Kolkata Culture
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Mahatma Gandhi
Unfortunately, Gandhiji’s universalization regarding the issue of culture does not go with the Kolkata Culture for it’s exclusive, and yet it’s heartily living. With the tradition of welcoming new talent, a special appreciation for art and literature Kolkata by virtue of its Calcuttans, Kolkatans or Calcatians is indeed a "city of furious creative energy".
Para culture
A distinguishing feature of Kolkata is the neighborhoods which in Bengali is called para culture. People in every para you will find habitually indulging in adda—the Bengali version of leisurely chat.
Drama culture:
Whether in the form of jatra (a kind of folk-theatre), theatres and Group Theatres, the city has a tradition of dramas. Recognized for its Bengali cinema industry dubbed "Tollywood", and for its art films Kolkata puts forth world famous names like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha and Ritwik Ghatak as well as contemporary directors such as Aparna Sen and Rituparno Ghosh.
Classical music:
The city is also noted for its appreciation of Indian classical music and the rich literary tradition set by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Rabindranath Tagore, Jibanananda Das, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, Samaresh Basu, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay and Buddhadev Guha among others.
Cuisines:
Give your taste buds the flavor of rice and macher jhol (fish curry), with rasgulla, and mishti doi (sweet yoghurt) as dessert.
Architecture:
Buildings adorned with Gothic, Baroque, Roman, Oriental and Indo-Islamic (including Mughal) motifs make the "City of Palaces" dotted with "heritage structures". The National Library of India is India's leading public library.
Durga Puja:
Want to enjoy Bengali culture? Just drop in at Kolkata at the time of Durga Puja, the most notable of the religious and social festival in Kolkata.
Besides, there are some of the cultural festivals like Kolkata Book Fair, Dover Lane music festival, Kolkata Film Festival and National Theatre Festival.
Indeed, Kolkata is sister city to Long Beach, California in the United States and aptly called London of the East.
