Healthcare
See also: Health care in Kolkata
Calcutta Medical College, the second institution in Asia to teach modern medicine(after 'Ecole de Médicine de Pondichéry')
As of 2011, the health care system in Kolkata consists of 48 government hospitals, mostly under the Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of West Bengal, and 366 private medical establishments;[171]these establishments provide the city with 27,687 hospital beds.[171] For every 10,000 people in the city, there are 61.7 hospital beds,[172] which is higher than the national average of 9 hospital beds per 10,000.[173] Ten medical and dental collegesare located in the Kolkata metropolitan area which act as tertiary referral hospitals in the state.[174][175] Calcutta Medical College, founded in 1835, was the first institution in Asia to teach modern medicine.[176] These facilities are inadequate to meet the healthcare needs of the city.[177][178][179] More than 78% in Kolkata prefer the private medical sector over the public medical sector,[113]:109due to the poor quality of care, the lack of a nearby facility, and excessive waiting times at government facilities.[113]:61
According to the 2005 National Family Health Survey, only a small proportion of Kolkata households were covered under any health scheme or health insurance.[113]:41 The total fertility rate in Kolkata was 1.4, which was the lowest among the eight cities surveyed.[113]:45In Kolkata, 77% of the married women usedcontraceptives, which was the highest among the cities surveyed, but use of modern contraceptive methods was the lowest (46%).[113]:47 The infant mortality rate in Kolkata was 41 per 1,000 live births, and the mortality rate for children under five was49 per 1,000 live births.[113]:48
Among the surveyed cities, Kolkata stood second (5%) for children who had not had any vaccinations under the Universal Immunization Programme as of 2005.[113]:48Kolkata ranked second among the surveyed cities, with access to an anganwadi centre under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme for 57% of the children between 0 and 71 months.[113]:51 The proportion of malnourished, anaemic andunderweight children in Kolkata was less in comparison to other surveyed cities.[113]:54–55
About 18% of the men and 30% of the women in Kolkata are obese—the majority of them belonging to the non-poor strata of society.[113]:105 In 2005, Kolkata had the highest percentage (55%) among the surveyed cities of anaemic woman, while 20% of the men in Kolkata were anaemic.[113]:56–57Diseases like diabetes, asthma, goitre and other thyroid disorders were found in large numbers of people.[113]:57–59 Tropical diseases like malaria, dengue andchikungunya are prevalent in Kolkata, though their incidence is decreasing.[180][181] Kolkata is one of the districts in India with a high number of people with AIDS; it has been designated a district prone to high risk.[182][183]
Because of higher air pollution, the life expectancy of a person born in the city in 2014, is four years fewer than in the suburbs.[184]
Education
Main article: Education in Kolkata
The University of Calcutta, a renowned seat of learning and the oldest Western-style university in South Asia
The Indian Institute of Management Calcutta at Joka, a well-known business school
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West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, one of India's autonomous law schools
Kolkata's schools are run by the state government or private organisations, many of which are religious. Bengali and English are the primary languages of instruction; Urduand Hindi are also used, particularly in central Kolkata.[185][186] Schools in Kolkata follow the"10+2+3" plan. After completing their secondary education, students typically enroll in schools that have a higher secondary facility and are affiliated with the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education, theICSE, or the CBSE.[185] They usually choose a focus on liberal arts, business, or science. Vocational programs are also available.[185]
As of 2010, the Kolkata urban agglomeration is home to 14 universities run by the state government.[187] The colleges are each affiliated with a university or institution based either in Kolkata or elsewhere in India. Aliah University which was founded in 1780 asMohammedan College of Calcutta is the oldest post-secondary educational institution of the city.[188] The University of Calcutta, founded in 1857, is the first modern university in South Asia.[189] Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) is the second oldest engineering institution of the country located in Howrah.[190] An Institute of National Importance, BESU was converted to India's first IIEST. Jadavpur University is known for its arts, science, and engineering faculties.[191] The Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, which was the first of the Indian Institutes of Management, was established in 1961 at Joka, a locality in the south-western suburbs.[192] The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences is one of India's autonomous law schools,[193][194] and the Indian Statistical Institute is a public research institute and university.
Notable scholars who were born, worked or studied in Kolkata include physicistsSatyendra Nath Bose, Meghnad Saha,[195] andJagadish Chandra Bose;[196] chemist Prafulla Chandra Roy;[195] statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis;[195] physicianUpendranath Brahmachari;[195] educatorAshutosh Mukherjee;[197] and Nobel laureatesRabindranath Tagore,[198] C. V. Raman,[196]and Amartya Sen.[199]
Kolkata houses many premier research institutes like Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB), Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER),Bose Institute, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP), All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI), S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences(SNBNCBS), Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM),National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Kolkata, Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) and Indian Centre for Space Physics. Nobel laureate Sir C. V. Raman did his groundbreaking work inRaman effect in IACS.
