Calcutta, currently known as Kolkata, was the capital of India in the British era before it was shiftedback to New Delhi.
The native language here is Bengali. However most people understand Hindi (another Indian language) and English too. The city of Calcutta is often referred to as the city of art loving emotional people proud of their liberal mind and humanitarian philosophy.
Like everywhere else in the world, things have changed over the years - some for good and some not so favourable. Still its a good place to visit to have the essence of the Bengali culture in India with a glimpse of its ancient British reminiscence.
Kolkata offers its residence and visitors a wide varieties of food. Whether its a Punjabi cish or NorthIndian cuisine, South Indian or pure Bengali cuisine and even the Indian style Chinese & Tibetan cuisine - its easy to find in almost every area of Kolkata. The Bengali cuisine is famous for its absense of a signature taste which makes it more suitable for the visitors to choose as per their preference.
The city is closely associated with great souls like Mother Teresa, Rabindra Nath Tagore, Vivekananda, Ramakrishna, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Satyendra Nath Bose and many others. Recommended to visit the places associated with them including Victoria Memorial.
Life in Calcutta is still cheaper than the other Metro cities in India. The only exception being the lack of good budget hotels. Its better to avoid the summer months of April & May in Kolkata as the weather remains very hot and humid. Be careful not to drink unpacked / untreated water to avoidany possible water borne disease mainly related to stomach.
During the 5 days of Durga Puja festival normally between end Sep & end Oct, the city is inundated with people in joyous festive mood and can be really enjoying for a visitor to experience that if they are ok with crowds.
Best time to visit is between Oct and Mar, especially between Nov & Feb.