Etymology of Kolkata

 

Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata

A demographically diverse city, the culture of Kolkata features idiosyncrasies that include distinctively close-knit neighborhood called paras and freestyle conversations called adda. Kolkata is home to West Bengal's film industry Tollywood, and cultural institutions, such as the Academy of Fine Arts, the Victoria Memorial, the Asiatic Society, the Indian Museum and the National Library of India. Among scientific institutions, Kolkata hosts the Agri Horticultural Society of India, the Geological Survey of India, the Botanical Survey of India, the Calcutta Mathematical Society, the Indian Science Congress Association, the Zoological Survey of India, the Institution of Engineers, the Anthropological Survey of India and the Indian Public Health Association. Four Nobel laureates and two Nobel Memorial Prize winners are associated with the city. Though home to major cricketing venues and franchises, Kolkata differs from other Indian cities by focusing on association football and other sports. 

Academy of Fine Arts

Asiatic Society

 

 

Etymology

The word Kolkata (Bengali: কলকাতা) derives from Kolikata (Bengali: কলিকাতা), the Bengali name of one of three villages that predated the arrival of the British, in the area where the city was eventually established; the other two villages were Sutanuti and Govindapur.

There are several explanations for the etymology of this name:

• Kolikata is thought to be a variation of Kalikkhetrô (Bengali: কালীক্ষেত্র), meaning "Field of [the goddess] Kali". Similarly, it can be a variation of 'Kalikshetra' (Sanskrit: कालीक्षेत्र, lit. "Area of Goddess Kali").
• Another theory is that the name derives from Kalighat.
• Alternatively, the name may have been derived from the Bengali term kilkila (Bengali: কিলকিলা), or "flat area".
• The name may have its origin in the words khal (Bengali: খাল) meaning "canal", followed by kaṭa (Bengali: কাটা), which may mean "dug".
• According to another theory, the area specialised in the production of quicklime or koli chun (Bengali: কলি চুন) and coir or kata (Bengali: কাতা); hence, it was called Kolikata).

Although the city's name has always been pronounced Kolkata or Kôlikata in Bengali, the anglicised form Calcutta was the official name until 2001, when it was changed to Kolkata in order to match Bengali pronunciation.

 

 

 

Calcutta Mathematical Society

 

Geological Survey of India

Indian Museum

Institution of Engineers

National Library of India