Although Kolkata has its fair share of problems, most notably overpopulation and poverty, it also certainly has an abundance of charm deriving from the faded decadence found in many parts of the city, and its plethora of historical, cultural and religious buildings. Peep through the dirt and modern sky-rise blocks - the ornate Raj-era balconies, elegant gardens, cavernous bookshops, graceful churches, packed temples and mammoth monuments are what make Kolkata distinct.

Despite a Kolkata High Court ruling in 2003 that the city of Kolkata had grown over a period of time and that no particular date could be fixed for its birth, history has long suggested the city was founded over 300 years ago on the banks of the Hooghly River by Job Charnock.

A tired administrator in the British East India Company, Charnock took a chance midday halt near the quaint village of Sutanti, the sparkle of green on the horizon offering peace and solitude for a quick nap. In 1690, with his base threatened by the Mughal viceroy in Bengal, he moved his operations here, eventually uniting the villages of Sutanti, Gobindapur and Kalikata to form the city of Calcutta.

It was to become a British trading port that emerged as one of the most prominent in Indian history, a significant commercial centre of the British Raj and busy port for east-bound vessels, and the erstwhile capital of British India. 

Today Kolkata remains one of the most prominent cities in India, a city with a soul, a fabled past and a rich artistic tradition. Great wealth and great poverty live side by side; the last of the hand-pulled rickshaws operate on the land above the modern Metro system. Shops with antiques and traditional arts are as busy as high fashion boutiques and contemporary music stores.

The city also enjoys a reputation as the cultural and intellectual capital of India. This was, after all, home to Nobel Prize-winning poet Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) and renowned film director Satyajit Ray (1921-1992). And while Mumbai churns out an all-singing all-dancing film every minute, Kolkata prides itself on a more cultural, measured approach to film-making.

Outside the subcontinent, the city is largely known for its poverty-stricken slums and the work of Mother Teresa, an Albanian nun who arrived in India as a missionary in 1929. Between 1948 and 1950, she founded the Missionaries of Charity to work with the poor in Calcutta. Within 10 years, there were missions across India and many of the communist countries. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, she died in 1997, was almost immediately put on the fast track to sainthood, and was beatified in 2003.