page_title: Tourism in West Bengal
section_title: Culture
hierarchical_section_title: Tourism in West Bengal / Culture
caption_attribution_description: English: Baul singers at Vasantotsav, Shantiniketan
context_page_description: Tourism in West Bengal refers to West Bengal's tourism. West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. The state capital is Kolkata. The state encompasses two broad natural regions: the Gangetic Plain in the south and the sub-Himalayan and Himalayan area in the north. The tourism in West Bengal is maintained by WBTDCL, a state government owned enterprise.
  West Bengal, located on eastern bottleneck of India stretching from the Himalayas in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south, presents some of marvelous landscape features and natural scenic beauty. Some of India's most preferred travel destinations like; the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region in the northern extreme of the state, the highest peak of the state Sandakphu and the Sundarbans mangrove forests in the extreme south.
  During the British colonial era from 1700–1912, Kolkata enjoyed the privilege of being the capital of British India and witnessed a spate of frenzied construction of buildings, largely influenced by the conscious intermingling of Neo-Gothic, Baroque, Neo-Classical, Oriental and Islamic schools of design.
context_section_description: The culture of West Bengal attracts tourists from around the world. It has its roots in literature, music, fine arts, drama and cinema. The Darjeeling Himalayan hill region shows a different cultural aspect. Rabindranath Tagore is Asia's first Nobel laureate and composer of India's national anthem. Swami Vivekananda was a key figure in introducing Vedanta and Yoga in Europe and the USA.
  They all belong from West Bengal, and their houses and residencies like Shantiniketan and Jorasanko Thakur Bari are world-famous and attract many tourists.
  West Bengal also has a long tradition of popular literature, music and drama largely based on Bengali folklore and Hindu epics and Puranas.
  The Baul tradition is a unique heritage of Bengali folk music, which has also been influenced by regional music traditions. Other folk music forms include Gombhira and Bhawaiya. Folk music in West Bengal is often accompanied by the ektara, a one-stringed instrument. West Bengal also has a heritage in North Indian classical music. "Rabindrasangeet", songs composed and set into tune by Rabindranath Tagore, and "Nazrul geeti" (by Kazi Nazrul Islam) are popular. Also prominent are other musical forms like Dwijendralal, Atulprasad and Rajanikanta's songs and "adhunik" or modern music from films and other composers.
  However, since the early 1990s, there has been an emergence and popularisation of new genres of music, including fusions of Baul and jazz by several Bangla bands, as well as the emergence of Jeebonmukhi Gaan (a modern genre based on realism). Bengali dance forms draw from folk traditions, especially those of the tribal groups, as well as the broader Indian dance traditions. Chau dance of Purulia is a rare form of mask dance. West Bengal is known for Bengali folk music such as baul and kirtans and gajan, and modern songs including Bengali "adhunik" (modern) songs.
  The state is home to a thriving cinema industry, dubbed "Tollywood". Tollygunje in Kolkata is the location of numerous Bengali movie studios, and the name "Tollywood" (similar to Hollywood and Bollywood) is derived from that name. The Bengali film industry is well known for its art films, and has produced acclaimed directors like Satyajit Ray and actors like Uttam Kumar and singers like Arijit Singh.
  Among other types of theatre, West Bengal has a tradition of folk drama known as jatra.
  West Bengal has been the harbinger of modernism in fine arts.
  Kolkata was also the workplace of several social reformers, like Raja Ram Mohan Ray, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar and Swami Vivekananda. These social reforms have eventually led to a cultural atmosphere where practices like sati, dowry and caste-based discrimination or untouchability, the evils that crept into the Hindu society, were abolished.
  Kumortuli is a famous tourist attraction in Kolkata. It is traditionally a potters' quarter in North Kolkata. By virtue of their artistic productions these potters have moved from obscurity to prominence. This Kolkata neighbourhood not only supplies clay idols of Hindu gods and goddesses to barowari pujas in Kolkata and its neighbourhoods, but also exports a number of idols. It is one of the seven wonders in Kolkata.
  Bengal is also well known for its variety of handwoven Sarees. It is home to exquisite sarees such as Jamdani Sarees, Baluchari Sarees, Kantha stitch Sarees, Tussar Silk Sarees, Muslin Sarees and Matka Sarees. These variety of handwoven sarees in a single place is a rarity in today's modern times.
caption: Baul singers at Basanta-Utsab, Shantiniketan
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