Why Kalyani is So Famous? Identify the Versatility Characteristics - the Uniqueness Which Multifold Worth of Kalyani!!

Why Kalyani is an important City?

Kalyani is noted as a relatively modern township planned and developed in the 1950s by the eminent second Chief Minister of West Bengal. Despite the fact that this verdant township was constructed post independence, it has a long history in terms of its previous habitations during and even before the British era. Some of the historical and religious structures which dot the landscape of Kalyani like Krishna Rai temple, World War II remains points to this intermingling of the past and the present and the layers of narrative behind the present city of Kalyani.

Kalyani is situated along the northern fringe of the Kolkata Metropolitan Region and was planned as an industrial and residential base to take on the excess population of the already crowded city of Kolkata. Its present look owes its existence to the decision to construct a town to convene the Indian National Congress meeting post independence. So get a glimpse of the fascinating historical background of the city in the chronology of events described below:

Kalyani in the Modern Period

In the colonial period, Kalyani Ghoshpara was frequented by a British Christian missionary named Alexander Duff who promoted the knowledge of English language in Bengal. In fact, an entire village in Kalyani was named Schooldanga in recognition of his efforts. The acclaimed Bengali renaissance poet Ishwar Chandra Gupta was born in Kanchrapara, Kalyani in 1812 and ushered in the modern era of Bengali poetry describing the daily lives of common people.

Kalyani was the U.S. military base during the World War II and became known as Roosevelt Town, after the American President who was a crucial figure in the world events of that period. Even today, the virile past of Kalyani can be glimpsed in some if its military remain like the air force station in Kapa, military barracks in Dharampur, truck as well as tractor garages, and the army hospital in Uttarborath (currently known as TB hospital).

Post independence, Kalyani was developed into a planned modern township according to the vision of Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, the second Chief Minister of West Bengal. He strove to make Kalyani a satellite town of Kolkata and relieve the existing population pressure in the metropolitan city. As a result this modern green city of Kalyani which was also deeply intertwined with its past history came into being. In 1954, the Indian National Congress held its Congress session in this newly developed township in the Bee House of present day sub block 1 of sub block 1 of Congress Road.

From the vestiges of the erstwhile Roosevelt Town and many other ancient and medieval rural habitations are compiled the present feature of a vibrant Kalyani, encased in its historical landmarks and yet glowing in its new industrialized metamorphosis.

Kalyani City Guide

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Culture of Kalyani

The metropolis of Kolkata which is at a distance of only 50 km from Kalyani town is known as the cultural capital of India. As such, its rich artistic, literary and cultural heritage has influenced and been assimilated by this green township with great enthusiasm. They have thoroughly blended among the local population of Kalyani and become an integral part of their lifestyle. Some of the ways in which the culture of Kolkata has disseminated is reflected in the languages spoken, the local cuisine, handicrafts, festivals celebrated here and its art forms, most prominently through music, dance and drama.

Food in Kalyani

Traditional Bengali cuisine forms an integral part of the culture of Kalyani even though the town has many fine multi-cuisine restaurants serving Indian, Tandoori, Continental, Chinese and other mouth watering dishes of your choice. There are ample eating joints around the Central Park area within Kalyani including coffee shops. Radha Govinda is a famous sweet shop situated in the place. The “Magic Ladle” is a wonderful restaurant in the Lake Park B-15 area with fantastic delicacies for the visitor.

Handicrafts in Kalyani

The local culture of Kalyani can also be witnessed in the range of handicrafts produced here. Jute products are common and available at extremely affordable prices. Some of the other handicrafts which are famous in Kalyani include cane and bamboo crafts, mats, clay dolls, village pottery, scroll painting, conch shells, carpentry work and others which supplement the means of income of the rural folk in Kalyani and its surrounding regions.

Festivals in Kalyani

West Bengal is renowned for its many fairs and festivals and Kalyani situated within the state is no exception. The chief festival in Kalyani is the Durga Puja, the annual Hindu festival dedicated to the Goddess Durga and celebrated in a grand scale throughout West Bengal and other Indian states like Assam, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Tripura etc. The festival is not only an annual ritual and the largest festival of any year but also a significant socio-cultural event where people from different class and cultural backgrounds merge together in bonhomie.

Some of the other important annual events in Kalyani include the 400year old Satimar Mela (fair dedicated to Sati ma) held in Kalyani Ghoshpara and Lalan Mela in Kadamkhali village near Kalyani in the Nadia district.

Music and Dance in Kalyani

Kalyani is located within the culturally rich district of Nadia known for its music and dance folk forms. Some of the important folk arts include Fakir and Baul songs, puppet dance, and horse-dance which are performed with great gusto in Kalyani Township during different cultural events throughout the year.

Folk Theatre in Kalyani

Bolan is a popular style of folk drama in Nadia and Kalyani hosts a number of drama shows of this category. In order to give an impetus to the local folk arts, theatre has also been introduced by the Kalyani Municipality as an alternative to modern forms of entertainment. The Kalyani Natyacharcha Kendra is an important achievement in this regard. The KNK not only organizes the multilingual National Theatre Festival in Kalyani around November-December every year but also engages in seminars and workshops to spread the cultural significance of theatre in and around Kalyani. Some of the acclaimed theatre productions of Kalyani Natyacharcha Kendra are “Nokshi Kanthar Maath” (or “The Field of the Embroidered Quilt), “Aswacharit (or The Horse-Saga), “Chilekothar Sepai” (or “The Partisan in the Attic”) and other plays.

