Experience in Calcutta, India by Abrarah

What is it like to live in Calcutta? Would you recommend it? What is the city like?

Well its my hometown so its the best for me. But keeping the biases apart i can say Calcutta is a very welcoming city. You will enjoy great street food and flea markets here. On the other side there are luxurious cafes, clubs and restaurants as well. You can find shopping malls with different approach, some show up the cultural side of Bengal and some show the expensive market for the richieriches. I personally like how green is the city. Being a metro city and with a population around 2cr it offers enough greens, garden and free ground tk enjoy nature. It has some amazing amusement parks and cultural activity areas which is most in the easter Calcutta. You will also get to see the tallest building in India, The 42. The best part about shopping in Calcutta is that you have market for everyone. Whether it be burra bazar, New Market or Gariyahat it has it all. If you are a foodie and prefer nonveg food then North Calcutta is your place. For dumplings and continental street food south Calcutta is the station. And for vegetarian food with ancient Venice recipes go to the Westin, Vedic restaurant. Don't forget to enjoy fuchka, its the best. Don't worry you will get fuchka in mineral water at the Elgin area somewhere near theater road. There is a lot to say about my city.

What is the student lifestyle like in Calcutta?

I have to say it has most ancient Universities here, The Presidency college and University of Calcutta. Apart from that Jadavpur University offers degrees in uncountable subjects. There are different colleges for special studies like jute science, reclycinv products, product line management and more. Now looking t the regular degree colleges you will enjoy the life here but you will have to study really hard to get the score. Specially if your college is under University of Calcutta then getting good score is not a cake walk.

How much does it cost to live in Calcutta?

I would say for a student or a single person it would take around 15-20 thousand Indian rupees for the months which includes 6-10 thousand for apartments rent, 3-4 thousand for food, 2-3 thousand for transport and some extra cash for shopping. The monthly expense also depends on your lifestyle.

Is it difficult to find accommodation in Calcutta? Is there any advice you can give?

Its not difficult but you should know the neighborhood and start connecting with property agents or else rely on genuine property websites like magicbricks, housing dot com, 99acres etc. You should fix your budget and find accordingly.

What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

Oh! You will love the food here but don't jump on the street food everywhere specially if you have not been to India ever. Many of the street foods are not that hygienic. But the taste is yummmmmm. Hazra crossing, new market, North Calcutta markets have amazing street foods. Other than that you will love the biriyani here. You can try some restaurants like Shima biriyani, Arslan, afza. To enjoy some beef kebabs visit samsulhuda road just beside quest mall.

What places would you recommend visiting in Calcutta?

If you enjoy clubbing then park street is your area. If you love quite places then visit botanical garden, pricep ghat, eco Park, rabindra sarovar, go for a ferry ride. Enjoy Indian museum, town hall, Victoria memorial, nicco Park, wax museum, I must say you should visit sundarvan its about 4 hours from Calcutta get on a launch and enjoy the forest safari. Be careful about mosquitoes, get some precautions.

Is it good to eat out in Calcutta? Can you tell us your favourite spots?

Yes , our biriyani is world famous. Otherwise some amazing restaurants could be found on zomato. Else you can go to 6 ballygunge place for traditional bengali food, Park hotel for amazing delicacies, any wow momo outlet for amazing dumplings

Is the nightlife good in Calcutta? Where is good to go?

Well I am not a person who enjoys outing at night. Still i know there are great clubs at the park street, sorry don't know any name to refer.

What advice would you give future students heading to Calcutta?

Bro study hard and get used to with hard English. Get some hindi language knowledge to work in India. In calculla most of the people understand Hindi, many understand English but it is a bengali language oriented city so call the bus conductor dada which means big bro, or Kaku for uncle, masi for aunt, dadu for senior citizen male and dida for female.