularly organized on an inter-para basis.
The para
culture is fast waning, for good or bad, with the rise of apartment complexes, and the rise of the cosmopolitan nature of Kolkata.
An adda
involves an informal discussion usually involving friends talking over a bhaar(cup) of tea on current issues. An adda may be viewed as a form of intellectual exchange among members of the same socio-economic strata. It is most popular among the youths belonging to the so-called "middle-class intelligentsia".
ruled to ban political graffiti from private properties without express consent of the property owner. Graffiti lives on in "club" walls, unclaimed property walls, and the occasional flouting of the order.
Graffiti artists have become a part of Kolktata's heritage. Many house owners now welcome them to paint on their walls so that these are not captured by political parties. Social messages like AIDS awareness, environmental issues etc., are now getting more popularity.
railway are usually packed during office hours. The practice of "reserving" public seats by daily passengers is widespread. Share taxi
s are a common occurrence for travel to and from railway stations and such. The practice of car pools is also growing after the construction of the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass
and the emergence of the CBD in Bidhan Nagar.
Another phenomenon of Kolkata traffic is the Auto-rikshaws. Auto-rikshaws or autos as they are acronymed are small contraptions on the roads. They have three wheels, and are extremely agile. The regulation is three passengers at back, one in front along with the driver. This regulation is disregarded with impunity and often six or more people get in. Autos ply on fixed routes and the fare ranges from Rs.4 to Rs. 15, depending on the distance covered.
While Mumbai
is the capital of commercial cinemas in India, Kolkata is the house of art-films. Stallwarts like Satyajit Ray
, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen
are the pride of Kolkata. The biggest event of Indian cinema was the release of Pather Panchali
in 1955 made by Satyajit Ray
based on a novel of Bibhutibhusan Banerjee. This film connected Indian film to the rest of the world. The movie was acclaimed throughout the world specially in the Western world as a symbol of undying human spirit. Presently, Aparna Sen
, Budhdhadeb Dasgupta, Gautam Ghose
, Rituparno Ghosh
are bearing the mantle of the great tradition. Kolkata Film Festival
, held annually across several cinema theatres in the city serves to the taste of Kolkata people for cinema from all over the world. Nandan
is a popular cinema complex in the premiers of Rabindra Sadan
, maintained by the state government. This theater complex holds regular shows of national and international cinema.
In 1897, films were shown for the first time in Calcutta. Couple of years later, Hiralal Sen from north Calcutta started making films at the Classic Theatres. In 1901, Hiralal Sen set up Royal Bioscope, produced scenes and dance sequences from popular Bengali plays. The first Bengali movie was "Billwamangal" in 1919 which happened to be a silent movie. The first Bengali talkie, Dena Paona was released in 1931, directed by Premankur Atarthi and produced by New Theatres. The first popular hero in Bengali film was probably Pramathesh Barua, who was a director himself too.
The commercial Bengali cinema industry, known as "Tollywood", is based in Tollygunge
locality of the city. Several film studios are located here. Though the popularity of the commercial Bengali cinemas has dwindled in the urban area, they continue to be popular in the rural West Bengal. The golden age of commercial Bengali cinema is said to be 1950-1970 and involved actors such as Uttam Kumar
, Soumitra Chatterjee
, Utpal Dutta
, Suchitra Sen
, Chobi Biswas, Sabitri Chottopadhya, Pahari Sanyal, Bikash Roy. Suchitra Sen
received best actress award in Moscow Film Festival for her role in Saat Paake Badha co-starring Soumitra Chatterjee
.
Bengali prose became modern courtesy of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
. The doyens of nineteenth century Bengali literature like Rabindranath Tagore
, Michael Madhusudan Dutt
, Kazi Nazrul Islam
were from Kolkata. As the then cultural capital of India, Kolkata based literature affected and shaped the thought and culture of many Indians. Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay was an author whose specialty was exploring complex human psychology, especially that of female mind. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
was one of the earliest Bengali novelists and is popularly known as the author of India's first national song, "Bande Mātarom" . Tarashankar Bandopadhyay
was another famous novelist whose works feature a realistic picture of the many-colored fabric of life in rural Bengal. The Kolkata littérateurs still borrow a lot from Tagore. In the 1940s, 1950s and 1950s, a new breed of Bengali writers and poets came into being in Kolkata exemplified by Jibanananda Das
, Sukanta Bhattacharya
, Bishnu Dey
, Premendra Mitra
, Buddhadeb Guha
etc. They wanted to break free from the traditional mysticism
and surrealism
of Tagore style and present various concepts such as modernism
, post-modernism, cubism
through their writings. Satyajit Ray
was also a writer, especially for children. Other literary figures include Sunil Gangopadhyay
, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay
, Manik Bandopadhyay
, Samaresh Majumdar
, Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay
, Shankha Ghosh
, Amitav Ghosh
, Nirad Chaudhuri, Shakti Chattopadhyay
, Mahasweta Devi
, Joy Goswami
, Mani Shankar Mukherjee
, etc.
