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In 1690, Job
Charnok, from East India Company selected Kolkata for a British
trade settlement. He took the lease of the three villages-
Sutanuti, Govindapur and Kolikata(Calcutta) as a trading post of
British East India. The city came into limelight in 1756, when
Siraj-Ud-Dawlah, the nawab of Bengal, captured the city. But the
British again captured it in 1757 under Robert Clive. The first
Governor-General of India, Warren Hastings made it the place
of the supreme courts of justice and then the Kolkata became the
capital of British India in 1772. By 1800 Kolkata had become a busy
and flourishing town, the center of the cultural as well as the
political and economic life of Bengal. |
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There are many festivals which are celebrated in Kolkata i.e.
Durga Puja :- Durga
Puja held in early autumn and is also referred to as "Sharadiya".
An earthen image is made of Goddess Durga with her consort and
family members i.e. Lakhsmi - Saraswati - Kartik - Ganesh - Kalabau - their pets,
decorated with intricate dresses and ornaments. The main puja is organised as
"Sandhi Puja" which is the juncture between "Ashtami" and "Navami". On
"Dashami" all the earthen idols are carried in decorated carts or trucks
and are immersed in river. Fairs are also held on this occasion at various places.
Laxmi
Puja :- In the month
of October, on full moon, this festival is celebrated, of the
Goddess of properity Laxmi. Public Pujas are organized in the same premises
as for Durga Puja. |
