Why Kolkata Is the City of Joy in 25 Instagram Photos

PlaneMad / WikiCommons

Updated: 19 June 2017

Kolkata is a city that celebrates life like few others do: from historic mithai (sweet) stores selling freshly made traditional sweets to the crowded and colourful by-lanes of the Mallick Ghat flower market; the other-worldly beauty of the Kumartuli potter’s colony to the chaos of its historic metro system. We have selected 25 Instagram photographs that capture the city’s rich and harmonious multiculturalism, its unique ways of mixing tradition and modernity and its constantly festive spirit. This is why Kolkata is known as the City of Joy.

A bright yellow taxi is always waiting for you in Kolkata ! #kolkata #sokolkata #calcutta #calcuttacacophony #love #life #mishti #cityofjoykolkata #cityofjoy #kalighat #parkstreet #taxi #follow4follow #like4like

A post shared by Desi Dweller ( Tejasvi ) (@desidweller) on Mar 31, 2017 at 7:51am PDT

#Repost from @thejoker_n_lenses – #ypindia #streetphotographyindia #natgeoindia #kolkatadiaries #repostindia #inspiroindia #iiframe #incredibleindia#worldbestgram#kolkatadiaries #natgeotravellerindia #theuncommonbox #onlyinbengal #sokolkata

A post shared by @sokolkata on Feb 11, 2017 at 9:46pm PST

Good morning friends. Have a great day ahead. Clicked some cityscapes of Kolkata last week. This one is one of those. Clicked this picture near Burrabazar. This side of river is Kolkata and the other side is Howrah . Story of twin cities 💕 . . . #city #cityscapes #goodmorningpost #igers #picoftheday #photooftheday #ig_calcutta #ig_india #instagram #instagramhub #building #civilization #travel #traveling #sokolkata #amarkolkata #kolkatadiaries #street #instamood #ig_street #streetphotography #streetphotographyindia #india_undiscovered #indiatravelgram #mypixeldiary #storiesofindia #twincity #bestcitymoments #lensi2017

A post shared by SAYAN RAHA (@neal10th) on Mar 21, 2017 at 7:19pm PDT

A final glance at the phantasmagoric flower market after spending time being a pedestrian at the Howrah bridge #Kolkata #latergram

A post shared by Rosalyn D'mello (@rosad1985) on Nov 26, 2014 at 5:31am PST

#MallickGhat lies just below #HowrahBridge, and is right up there on the list of most atmospheric spots in #Calcutta. The #riverfront #ghats here are lined with bathers, idlers, temples and flower shops, and afford unbeatable views of the #bridge. 'Simuktaneously noble and squalid, cultured and desperate', as Lonely Planet aptly puts it. ✈️ #travel #TFLers #vacation #instatravel #instago #instagood #trip #holiday #photooftheday #travelling #tourism #instapassport #instatraveling #mytravelgram #travelgram #travelingram #igtravel #places #bengal #kolkata #ganges #lonelyplanetindia

A post shared by ( surrounded ) (@_surrounded_) on Oct 25, 2016 at 10:31pm PDT

The iconic howrah bridge from the eyes of @mitrangshu #palsmaniaakolkata #kolkatadiaries #kolkatagram #kolkata #calcutta #kolkatablogger

A post shared by Palsmaniaa Kolkata (@palsmaniaakolkata) on Mar 30, 2017 at 6:11am PDT

Public buses in Calcutta in India #travel2unlimited #travel #traveler #traveling #india #Calcutta #Kalcutta #bus #bybus #streets #adventure #aroundtheworld #followme #worldtravel #worldplaces #natgeo #exploring #bengal

A post shared by R U S M A R G O L I N (@travel2unlimited) on Mar 31, 2017 at 11:05pm PDT

Today's crowd at Jorashanko Thakurbari. CRAZYYY!! 😉 Can you spot yourself in the crowd? Good luck with that. Photo courtesy: @deckle_edge Keep tagging us at #ig_Calcutta to get a chance to be featured on our page! Cheers! – Team CI #incredibleindia #kolkatadiaries #ig_india #lonelyplanetindia #bengal #kolkata #storiesofindia #inspiredtraveller #creativeimagemagazine #instagood #_coi #streetphotographyindia #onlyinbengal #_soi #sokolkata #india #MYIndiaCNN #NatGeo #igramming_india #photooftheday #holi #indiaclicks #indiatravelgram #indianphotography #everydayindia #worldbestgram #instagram #reportagespotlight