The most important counter-cultural activity in post-Independence West Bengal has been the Hungryalist Movement
, known also as Hungry Generation
spearheaded by the two outsider brothers Samir Roychoudhury
and Malay Roy Choudhury
, who are today cultural cult-figures among Bengali Intellectual diaspora.
Kolkata's proud presentation of the new forms of Prakalpana fiction and Sarbangin poetry, contrived by Vattacharja Chandan
and projected by Prakalpana Movement
, appears to be the only ongoing Indian avant garde literary movement that has been buzzing globally for over four decades.
The Calcutta Book Fair
is an annual fair showcasing books published by the regional, national and international publishers. Started in 1976, the book fair projects every year a particular country as the theme of the year. There is a separate area dedicated for the little magazines.
The city has a long tradition of theaters and Group Theatres, producing groups like the Little Theatre Group, Gandharba, Calcutta Theatre, Nandikar
, Bahurupee etc. and movements like the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA). Famous drama and theatrics personalities include Ajitesh Bondhopadhya, Utpal Dutta
, Rudraprasad Sengupta
and Shambhu Mitra
.
, Rabindra Nritya Natya
(songs and song-dance sequences composed by Tagore) and Nazrul Geeti (songs by Kazi Nazrul Islam
) are integral part of Kolkata
as well as Bengali life. Songs by other poets like Dwijendralal Roy, Atulprasad are also famous. Kolkata is also a noted place for the cultivation of Indian classical music
and dances. Bengali Musicians like Pandit Ravi Shankar
, Nikhil Banerjee
, Ali Akbar Khan
, Ananda Shankar
were from Kolkata. The era after the independence saw the development of Adhunik (modern) songs. The songs of Bengali commercial movies are also extremely popular.
Musicians and singers include Kishore Kumar
, RD Burman, Anup Ghoshal
, Hemanta Mukherjee, Manna Dey
, Sandhya Mukherjee, Shyamal Mitra
, Ruma Guha Thakurta
. From the early 1990s, there has been an emergence and popularisation of new genres of music, including fusions of Baul
and Jazz
by several Bangla band
s, as well as the emergence of what has been called Jeebonmukhi Gaan (a modern genre based on realism) by artists like Kabir Suman, Anjan Dutta
, Nachiketa
and bands like Bhoomi
, Chandrabindoo
, Cactus
, Lakkhichhara, Fossils
and Insomnia
. Kolkata also has a strong musical 'counterculture
' in the form of original English Rock music, which has talented bands like Cassini's Division
, Skinny Alley
, Insomnia
, The Supersonics and Crystal Grass.Kolkata also has a strong stage performer voice artist Prasanta Gangopadhyay
) preparations (a favourite among Bengalis) like eelish shorshe bata, eelish bhap and eelish-er paturi . Street foods like rolls (mutton roll, egg roll, chicken roll, and sometimes in the Park Circus region - beef roll) and phuchka are very popular. Phuchka (called golgappa in North India, and panipuri in West India) is a deep-fried whole-wheat hollow crispy ball which is filled with spicy potato filling and spicy, herbed tamarind water when serving. Common accompaniments to Phuchka are things dishes like Churmur, Ghugni. A Bengali meal is incomplete without sweets. Popular sweets include Roshogolla, mishti doi
(sweet curd), langcha
, Kheerkadam, sandesh
, rajbhog, Kamalabhog, etc.
One common feature of Kolkata cuisine today originates from Tibetan regions - momo and thuppa. The Elgin Road offshoots have a lot of outlets specialising in the delicious steamed dumplings (pork, chicken, vegetarian) called momos - typically served with a clear stalk soup and often served with spicy chutneys. Thuppa is a common accompaniment - a clear soup with noodles, vegetables and other herbs. Due to the high popularity, momos are now available all over the city, and are even served as street food at some places. You can easily get all the information on Kolkata's restaurants and cafes on Zomato.com.
and kurta
s. Females are usually seen in the traditional Sarees and Salwar-Kameezs. Females are also gradually taking up more and more Western-wear, with jeans and skirts predominating in the college campuses, as well as in the streets.
Para, Adda, and "club" culture
ParaPara
Para may refer to:*Para Loga, one among the seven Logas in Ayyavazhi mythology*Para-quaternions, expression from algebra in mathematics*Paramedic is a first response ambulance crew member...
s in Kolkata signify a neighbourhood with a strong sense of community, and are usually sharply defined on the basis of loyalties (like which households contribute economically to which public or "barowari
Barowari
Barowari refers to the public organisation of a religious or other festival, mainly in West Bengal. This is extensively used for Durga Puja. The word "Barowari" came from the words "baro", which means 12, and "yari". Much earlier in 1790, 12 Brahmin friends in Guptipara, Hooghly, had decided to...
" puja). Para
Para
Para may refer to:*Para Loga, one among the seven Logas in Ayyavazhi mythology*Para-quaternions, expression from algebra in mathematics*Paramedic is a first response ambulance crew member...
s culture typically segregate Kolkata communities on the basis of origin (West Bengal origin "ghotis
Ghotis
Ghotis , also called Paschimbangiyas or Edeshis , are a social group native to West Bengal , India. Their dialects, folk traditions and cuisine are distinct from those of the Purbabangiyas or the natives of erstwhile eastern Bengal.The term came into greater use after many people from Bangladesh...
