Sometimes the best way to discover a city is without a travel guide or map, without a schedule or planner. Sometimes, it's best to simply soak in the environs on your own, as you walk down the streets, brush shoulders with the locals and ponder on the beauty of it all, over a delicious cup of coffee.
Calcutta (or just Cal) is what the many denizens of the city would prefer to call it. Kolkata is what it is now. But then, what's in a name? This megacity captivates all with the range and diversity of its attractions. Just a little over 400 years old, Kolkata is bursting with history. Being the colonial capital of the country till 1911, as well as the corporate hub of India till well into the sixties, it has a number of claims to make.

MEET THE EARLY BIRDS:
Kolkata wakes up early-in summers, five o' clock is late enough for the city to rise. It is a great time to be on the traffic-free streets and soak in the grandeur of the city. Head straight to BBD Bagh, popularly known as Dalhousie.
After you have finished gaping at the well-maintained buildings of the Raj era with bright-red-and-green-louvred-windows, you can gravitate to a tea stall around a coal fired chulha (earthen stove).
Gaze at the majestic Writer's Building, the seat of government or the majestic dome of the GPO or the tall spires of St Andrew's Church as you dunk the little biscoots-locally manufactured, crisp cookies-happily into the tea chukkars. Quaint and antediluvian, there is no disputing the clay-soaked flavour from our very own Indian samovars so integral to a Kolkatan's life. Sit through one of these quintessential experiences and head off towards Howrah Bridge-arguably one of India's best-known landmarks (and with a film named after it, too!).
Saunter across the bridge and gaze at the institutions below. The flower market, buzzing with colourful frenetic activity on one side and the majestic Howrah railway terminal on the other, is a busy place, to say the least. The ferries moor quietly, awaiting their turn-in a few hours, they will start ploughing across the river, transporting commuters.

VISUAL BOMBARDMENT:
Stroll back through the vast expanses of the maidan or better still, take a tram ride through the verdant fields. Hop off wherever you feel like, to admire the Mounted Police going through their exercises. Then there are always many budding Saurav Gangulys practising their batting at the coaching camps. With the skyscrapers of the Chowringhee on one skyline, the imposing Victoria Memorial on the other, and the white Shahid Minar towering over everything else on a third-go whichever way your feet take you.
The sights are in abundance in every direction! Kolkata is endowed with a rich tradition of social clubs-many more than a century old. If you have a friend as a member, do not pass up the opportunity of visiting these institutions as a guest and witnessing some quaint traditions, while sampling dishes long forgotten in culinary history. The muse, they say, may show herself at unusual places and at unusual moments. For most Kolkatans, the spartan, spacious interiors of the 1957-instituted Indian Coffee House have inspired the ideologies of many a poet, writer, thinker, filmmaker and political activist.
As a desired addiction, it is the drink that initiates a million dialogues, the place that impassions a thousand minds. The black coffee or 'infusion'-as it is called by the veterans at the Coffee House-has been an institution in itself. You could spend the entire day in a corner over a single cup of coffee and not be asked to vacate the table once-that's what luminaries like Aparna Sen, Manna Dey, Amartya Sen, Mrinal Sen, Goutam Ghosh and the late Satyajit Ray possibly did too. It wasn't for nothing that the Supreme Court of India, in 1994, recognised the Coffee House as a cultural centre of India.
A day well spent in exploring the history of Kolkata must end with a good feast. Head straight to Park Street and you will be bewildered at the range of cuisines, styles and prices; yes, Kolkata remains one of our most charming metros and with good reason, too!

HOW TO GO:
Jet Lite and Jet Airways link Kolkata to the major metros as well as many of the towns in eastern India. The city is also a major railway hub, with convenient connections all around.

WHERE TO STAY:
Hotels of all categories abound-a travel agent or the Internet are your best bets. Interesting options are some old-style colonial hotels at very affordable rates. Sudder Street, in the heart of the city, is a good choice for the budget traveller.

KEEP IN MIND:
Kolkata in general is not very expensive-the typically Kolkatan things to do come fairly cheap. The street food is not to be missed as well as the fine restaurants in the Part Street area. Kolkata is, arguably, the ultimate haven for the Foodie in India.