Kolkata, or ‘Calcutta’ as it was known prior to 2001, is the capital of West Bengal state, and India’s third largest city, with a population of approximately 14.1 million. The trading post originally founded by the East India Company in the 17th century served as the country’s capital until 1911, and continues to be a major regional hub, albeit one with well-chronicled problems.

The economic stagnation that has blighted this sprawling, charismatic metropolis since Independence is often attributed to the fact is was governed for 34 years by the world’s longest surviving democratically elected Communist government. Kolkata’s left-leaning political scene is very much a part of its rich intellectual heritage. The so-called Bengali Resistance of the 19th and 20th centuries played a seminal role in India’s Independence movement, and the city has spawned liberal traditions in film, art and literature, as well as a string of Nobel Laureates.

The backdrop to this vibrant cultural life is an architectural heritage spanning two-and-a-half centuries of colonial rule. Built to commemorate the British Raj at its zenith, the Victoria Memorial is Kolkata’s most grandiloquent monument – a stately blend of British, Mughal, Deccani, Moorish and Venetian styles whose marble domes soar majestically above the banks of the Hooghly River, surrounded by ornamental lakes and parched maidans.