" versus East Bengal origin "bangal
Bangal
Bangal is a term used to refer to the people of East Bengal , now in Bangladesh . The term is used to describe Bengalis from the east, who are marked by a distinct accent....
s" - there are para
Para
Para may refer to:*Para Loga, one among the seven Logas in Ayyavazhi mythology*Para-quaternions, expression from algebra in mathematics*Paramedic is a first response ambulance crew member...
s which have names like "prothom bangal para" (first bangal para)), occupation and socio-economic status (paras have names like "kumorpara" (potter para)), and sometimes even politics and religion.
Typically, every para
Para
Para may refer to:*Para Loga, one among the seven Logas in Ayyavazhi mythology*Para-quaternions, expression from algebra in mathematics*Paramedic is a first response ambulance crew member...
has its own community club, with a club room ("club ghar"), and often a playing field. People of a para
Para
Para may refer to:*Para Loga, one among the seven Logas in Ayyavazhi mythology*Para-quaternions, expression from algebra in mathematics*Paramedic is a first response ambulance crew member...
habitually indulge in adda
Adda
Adda can refer to:*Adda in Italy.*River Adda in Wales.*Adda , a concept/slang in South Asia, especial Bengal, also Addabazi.*Adda , an archaeological site in Nigeria.*Adda Corporation, a Taiwanese fan manufacturer....
or leisurely chat in "rock"s or "rowacks" (porches) and teashops in the evenings after work. North Kolkata para
Para
Para may refer to:*Para Loga, one among the seven Logas in Ayyavazhi mythology*Para-quaternions, expression from algebra in mathematics*Paramedic is a first response ambulance crew member...
s typically have more street life at late nights with respect to South Kolkata para
Para
Para may refer to:*Para Loga, one among the seven Logas in Ayyavazhi mythology*Para-quaternions, expression from algebra in mathematics*Paramedic is a first response ambulance crew member...
s. Sports (cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
, badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
) and indoor games (carrom
Carrom
Carrom is a family of tabletop games with gameplay that lies somewhere between billiards and table shuffleboard. Carrom is known by many names around the world, including carrum, couronne, carum, karam, karom, karum, fatta and finger billiards...
) tournaments are regularly organized on an inter-para basis.
The para
Para
Para may refer to:*Para Loga, one among the seven Logas in Ayyavazhi mythology*Para-quaternions, expression from algebra in mathematics*Paramedic is a first response ambulance crew member...
culture is fast waning, for good or bad, with the rise of apartment complexes, and the rise of the cosmopolitan nature of Kolkata.
An adda
Adda
Adda can refer to:*Adda in Italy.*River Adda in Wales.*Adda , a concept/slang in South Asia, especial Bengal, also Addabazi.*Adda , an archaeological site in Nigeria.*Adda Corporation, a Taiwanese fan manufacturer....
involves an informal discussion usually involving friends talking over a bhaar(cup) of tea on current issues. An adda may be viewed as a form of intellectual exchange among members of the same socio-economic strata. It is most popular among the youths belonging to the so-called "middle-class intelligentsia".
Graffiti
Graffiti was used not for vandalism, or counterculture art, but mainly for political propaganda. Walls were "captured" for fixed numbers of years, and graffiti over-painting was tantamount to political transgression. Generations of political graffiti artists have been at work on Kolkata's walls, producing slander, witty banter and limericks, caricatures and propaganda. However, such acts being clear cases of defacing private property, the Calcutta High CourtCalcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It was established as the High Court of Judicature at Fort William on 1 July 1862 under the High Courts Act, 1861. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The High Court...
ruled to ban political graffiti from private properties without express consent of the property owner. Graffiti lives on in "club" walls, unclaimed property walls, and the occasional flouting of the order.
Graffiti artists have become a part of Kolktata's heritage. Many house owners now welcome them to paint on their walls so that these are not captured by political parties. Social messages like AIDS awareness, environmental issues etc., are now getting more popularity.
Traffic and commuter culture
Calcuttans are aggressive commuters, but with a sense of humour. The local and suburban rails and buses, as well as the underground Kolkata MetroKolkata Metro
The Kolkata Metro or Calcutta Metro is a mass rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata and the districts of South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas in Indian state of West Bengal. The network consists of one operational line and five lines currently under construction...
railway are usually packed during office hours. The practice of "reserving" public seats by daily passengers is widespread. Share taxi
Share taxi
A share taxi is a mode of transport that falls between taxis and conventional buses. These informal vehicles for hire are found throughout the world. They are smaller than buses, and usually take passengers on a fixed or semi-fixed route without timetables, usually leaving when all seats are filled...
s are a common occurrence for travel to and from railway stations and such. The practice of car pools is also growing after the construction of the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass
Eastern Metropolitan Bypass
The Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, or simply E.M. Bypass, is a major road on the east side of Kolkata that connects Bidhannagar on the northeast to southern parts of Kolkata. It was designed like a bypass or beltway on the eastern side of Kolkata to lessen the perennial traffic congestion on the...
and the emergence of the CBD in Bidhan Nagar.
