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Calcutta
Kolkata or Calcutta, as it was earlier called, is a city that brings different ideas, memories and experiences for different people. It is mostly a place to be felt rather than just seen. Till you visit the city and live here for some time to soak in the flavor, you might harbor a prejudice that it is all about dinginess, poverty, communism and a lot of din. Having undergone a sea change as far as the metropolitan scenario is concerned, Kolkata, the city on the banks of River Hooghly, is becoming one of the important IT hubs.

HOWRAH BRIDGE
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The Howrah Bridge is a bridge that spans the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India. It was originally named the New Howrah Bridge because it links the city of Howrah to its twin city, Kolkata (Calcutta). On 14 June 1965 it was renamed Rabindra Setu, after Rabindranath Tagore a great poet and the first Indian Nobel laureate. However it is still popularly known as the Howrah Bridge.

The memorial was designed by Sir William Emerson using IndoSaracenic style, incorporating Mughal elements in the

Victoria Memorial

structure. Lord Redesdale and Sir David Prain designed the gardens. The foundation stone of the memorial was laid down in the year 1906. The monument was intended to serve as a tribute to the success of the British Empire in India. Architect Sir William Emerson laid down the actual plan of the memorial. The design of the structure represents a fusion of British and Mughal architecture. White Makrana marbles were used in the construction of Victoria Memorial Hall and the building was inaugurated in the year 1921. The massive hall is 338 feet (103 m) by 228 feet (69 m) and rises to a height of 184 feet (56 m).

British government money was not used in its construction at all. Rather, the British Indian states, along with the individuals who wanted some favours from the British government, were the main contributors towards the cost of building the Victoria Memorial Hall. The massive Victoria Memorial stands enclosed within 64 acres (260,000 m ) of blooming gardens. It houses a museum containing a large collection of memorabilia relating to Queen Victoria and the British presence in India as well as other exhibits. The Memorial also contains a Royal Gallery housing a number of portraits of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and paintings illustrating their lives. After India gained independence in the year 1947, certain additions were made to the Victoria Memorial. These additions formed National Leader's Gallery, containing the portraits and relics relating to Indian independence.
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