Culture
Main article: Kolkata culture
Sandesh, a typical Bengali sweet
The National Library of India
Dance accompanied by Rabindra Sangeet, a music genre started by Rabindranath Tagore
Indian Museum
Kolkata is known for its literary, artistic, and revolutionary heritage; as the former capital of India, it was the birthplace of modern Indian literary and artistic thought.[200]Kolkata has been called the "City of Furious, Creative Energy"[201] as well as the "cultural [or literary] capital of India".[202][203] The presence of paras, which are neighbourhoods that possess a strong sense of community, is characteristic of the city.[204] Typically, eachpara has its own community club and, on occasion, a playing field.[204] Residents engage in addas, or leisurely chats, that often take the form of freestyle intellectual conversation.[205][206] The city has a tradition of political graffiti depicting everything from outrageous slander to witty banter and limericks, caricatures, and propaganda.[207][208]
Kolkata has many buildings adorned withIndo-Islamic and Indo-Saracenic architectural motifs. Several well-maintained major buildings from the colonial period have been declared "heritage structures";[209] others are in various stages of decay.[210][211]Established in 1814 as the nation's oldest museum, the Indian Museum houses large collections that showcase Indian natural history and Indian art.[212] Marble Palace is a classic example of a European mansion that was built in the city. The Victoria Memorial, aplace of interest in Kolkata, has a museum documenting the city's history. The National Library of India is the leading public library in the country while Science City is the largest science centre in the Indian subcontinent.[213]
The popularity of commercial theatres in the city has declined since the 1980s.[214]:99[215]Group theatres of Kolkata, a cultural movement that started in the 1940s contrasting with the then-popular commercial theatres, are theatres that are not professional or commercial, and are centres of various experiments in theme, content, and production;[216] group theatres use theproscenium stage to highlight socially relevant messages.[214]:99[217] Chitpur locality of the city houses multiple production companies of jatra, a tradition of folk drama popular in rural Bengal.[218][219] Kolkata is the home of the Bengali cinema industry, dubbed "Tollywood" for Tollygunj, where most of the state's film studios are located.[220] Its long tradition of art films includes globally acclaimed film directors such as Academy Award-winning director Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha, and contemporary directors such as Aparna Sen,Buddhadeb Dasgupta, and Rituparno Ghosh.[221]
During the 19th and 20th centuries, Bengali literature was modernised through the works of authors such as Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay,Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay.[222] Coupled with social reforms led by Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda, and others, this constituted a major part of the Bengal Renaissance.[223]The middle and latter parts of the 20th century witnessed the arrival of post-modernism, as well as literary movements such as those espoused by the Kallolmovement, hungryalists and the little magazines.[224] Large majority of publishers of the city is concentrated in and aroundCollege Street, "...a half-mile of bookshops and bookstalls spilling over onto the pavement", selling new and used books.[225]
Kalighat painting originated in 19th century Kolkata as a local style that reflected a variety of themes including mythology and quotidian life.[226] The Government College of Art and Craft, founded in 1864, has been the cradle as well as workplace of eminent artists includingAbanindranath Tagore, Jamini Roy, andNandalal Bose.[227] The art college was the birthplace of the Bengal school of art that arose as an avant garde and nationalist movement reacting against the prevalentacademic art styles in the early 20th century.[228][229] The Academy of Fine Artsand other art galleries hold regular art exhibitions. The city is recognised for its appreciation of rabindrasangeet (songs written by Rabindranath Tagore) and Indian classical music, with important concerts and recitals, such as Dover Lane Music Conference, being held throughout the year; Bengali popular music, including baul folk ballads, kirtans, and Gajan festival music; and modern music, including Bengali-languageadhunik songs.[230][231] Since the early 1990s,new genres have emerged, including one comprising alternative folk–rock Bengali bands.[230] Another new style, jibonmukhi gaan("songs about life"), is based onrealism.[214]:105
Key elements of Kolkata's cuisine include rice and a fish curry known as machher jhol,[232]which can be accompanied by desserts such as roshogolla, sandesh, and a sweet yoghurt known as mishti dohi. Bengal's large repertoire of seafood dishes includes various preparations of ilish, a fish that is a favourite among Calcuttans. Street foods such asbeguni (fried battered eggplant slices), kati roll(flatbread roll with vegetable or chicken, mutton, or egg stuffing), phuchka (a deep-fried crêpe with tamarind sauce) and Indian Chinese cuisine from Chinatown are popular.[233][234][235][236] Sweets play a large part in the diet of Kolkatans—especially at their social ceremonies.[237]
Though Bengali women traditionally wear thesari, the shalwar kameez and Western attire is gaining acceptance among younger women.[238] Western-style dress has greater acceptance among men, although the traditional dhoti and kurta are seen during festivals. Durga Puja, held in September–October, is Kolkata's most important festival; it is an occasion for glamorous celebrations.[239][240] The Bengali New Year, known as Poila Boishak, as well as the harvest festival of Poush Parbon are among the city's other festivals; also celebrated areJagaddhatri Puja, Diwali, Saraswati Puja, Eid,Holi, Christmas, and Rath Yatra. Cultural events include the Kolkata Book Fair, the Dover Lane Music Festival, the Kolkata Film Festival, Nandikar's National Theatre Festivaland the Statesman Vintage & Classic Car Rally.
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