Another phenomenon of Kolkata traffic is the Auto-rikshaws. Auto-rikshaws or autos as they are acronymed are small contraptions on the roads. They have three wheels, and are extremely agile. The regulation is three passengers at back, one in front along with the driver. This regulation is disregarded with impunity and often six or more people get in. Autos ply on fixed routes and the fare ranges from Rs.4 to Rs. 15, depending on the distance covered.
Cinema
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
is the capital of commercial cinemas in India, Kolkata is the house of art-films. Stallwarts like Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen
Mrinal Sen
Mrinal Sen is a Bengali Indian filmmaker. He was born on 14 May 1923, in the town of Faridpur, now in Bangladesh in a Hindu family. After finishing his high school there, he left home to come to Calcutta as a student and studied physics at the well-known Scottish Church College and at the...
are the pride of Kolkata. The biggest event of Indian cinema was the release of Pather Panchali
Pather Panchali
Pather Panchali is a 1955 Bengali drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray and produced by the Government of the Indian state of West Bengal. Based on Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay's 1929 Bengali novel of the same name, the film was the directorial debut of Ray...
in 1955 made by Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
based on a novel of Bibhutibhusan Banerjee. This film connected Indian film to the rest of the world. The movie was acclaimed throughout the world specially in the Western world as a symbol of undying human spirit. Presently, Aparna Sen
Aparna Sen
Aparna Sen is a critically acclaimed Bengali Indian filmmaker, script writer, and actress. She is the winner of three National Film Awards and eight international film festival awards.-Biography:...
, Budhdhadeb Dasgupta, Gautam Ghose
Gautam Ghose
Goutam Ghose is one of the most acclaimed film directors of modern India. Born in Calcutta. Graduated from Calcutta University....
, Rituparno Ghosh
Rituparno Ghosh
Rituparno Ghosh is a Bengali film director. He has won 8 National Film Awards in India and several awards at international film festivals abroad.- Early life and background :...
are bearing the mantle of the great tradition. Kolkata Film Festival
Kolkata Film Festival
The Kolkata Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Kolkata, India, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1995, it is second oldest international film festival in India. The festival is organized by West Bengal Film Centre under...
, held annually across several cinema theatres in the city serves to the taste of Kolkata people for cinema from all over the world. Nandan
Nandan
Nandan may refer to:*Nandan, Hyōgo, a town in Mihara District, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan*Nandan , a cultural center in Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal*Meera Nandan , an Indian actress*Satya Nandan, a diplomat and lawyer...
is a popular cinema complex in the premiers of Rabindra Sadan
Rabindra Sadan
Rabindra Sadan is a cultural centre and theatre in Calcutta, located near the Nandan cinema and cultural complex and the Academy of Fine Arts on AJC Bose Road in South Kolkata. Construction began on 5 August 1961 and ended October 1967...
, maintained by the state government. This theater complex holds regular shows of national and international cinema.
The commercial Bengali cinema industry, known as "Tollywood", is based in Tollygunge
Tollygunge
Tollygunge is a locality of South Kolkata. It is flanked by the Eastern Railway south suburban line to the north, Lake Gardens and Golf Green in the east, the Pashchim & Purba Putiaries in the south, and Behala in the west.-History:...
locality of the city. Several film studios are located here. Though the popularity of the commercial Bengali cinemas has dwindled in the urban area, they continue to be popular in the rural West Bengal. The golden age of commercial Bengali cinema is said to be 1950-1970 and involved actors such as Uttam Kumar
Uttam Kumar
Uttam Kumar is one of the most famous names of Indian Bengali Cinema.Born Arun Kumar Chatterjee in 1926 at Ahiritola, North Calcutta he is widely known as Uttam Kumar and Mahanayak . He remains as much of a cultural icon as he had been in his lifetime...
, Soumitra Chatterjee
Soumitra Chatterjee
Soumitra Chatterjee or Soumitra Chattopadhyay is an iconic Bengali actor from India, known among other things for his frequent collaborations with the great Bengali film director Satyajit Ray and his constant comparison with the Bengali screen idol Uttam Kumar.-Background:Soumitra graduated from...
, Utpal Dutta
Utpal Dutta
Utpal Datta is a National Film Award-winning film critic, long associated with Bismoi, a entertainment Assamese magazine, and works with the All India Radio Guwahati, where his book 24 Frames , an anthology of articles on Indian cinema was released as a radio program. -Personal life:Utpal Datta ...
, Suchitra Sen
Suchitra Sen
Suchitra Sen ; or Rama Dasgupta , is an Indian actress who acted in several Bengali films. In particular, the movies in which she paired opposite another legend in Bengali films, Uttam Kumar, became classics in the history of Bengali cinema. She now lives a life of a recluse rarely making any...