A post shared by Calcutta Instagrammers (@ig_calcutta) on Mar 7, 2017 at 9:11am PST

P.c. @arnidams96 City lights !! #mycity #Onlyinbengal #calcutta #cityofjoy #westbengal #calcuttacacophony #thisiskolkata #kolkatadiaries #beautifulbengal #igerskolkata #kolkata #ig_calcutta #Discover_India #india_gram #indiapictures #incredibleindia #indiaincredible #_soi #storiesofindia #indiaclicks #sokolkata #streetsofkolkata #streetsofcalcutta #ohcalcutta #citylights

A post shared by The Best of West Bengal, India (@onlyinbengal) on Dec 3, 2016 at 7:13pm PST

|| God-Bless || . . Picture By- @soma.duttasarkar Shared By- @instacanvassy For feature tag us Or use #dd_kolkata . . Join us on Facebook- Desi Diaries Do visit the link given and check out the latest blog updates on our website! (LINK IN BIO) . . Tags- #kolkatadiaries #kolkata_diaries #kolkata_igers #kolkata_lanes #kolkata #kolkatabuzz #kolkatagram #kolkatacity #thingstodoinkolkata #_soikolkata #streetphotographykolkata #calcutta #calcalling #calcuttauncut #calcuttadiaries #calcuttacacophony #cityofjoy #amarkolkata

A post shared by Desi Diaries – Kolkata (@dd_kolkata) on Mar 29, 2017 at 7:09am PDT

| St. Paul's Cathedral | #ig_calcutta #church #kolkata #kolkatadiaries #calcuttamarble #calcutta #calcuttacacophony #calcuttadiaries #city #cityoflove #lake #cathedral #india #indiapictures #kolkatagram #hdrphotography #hdr #hdr_beautiful_landscapes #green #naturephotography #churchflow #holy #instaupload #instalike #oyeitsindia #followforfollow

A post shared by Ushnil (@star_preacher) on Mar 31, 2017 at 10:22pm PDT

Waking up with Kolkata! CI presents Iger : [@sandipde_photography] . . Feature selected by [@aloh_mora.] . . Curated by [@deckle_edge.] . . Keep tagging us at #Ig_calcutta to get a chance to be featured on our page! Cheers! – Team CI #incredibleindia #kolkatadiaries #ig_india #lonelyplanetindia #bengal #kolkata #storiesofindia #inspiredtraveller #creativeimagemagazine #instagood #_coi #streetphotographyindia #onlyinbengal #_soi #sokolkata #india #MYIndiaCNN #NatGeo #igramming_india #photooftheday #mypixeldiary #indiaclicks #indiatravelgram #indianphotography #everydayindia #worldbestgram #instagram #reportagespotlight

A post shared by Calcutta Instagrammers (@ig_calcutta) on Feb 7, 2017 at 9:18pm PST

Hello Bengal! Beautiful capture by @chris.gomes.photography #Onlyinbengal #calcutta #cityofjoy #westbengal #calcuttacacophony #thisiskolkata #kolkatadiaries #beautifulbengal #igerskolkata #kolkata #ig_calcutta #Discover_India #india_gram #indiapictures #incredibleindia #indiaincredible #_soi #storiesofindia #indiaclicks #sokolkata #streetsofcalcutta #streetsofkolkata #sunset #wbtourism #krishnanagar #boatlife #cityscape #landscape #ruralbengal

A post shared by The Best of West Bengal, India (@onlyinbengal) on Mar 30, 2017 at 8:29am PDT

Beautiful Dakshineswar Kali Temple!!!

A post shared by Idris Ahmed (@idrisphotography) on Apr 25, 2017 at 9:40am PDT

Kolkata | Daily Life | .02 #sokolkata #kolkatadiaries #amarkolkata #cityofjoy #calcuttainstagrammers #calcuttacacophony #kolkata #bazar #market #vegitablemarket #nightphotography #nikon #streetsofkolkata #streetphotography

A post shared by Zil (@fromlenstoeye) on Mar 30, 2017 at 8:56am PDT

#ig_calcutta #ig_asia #ig_india #calcuttadiaries #calcuttastreet #kolkata #kolkatadiaries #instakolkata #instacalcutta #cityofjoykolkata #cityofjoy #westbengal #biswabangla #onlyinbengal #streetstyle #streetphotography #urbanphotography #red #fujifilm #instacanvassy #myshoeboxofphotographs

