Ep. 46 - Kolkata, India
Episode 46 takes us back to India for a trip to the City of Joy. Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta, is widely regarded as the cultural capital of India. Listen in to uncover the story of this wildly historic destination and discover some great reasons to get this city on your travel bucket list.
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Transcription:
*Intro music*
Hello and welcome to the 46th installment of The Friday Take Five, a podcast where we take just about five minutes every Friday to delve into history and adventure. I’m Mark Moran, and every episode, we discover a new destination and a new story, in the hopes I can help you relive great memories, or give you the inspiration to book your next trip. We’ve got another great place on tap today, so let’s get to discovering.
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Well, it took us about 40 episodes to make it back here, but I told you we’d have to come back to explore more of this incredibly cool country. Today, I’m making good on that promise. Episode 46 takes us to Kolkata, India, on the Eastern side of the country and roughly 50 miles or 75 kilometers from the border with Bangladesh.
Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, is widely regarded as the cultural capital of India, and is known for its role in launching modern Indian literature and other creative disciplines. It houses the National Library of India and architectural masterpieces like the Queen Victoria memorial and Tipu Sultan’s mosque, which tell the tales of British and Indian architectural influence in the area.
So, let’s dig into those stories… Shall we?
The discovery of Chandraketugarh, an architectural site slightly north of Kolkata, showed that the region around Kolkata had been populated for the past 2,000 some odd years. Unfortunately, much of that time went unrecorded. As such, the story of Kolkata as we know it starts just before the beginning of the 18th century, with the arrival of England’s East India Company in India.
The modern day city is actually a collection of three cities that were sold to the Brits by a family of zamindars, which was the term used for local Mughal rulers at the time. Shortly after purchase of the land, the British began building up fortifications in the area, and ultimately turned it into the headquarters of the East India company less than 100 years later.
Throughout the 1700s, the East India Company continued to bide their time and build their influence in the area. Eventually, the company was accused of over militarization and tax evasion by the Nawab of the region. The Nawab, an individual whose role it was to enforce the rule of the Mughal Emperor in the region, had his warnings dismissed. He took action, attacking the company and overtaking the city of Kolkata for a short time. The British took the city back and the ensuing peace treaty saw the power of Nawabs in general diminish significantly.
By 1793, Nawabs had their power abolished completely, and the British took complete control of the region. The next half century saw an explosion of industrialization along with continued growth of the opium trade as Kolkata grew into a major export hub of the drug to get back luxuries like tea and porcelain which were increasingly in high demand in the West.
British actions in the area eventually led to more and more frustration from the local Indian population. Some mass protests and political strife later, and the British decided it was a good idea to relocate their capital, which they did in 1911. Despite the British leaving, the city would continue to be a hub for revolutionary activity and would play a pivotal role in the push for Indian independence.
But what about Kolkata today?
Well, I have yet to make it to this incredibly historic city, but there are a few reasons why it’s made it onto my travel bucket list. First, there’s the aforementioned awesome looking architecture. The British might be gone, but they sure left behind some awesome architecture in the Queen Victoria monument, which is an awesome looking monument I’d love to see in person. There’s some great very non-British architecture as well. A prime example being the Tipu Sultan mosque, which is yet another architectural masterpiece. Another reason I have Kolkata on my list is the fact that it’s a city well known for its incredible street food. Kathi rolls and Telebhaja both have my mouth watering and and have me looking at the cheapest flights to Kolkata. If you’ve never heard of them before, take a quick moment to google and I’m sure most of you would be in agreement with me. They look fantastic. Finally, though I’m not necessarily the world’s biggest cricket fan, something that excites me about Kolkata is the fact that it’s home to Eden Gardens, the oldest cricket stadium in India. I’d love to take in a cricket match amongst the passionate fans and the historic stadium would be a fantastic place to do it.
So that’s Kolkata. I knew we had to make it back to India. There’s still so much of this historic country to explore. I can’t wait to make it myself to take part in the rich history of this part of the world. I hope our 5 minute adventure helped you relive some great memories of India or helped get this amazing place on your travel bucket list.
Until next time folks. We’ll see ya when we see ya.
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Hey! Thanks so much for listening to another episode of The Friday Take Five. If you’re liking the show, please share it with a friend or family member and give the show a 5 star rating on your favorite podcasting platform. Have feedback for the show? I love hearing it so please follow me and give me a dm on socials @FridayTakeFive or email me at thefridaytakefive@gmail.com. Stay curious, stay adventuring, and have a great weekend!
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