, Chobi Biswas, Sabitri Chottopadhya, Pahari Sanyal, Bikash Roy. Suchitra Sen
Suchitra Sen
Suchitra Sen ; or Rama Dasgupta , is an Indian actress who acted in several Bengali films. In particular, the movies in which she paired opposite another legend in Bengali films, Uttam Kumar, became classics in the history of Bengali cinema. She now lives a life of a recluse rarely making any...
received best actress award in Moscow Film Festival for her role in Saat Paake Badha co-starring Soumitra Chatterjee
Soumitra Chatterjee
Soumitra Chatterjee or Soumitra Chattopadhyay is an iconic Bengali actor from India, known among other things for his frequent collaborations with the great Bengali film director Satyajit Ray and his constant comparison with the Bengali screen idol Uttam Kumar.-Background:Soumitra graduated from...
.
Literature
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar CIE , born Ishwar Chandra Bandopadhyaya , was an Indian Bengali polymath and a key figure of the Bengal Renaissance....
. The doyens of nineteenth century Bengali literature like Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
, Michael Madhusudan Dutt
Michael Madhusudan Dutt
Michael Madhusudan Dutt or Michael Madhusudan Dutta was a popular 19th century Bengali poet and dramatist. He was born in Sagardari , on the bank of Kopotaksho [কপোতাক্ষ] River, a village in Keshobpur Upozila, Jessore District, East Bengal . His father was Rajnarayan Dutt, an eminent lawyer, and...
, Kazi Nazrul Islam
Kazi Nazrul Islam
Kazi Nazrul Islam , sobriquet Bidrohi Kobi, was a Bengali poet, musician and revolutionary who pioneered poetic works espousing intense spiritual rebellion against fascism and oppression. His poetry and nationalist activism earned him the popular title of Bidrohi Kobi...
were from Kolkata. As the then cultural capital of India, Kolkata based literature affected and shaped the thought and culture of many Indians. Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay was an author whose specialty was exploring complex human psychology, especially that of female mind. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was a famous Bengali writer, poet and journalist. He was the composer of India’s national song Vande Mataram, originally a Bengali and Sanskrit stotra personifying India as a mother goddess and inspiring the activists during the Indian Freedom Movement...
was one of the earliest Bengali novelists and is popularly known as the author of India's first national song, "Bande Mātarom" . Tarashankar Bandopadhyay
Tarashankar Bandopadhyay
Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay was one of the leading Bengali novelists. He wrote 65 novels, 53 story-books, 12 plays, 4 essay-books, 4 autobiographies and 2 travel stories...
was another famous novelist whose works feature a realistic picture of the many-colored fabric of life in rural Bengal. The Kolkata littérateurs still borrow a lot from Tagore. In the 1940s, 1950s and 1950s, a new breed of Bengali writers and poets came into being in Kolkata exemplified by Jibanananda Das
Jibanananda Das
Jibanananda Das was a noted Bengali poet. He is considered one of the precursors who introduced modernist poetry to Bengali Literature, at a period when it was influenced by Rabindranath Tagore's Romantic poetry....
, Sukanta Bhattacharya
Sukanta Bhattacharya
Sukanta Bhattacharya was a Bengali poet and playwright. Along with Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam, he was one of the key figures of modern Bengali poetry, despite the fact that most of his works had been in publication posthumously...
, Bishnu Dey
Bishnu Dey
Bishnu Dey was a prominent Bengali poet, prose writer, translator, academic and art critique in the era of modernism, post-modernism...
, Premendra Mitra
Premendra Mitra
Premendra Mitra was a renowned Bengali poet, novelist, short story writer and film director. He was also an author of Bangla science fiction and thrillers.-Life:...
, Buddhadeb Guha
Buddhadeb Guha
Buddhadeb Guha is a popular Bengali fiction writer. He studied at the well-known St Xavier's College of the University of Calcutta....
etc. They wanted to break free from the traditional mysticism
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
and surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
of Tagore style and present various concepts such as modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
, post-modernism, cubism
Cubism
Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture...
through their writings. Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
was also a writer, especially for children. Other literary figures include Sunil Gangopadhyay
Sunil Gangopadhyay
Sunil Gangopadhyay , is a celebrated Indian poet and novelist.-Early life:...
, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay
Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay
Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay is a Bengali author who writes Bengali books. He has written stories for both adults and children.-Life:Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay was born in Bikrampur , now in Bangladesh. He spent his childhood in Bihar and many places in Bengal and Assam accompanying his father, who worked...
, Manik Bandopadhyay
Manik Bandopadhyay
Manik Bandopadhyay ; ; was an Indian Bengali novelist and is considered one of the leading lights of modern Bangla fiction. During a short lifespan of forty-eight years, plagued simultaneously by illness and financial crisis, he produced 36 novels and 177 short-stories...
, Samaresh Majumdar
Samaresh Majumdar
Samaresh Majumdar is a well known contemporary Bengali writer. He spent his childhood years in the tea gardens of Duars, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India. He was a student of the Jalpaiguri Zilla School, Jalpaiguri. He completed his bachelors in Bengali from Scottish Church College, Kolkata. His...
, Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay
Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay
Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay was a well known literary figure of Bengal. He was also actively involved with Bengali cinema as well as Bollywood. His most famous creation is the fictional detective Byomkesh Bakshi.He wrote different forms of prose: novels, short stories, plays and screenplays...
, Shankha Ghosh
Shankha Ghosh
Shankha Ghosh is a Bengali Indian poet and critic. Ghosh was born on February 6, 1932 at Chandpur of what is now Bangladesh...