Business and Industries of Kalyani

If there is one thing which immediately comes to mind when one speaks about Kalyani, West Bengal, it is its industrial area as the mainstay of its economy. Indeed industries, both large and small scale are the backbone of the town and the entire Block D was conceived for the purpose of promoting them. When Kalyani was developed as a planned township under the auspices of the second Chief Minister of West Bengal, the eminent Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, efforts were made to turn it into a major industrial zone without affecting the ecology of the region. Thus a green belt in the peripheral regions of the different blocks has been made.

The economy of Kalyani is thus largely dependent on industries of varying capacities. Harbouring all the resources like land, labour (skilled and semi-skilled) as well as infrastructural facilities like power, water supply, drainage and nearness to Kolkata metropolis, Kalyani promises to be one of the best places for achieving industrial growth.

Besides Shilpanchal, the industrial belt in Kalyani with public sector and private sector enterprises, tourism is also promising to be a lucrative industry and efforts are being made by the Kalyani municipality to turn Kalyani into a major eco-friendly tourist destination. As far as its business is concerned, there are also commercial markets which are evenly distributed in the residential blocks. The Central Park area is the principal business area of the town where different financial, commercial and administrative offices have been built for easy access.

Transport in Kalyani

Situated about 50 km from Kolkata, the relatively modern, well planned township of Kalyani has an efficient transportation system which makes it easily accessible from all parts of the country. With an excellent network of road and rail, Kalyani facilitates your journey through both private and public transport.

Educational institutions/ universities in Kalyani 

Kalyani and its popularity owes greatly to the development of education and educational institutions in the township. There are many educational institutions in Kalyani making it a perfect place to be termed as an ‘Educational Hub’. The development of the town is intricately related to the development of education.

Government ITI, Kalyani

The first and foremost institution that grew up in Kalyani was the school named Pannalal Institution in 1956. This is a government sponsored school that still shows its existence strongly. This was named after the education minister of Bidhan Chandra Roy government named Pannala Basu. The founder and the first principal of the school was Mr. Hemanta Mondal. In the year 1974 it gained the higher secondary status and became the first of its kind in the town.

Following the above foundation, on 1st November,1960 the Kalyani University was founded. The first vice-chancellor of the university was Dr. Sachindra Nath Dasgupta. Initially the Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya was also merged with it which later became an autonomous unit after 1st September, 1974. Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy wanted to develop the infrastructure of the university based on the Land Grant College/University of America encompassing all the major disciplines of study including agriculture. The university was confined within the judicial areas of Chakdah, Haringhata and Bijpur. The university was made an ‘Affiliating University’ from the year 1999.

Netaji Subhash Open University 

In the year 1965, the first girls’ school was opened in Kalyani in the form of Bidhan Chandra Memorial Government Girls Higher Secondary School. It was opened on 1st January. The main person without whom this would not have been possible was Miss Gayatri Chattopadhyay who was the principal and a well known educationist who was also an award holder of the President’s Award in her teaching profession.

Administrative Building Kalyani University 

In the year 1965, another government school named Kalyani University Experimental School was established. Initially the medium of instruction was English which was changed to Bengali in 1970 after it got the higher secondary status. In the year 1987, it gained the government sponsorship. The two main persons who can be credited for the foundation of the school were Joygopal Mukhopadhyay and Mahabir Mukhopadhyay.

However in the year 1971, the Kalyani Central Model School came up which was the first C.B.S.E school with all the three streams and higher secondary status in the Nadia district.

In the year 1978, the National Dairy Research Institute and Nursing Training Centre came up highlighting the variety of educational development in the town.

The first school of I.C.S.E curriculum in the form of Julien Day School, Kalyani came up in the year 1995. Initially it had Arts and Commerce stream and later in the 1999-2000 session the Science stream was opened. This school is located in A Block. Along with this in the same year the Kalyani Government Engineering College was founded which is one of the highly esteemed institution of the country.

In the year 2001 another government aided Bengali medium school was opened in the form of Saraswati Trust Institution near Kalyani Ghoshpara and ‘Sati Ma r Bari’.

Julien Day School

With the passage of time many other institutions came up such as Government Teachers’ Training College and private institutions like the Springdale High School, Middleton High School, DPS World Foundation, Garden High School and so on. Recently two highly rated institutions are coming up in Kalyani in the form of AIIMS and IIIT.

AIIMS Kalyani

IIIT Kalyani 

IISER Kalyani 

Thus, we can say that Kalyani has transformed itself over the period of time and is indebted to the growth and development of educational institutions in the town.

Spring Dale School Kalyani

Some other prominent instructions of Kalyani are the following

Ideal Group of Institutions

GIS College of Engineering 

Health Services in Kalyani

There are many health services organisation and institutions in Kalyani

Some of the noted organisation are

JNM

ESI

And other private organisation