A post shared by Rupam S (@the_roo_s) on Mar 29, 2017 at 11:29am PDT

Legendary Hand-pulled Rickshaw in Kolkata #incredibleindia #india #india_gram #indianphotography #indiaclicks #kolkata #kolkatagram #kolkatadiaries #calcutta #calcuttadiaries #rickshaw #rickshaws #handpulledrickshaw #nostalgia #heritage #backintheday #backintime #culture #photography #photographer #travel #travelgram #travelphotography #travelporn #shotoniphone #airport #airportlounge #lounge #nofilter #cityofjoy

A post shared by Kaustav Basu (@kaustav.basu) on Mar 29, 2017 at 5:13am PDT

City of joy Kolkata #city #cityofjoy #kolkata #stationroad #citylife #earlymorning #yellowtaxis #soulofkolkata #trafficlights #britishstylebuilding #modern #and #old #love #trees #preindependencebuilding

A post shared by Prateek Chatterjee photos (@chatterjeeprateek) on Mar 28, 2017 at 3:25am PDT

The Shaheed Minar, formerly known as the 'Ochterlony Monument' is a monument in Kolkata that was erected in 1828 in memory of Major-general Sir David Ochterlony, commander of the British East India Company, to commemorate both his successful defense of Delhi against the Marathas in 1804 and the victory of the East India Company’s armed forces over the Gurkhas in the Anglo-Nepalese War. In August 1969, it was rededicated to the memory of the martyrs of the Indian freedom movement and hence renamed the "Shahid Minar," which means "martyrs' monument" by the then United Front Government in memory of the martyrs of the Indian Independence movement. The present government has decided to illuminate the tower during evenings and allow visitors to the top to get a bird's eye view of Kolkata❤️ . . If the view from the ground is so scintillating..imagine the view from the top😍 . . In honor of the strife of those who died generations ago for our glory❤️ Goodnight Kolkata❤️ Use #KforKolkata to get featured! Regram from @pabitramahato

A post shared by K for Kolkata (@kforkolkata) on Feb 28, 2017 at 7:15am PST

CALCUTTA IN MOTION! • Slow shutter charm. Rush outside Howrah station. . . Caption & Picture Credits- @the_sonu_ For feature tag us Or use #dd_kolkata . . Join us on Facebook- Desi Diaries Do not forget to check out our website for latest blog updates! (LINK IN BIO) . . Tags- #kolkatadiaries #kolkata_diaries #kolkata_igers #kolkata_lanes #kolkata #kolkatabuzz #kolkatagram #kolkatacity #thingstodoinkolkata #_soikolkata #streetphotographykolkata #calcutta #calcalling #calcuttauncut #calcuttadiaries #calcuttacacophony #cityofjoy #amarkolkata #howrah

A post shared by Desi Diaries – Kolkata (@dd_kolkata) on Mar 27, 2017 at 12:14am PDT

I love this place a lot….visit it every year…nice outlook view though the pic is not taken by me…..will definitely visit there again soon… #calcutta #cityofjoy #laketown #clocktower #view #traffic #like4like #followforfollow

A post shared by Śùvãm (@iam_sr_07) on Mar 25, 2017 at 8:06pm PDT

#khiderporemarket #vegetable market #pastels The color of joy #kolkata #CityOfJoy #randoms

A post shared by Srijan (@srijan7284) on Mar 25, 2017 at 11:41am PDT

Nakhoda Masjid, Zakaria street, City of Joy. 🙂 . . . . . #streetphotographyindia #streetphotographykolkata #whatsupkolkata #kforkolkata #iiframe #ig_kolkata #_soi #streetsofkolkata #storiesofkolkata #_coi #_cic #_ccal #_poi #desidiaries #ourcitykolkata #cityofjoy #onlyinbengal #desi_diaries #calcalling #calcuttacacophany #sokolkata #frameit #yourshot_india #indiapictures #indiaphotographyinc #amarshohor #indiaphotosociety #inspiroindia #ngtdailyshot #doubletap❤

A post shared by Saptarshi Mandal (@ostaad) on Mar 25, 2017 at 11:13am PDT

Everyone is on a journey. Where you are right now, is not your final destination! Amazing framing by @das_achintya

A post shared by The Best of West Bengal, India (@onlyinbengal) on Mar 25, 2017 at 8:13am PDT

#nofilter #kolkata #sunnyday . . . . . #kolkatagram #instaclick #streetphotography #architectureporn #incredibleindia #instapic #cityofjoy #india #callcutta #photography #photooftheday #wanderingsoul #postcardsfromtheworld

A post shared by sudeshna (@sudeshna_pande) on Mar 24, 2017 at 11:21pm PDT