, Amitav Ghosh
Amitav Ghosh
Amitav Ghosh , is a Bengali Indian author best known for his work in the English language.-Life:Ghosh was born in Calcutta on July 11, 1956, to Lieutenant Colonel Shailendra Chandra Ghosh, a retired officer of the pre-independence Indian Army, and was educated at The Doon School; St...
, Nirad Chaudhuri, Shakti Chattopadhyay
Shakti Chattopadhyay
Shakti Chattopadhay was a Bengali poet and writer, widely regarded as one of the greatest poet of 20th century Bengali literature. -External links:...
, Mahasweta Devi
Mahasweta Devi
Mahasweta Devi is an Indian social activist and writer.- Biography :Mahasweta Devi was born in 1926 in Dhaka, to literary parents in a Hindu Brahmin family. Her father Manish Ghatak was a well known poet and novelist of the Kallol era, who used the pseudonym Jubanashwa...
, Joy Goswami
Joy Goswami
Joy Goswami is an Indian poet. Goswami writes in Bangla and is widely considered as one of the most important Bengali poets of his generation.-Biography:...
, Mani Shankar Mukherjee
Mani Shankar Mukherjee
Shankar, real name Mani Shankar Mukherjee, and generally known in English-language literature as Sankar is a very popular writer in the Bengali language...
, etc.
The most important counter-cultural activity in post-Independence West Bengal has been the Hungryalist Movement
Hungry generation
The Hungry Generation was a literary movement in the Bengali language launched by what is known today as the Hungryalist quartet i.e. Shakti Chattopadhyay, Malay Roy Choudhury, Samir Roychoudhury and Debi Roy alias Haradhon Dhara, during the 1960s in Kolkata, India...
, known also as Hungry Generation
Hungry generation
The Hungry Generation was a literary movement in the Bengali language launched by what is known today as the Hungryalist quartet i.e. Shakti Chattopadhyay, Malay Roy Choudhury, Samir Roychoudhury and Debi Roy alias Haradhon Dhara, during the 1960s in Kolkata, India...
spearheaded by the two outsider brothers Samir Roychoudhury
Samir Roychoudhury
Samir Roychowdhury , one of the founding fathers of the Hungry Generation 1961-1965 ,was born at Panihati, West Bengal, India in a family of artists, sculptors, photographers and musicians...
and Malay Roy Choudhury
Malay Roy Choudhury
Malay Roy Choudhury is a Bengali poet and novelist who founded the "Hungryalist Movement" in the 1960s. His literary works have been reviewed by sixty critics in HAOWA 49, a quarterly magazine which devoted its January 2001 special issue to Roy Choudhury's life and works...
, who are today cultural cult-figures among Bengali Intellectual diaspora.
Kolkata's proud presentation of the new forms of Prakalpana fiction and Sarbangin poetry, contrived by Vattacharja Chandan
Vattacharja Chandan
Vattacharja Chandan , is a bilingual writer, poet, composer and mail artist. He was born in 1944 in the small town of Tamluk , which was the ancient Indian port of Tamralipta in West Bengal. Chandan came to Kolkata after finishing his high-school studies at Tamluk Hamilton High School...
and projected by Prakalpana Movement
Prakalpana Movement
The Prakalpana Movement of Kolkata was sparked off in the Bengali language on September 6, 1969, by Vattacharja Chandan with the assistance of Dilip Gupta and Asish Deb. They later declared the day as "Prakalpana Day" because to them "the earth stood still" on the natal day of the movement...
, appears to be the only ongoing Indian avant garde literary movement that has been buzzing globally for over four decades.
The Calcutta Book Fair
Calcutta Book Fair
The Kolkata Book Fair is a winter fair in Kolkata...
is an annual fair showcasing books published by the regional, national and international publishers. Started in 1976, the book fair projects every year a particular country as the theme of the year. There is a separate area dedicated for the little magazines.
Dramas and theatres
The tradition of Jatra is still observed in West Bengal. Jatras are folk-theatres with epic four-hour-long plays featuring loud music, harsh lighting and dramatic props played on giant outdoor stages.The city has a long tradition of theaters and Group Theatres, producing groups like the Little Theatre Group, Gandharba, Calcutta Theatre, Nandikar
Nandikar
Nandikar is a theatre group in India. The group has its headquarters in Kolkata in the state of West Bengal, but works around the world.__FORCETOC__-History:...
, Bahurupee etc. and movements like the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA). Famous drama and theatrics personalities include Ajitesh Bondhopadhya, Utpal Dutta
Utpal Dutta
Utpal Datta is a National Film Award-winning film critic, long associated with Bismoi, a entertainment Assamese magazine, and works with the All India Radio Guwahati, where his book 24 Frames , an anthology of articles on Indian cinema was released as a radio program. -Personal life:Utpal Datta ...
, Rudraprasad Sengupta
Rudraprasad Sengupta
Rudraprasad Sengupta is a Bengali Indian actor, director and cultural critic.- Biography :He was born in East Bengal , the son of Anant Sengupta and Usha Prabha Sengupta. He studied at the Scottish Church College of the University of Calcutta where he earned his B.A. and M.A degrees in English...
and Shambhu Mitra
Sombhu Mitra
Sombhu Mitra was an Indian film and stage actor, director, playwright and one of the pre-eminent Indian theatre personalities, especially Bengali theatre, where he is considered a pioneer. He remained associated with Indian People’s Theatre Association for a few years before founding Bohurupree...
.
Music and dance
Rabindra SangeetRabindra Sangeet
Rabindra Sangeet , also known as Tagore Songs in English, is a form of music composed by Rabindranath Tagore who added a new dimension to the musical concept of India in general and Bengal in specific....
, Rabindra Nritya Natya
Rabindra Nritya Natya
Rabindra nritya natya is the term given to the three dance-dramas composed by Bengal's poet laureate Rabindranath Tagore: Chitrangada, Chandalika and Shyama. The principal characteristic of these works is that the story is told entirely through dance and song. The dances included in them were in...
(songs and song-dance sequences composed by Tagore) and Nazrul Geeti (songs by Kazi Nazrul Islam
Kazi Nazrul Islam
Kazi Nazrul Islam , sobriquet Bidrohi Kobi, was a Bengali poet, musician and revolutionary who pioneered poetic works espousing intense spiritual rebellion against fascism and oppression. His poetry and nationalist activism earned him the popular title of Bidrohi Kobi...
) are integral part of Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
as well as Bengali life. Songs by other poets like Dwijendralal Roy, Atulprasad are also famous. Kolkata is also a noted place for the cultivation of Indian classical music
Indian classical music
The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...
and dances. Bengali Musicians like Pandit Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
, Nikhil Banerjee
Nikhil Banerjee
Nikhil Ranjan Banerjee was a Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar Gharana who played the stringed instrument sitar.-Early life and background:...
, Ali Akbar Khan
Ali Akbar Khan
Ali Akbar Khan , often referred to as Khansahib or by the title Ustad , was a Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod...
, Ananda Shankar
Ananda Shankar
Ananda Shankar was a Bengali musician best known for fusing Western and Eastern musical styles. He was married to Tanusree Shankar.-Early life:...
were from Kolkata. The era after the independence saw the development of Adhunik (modern) songs. The songs of Bengali commercial movies are also extremely popular.
Musicians and singers include Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar , born Abhas Kumar Ganguly, was an Indian film playback singer and an actor who also worked as lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenwriter and scriptwriter.Kishore Kumar was one of India's greatest performers of the late 20th century...
, RD Burman, Anup Ghoshal
Anup Ghoshal
Anup Ghoshal , is a singer in Hindi films and other vernacular Indian films, especially Bengali language films. He won the West Bengal Assembly elections of 2011 on a Trinamool Congress ticket from the Uttarpara in Hooghly district, defeating his nearest rival by a large margin of 40, 000...
, Hemanta Mukherjee, Manna Dey
Manna Dey
Prabodh Chandra Dey , better known by his nickname Manna Dey , is a playback singer in Bengali Assamese and Hindi films. Along with Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, he was a part of Indian film playback music from the 1950s to the 1970s. He has recorded more than 3500 songs over the course of...
, Sandhya Mukherjee, Shyamal Mitra
Shyamal Mitra
Shyamal Mitra was one of the best known singers of Bengal in the 1950s to 70s. Along with Hemanta Mukherjee and Manna Dey he was the most notable singer of that period. With a good baritone his voice reflected a range of emotions...
, Ruma Guha Thakurta
Ruma Guha Thakurta
-Early life:She was born in 1934 as Ruma Ghosh. She hails from a Brahmo Bengali family. Her father was Satyen Ghosh and her mother was Sati Devi, a singer. Sati Devi's younger sister Bijoya married film director Satyajit Ray. Thakurta had her formal education in many places including Santiniketan...
. From the early 1990s, there has been an emergence and popularisation of new genres of music, including fusions of Baul
Baul
Baul .Though Bauls comprise only a small fraction of the Bengali population, their influence on the culture of Bengal is considerable. In 2005, the Baul tradition was included in the list of "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO.-Etymology:The origin of the word...
and Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
by several Bangla band
Bangla band
A Bangla band is any musical band that performs solely or mainly in the Bengali language and which uses Western principles of music.As Western influences became more widespread, Bangla bands became popular with young people in the 1970s, both in India and Bangladesh, and have since become...
s, as well as the emergence of what has been called Jeebonmukhi Gaan (a modern genre based on realism) by artists like Kabir Suman, Anjan Dutta
Anjan Dutta
Anjan Dutta is a popular artist of the 1990s Bengali music scene defined by anyodharar gaan . Anjan Dutta's style of music is different from the others in the sense that it has simple tunes, one that is reminiscent of western folk music. His lyrics are simple and more natural...
, Nachiketa
Nachiketa
Nachiketa is the child protagonist in an ancient Hindu fable about the nature of the soul and Brahman. The story is told in the Katha Upanishad , though the name has several earlier references. He was taught Self-knowledge, the separation of the human soul from the body, by the god of Death, Yama...
and bands like Bhoomi
Bhoomi
Bhoomi is a music group based in Kolkata, India. They are a Bangla language band. In July 2006 they became the first Indian band to play at the United Nations.-Beginnings:...
, Chandrabindoo
Chandrabindoo (band)
Chandrabindoo , based in Kolkata, is a bangla band. Their name refers both to the last character in the Bengali alphabet and to a dialogue from the nonsense work HaJaBaRaLa by Sukumar Ray....
, Cactus
Cactus (band)
Cactus is an American hard rock supergroup, formed in 1970.-Biography:Cactus was initially conceived as early as late 1969 by the Vanilla Fudge rhythm section of bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice with guitarist Jeff Beck and Xylophone player Adele Smitchell acted as the counterpart and...
, Lakkhichhara, Fossils
Fossils (band)
Fossils is a Bangla Rock band formed in Kolkata, West Bengal, India in 1998.The group is considered one of the pioneering rock acts in Kolkata's Bangla music scene....
and Insomnia
Insomnia (rock band)
Insomnia is a rock band based in Kolkata, West Bengal. The band's repertoire includes both English and Bangla songs. The band has an album each in English and Bangla . Insomnia is a rock band from Eastern India with bilingual repertoire...
. Kolkata also has a strong musical 'counterculture
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
' in the form of original English Rock music, which has talented bands like Cassini's Division
Cassini's Division
Cassini's Division are an alternative rock band from Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Formed in 2001, they are named after the Cassini Division, the largest gap in the Rings of Saturn.- Testing Times and Change :...
, Skinny Alley
Skinny Alley
Skinny Alley is a Kolkata-based Indian rock band. As a name and concept, Skinny Alley was formed in the late nineties, though the musicians have been playing together in various bands since the 1970s.-The band:*Jayashree Singh: Vocals, programmes...
, Insomnia
Insomnia (rock band)
Insomnia is a rock band based in Kolkata, West Bengal. The band's repertoire includes both English and Bangla songs. The band has an album each in English and Bangla . Insomnia is a rock band from Eastern India with bilingual repertoire...
, The Supersonics and Crystal Grass.Kolkata also has a strong stage performer voice artist Prasanta Gangopadhyay
Cuisine
Key elements of Kolkata's cuisine include rice and macher jhol (fish curry), with Rasgulla as dessert. Bengal's vast repertoire of fish-based dishes include various eelish(hilsaHilsa
Ilish , also spelled Elish, is the most popular fish to Bengalis. Its the national fish of Bangladesh and extremely popular in parts of India such as West Bengal, Orissa, Tripura, Assam as well. Ilish also can be found at India's Assamese-, Bengali- Oriya-speaking regions and in Telugu-speaking...
) preparations (a favourite among Bengalis) like eelish shorshe bata, eelish bhap and eelish-er paturi . Street foods like rolls (mutton roll, egg roll, chicken roll, and sometimes in the Park Circus region - beef roll) and phuchka are very popular. Phuchka (called golgappa in North India, and panipuri in West India) is a deep-fried whole-wheat hollow crispy ball which is filled with spicy potato filling and spicy, herbed tamarind water when serving. Common accompaniments to Phuchka are things dishes like Churmur, Ghugni. A Bengali meal is incomplete without sweets. Popular sweets include Roshogolla, mishti doi
Mishti Doi
Mitha Dahi is a sweet dahi or sweet yogurt. This type of yogurt is common in the states of Orissa, West Bengal in India, and in Bangladesh. It is made with milk and sugar, while also using yogurt and curd....
(sweet curd), langcha
Langcha
Langcha is an Indian sweetmeat that originates from Saktigarh in the Bardhaman of West Bengal, India. Langcha is made of sweetened cottage cheese , khoa , and flours of different cereals....
, Kheerkadam, sandesh
Sandesh (sweet)
Sandesh is a sweet snack originated and still very popular in Bengal region . It is created with milk and sugar . Some recipes of Sandesh call for the use of chhana or paneer instead of milk...
, rajbhog, Kamalabhog, etc.
One common feature of Kolkata cuisine today originates from Tibetan regions - momo and thuppa. The Elgin Road offshoots have a lot of outlets specialising in the delicious steamed dumplings (pork, chicken, vegetarian) called momos - typically served with a clear stalk soup and often served with spicy chutneys. Thuppa is a common accompaniment - a clear soup with noodles, vegetables and other herbs. Due to the high popularity, momos are now available all over the city, and are even served as street food at some places. You can easily get all the information on Kolkata's restaurants and cafes on Zomato.com.
Attire
The males usually wear western garments like pants and shirts, rather than the traditional dhotiDhoti
The dhoti or pancha is the traditional men's garment in the in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. A similar garment is worn in some rural areas of Punjab province in Pakistan, but the use is fast declining...
and kurta
Kurta
A kurta is a traditional item of clothing worn in Afghanistan, Pakistan , Nepal, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. It is a loose shirt falling either just above or somewhere below the knees of the wearer, and is worn by both men and women...
s. Females are usually seen in the traditional Sarees and Salwar-Kameezs. Females are also gradually taking up more and more Western-wear, with jeans and skirts predominating in the college campuses, as well as in the streets.