West Bengal is on the eastern bottleneck of India, stretching from the Himalays in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south, The state has a total area of 88752 square kilometres (34267 sq mi) The Darjeeling Himalayan hill region in the northern extreme of the State belong to the eastern Himalya. A small coastal region is on the extreme south, while the sundarbans mangrove forests from a remarkable geographical landmark at the Ganges delta.
The Ganges is the main river, the Bhagirathi river and Hooghly river flows through West Bengal.
The main seasons are summer, rainy season, a short autumn, and winter. The summer is noted for excessive humidity, the highest day temperature ranging from 38 Degree C (100 Degree F) to 45 Degree F. At nights, a cool southerly breeze carries moisture from the Bay of Bengal.
As of 2009, recorded forest area in the state is 11,879 km2 (4,587 sq mi) which is 13.38% of the state's geographical area, compared to the national average of 21.02%. Reserves, protected and unclassed forests constitute 59.4%, 31.8% and 8.9%, respectively, of the forest area. Part of the world's largest Mangrove forest, the Sundarbans , is located in southern West Bengal.
As of 2011, the total length of surface road in West Bengal is over 92,023 km (57,180 mi) National highways comprise 2,578 km (1,602 mi)and state highways 2,393 km (1,487 mi).Average speed on state highways varies between 40–50 km/h (25–31 mi/h); in villages and towns, speeds are as low as 20–25 km/h (12–16 mi/h) due to the substandard quality of road constructions and low maintenance. As of 2011, the total railway route length is around 4,481 km (2,784 mi).Kolkata is the headquarters of two divisions of the Indian Railways—Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railway.The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) plies in the northern parts of the state. The Kolkata metro is the country's first underground railway The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway part of NFR, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The state's only international airport is Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport at Dum Dum, Kolkata. Bagdogra airport near Siliguri is another significant airport in the state. Kolkata is a major river-port in eastern India. There is passenger service to Port Blair on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and cargo ship service to ports in India and abroad. Ferry is a principal mode of transport in the southern part of the state, especially in the Sundarbans area. Kolkata is the only city in India to have trams as a mode of transport.
Hired forms of transport include metered taxis and auto rickshaws which often ply specific routes in cities. In most of the state, cycle rickshaws, and in Kolkata, hand-pulled rickshaws, are also used for short-distance travel. Large-scale transport accidents in West Bengal are common, particularly the sinking of transport boats and train crashes.
West Bengal is the fourth most populous state in India with a population of 91,347,736 (7.55% of India's population). West Bengal was the first Indian state to constitute a Human Rights Commission of its own.
The Bengali language boasts a rich literary heritage, shared with neighbouring Bangladesh.
Bengal had been the harbinger of modernism in fine arts. Abanindranath Tagore, called the father of Modern Indian Art had started the Bengal School of Art which was to create styles of art outside the European realist tradition which was taught in art colleges under the colonial administration of the British Government. The movement had many adherents like Gaganendranath Tagore , Ramkinkar Baij , Jamini Roy and Rabindranath Tagore .
The capital, Kolkata, was 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.
Rice and fish are traditional favourite foods, leading to a saying in Bengali, machhe bhate bangali, that translates as "fish and rice make a Bengali". Bengal's vast repertoire of fish-based dishes includes hilsa preparations, a favorite among Bengalis. There are numerous ways of cooking fish depending on the texture, size, fat content and the bones. Sweets occupy an important place in the diet of Bengalis and at their social ceremonies. Bengalis make distinctive sweetmeats from milk products, including Rôshogolla, Chômchôm, Kalojam and several kinds of sondesh. Pitha, a kind of sweet cake, bread or dimsum are specialties of winter season. Sweets like coconut-naru, til-naru, moa, payesh, etc. are prepared during the festival of Lakshmi puja. Popular street food includes Aloor Chop, Beguni, Kati roll, and phuchka.
Durga Puja in October is the most popular festival in the West Bengal. Poila Baishakh (the Bengali New Year), Rathayatra, Dolyatra or Basanta-Utsab, Nobanno, Poush Parbon (festival of Poush), Kali Puja, Saraswati Puja, Laxmi Puja, Christmas, Eid ul-Fitr, Eid ul-Adha and Muharram are other major festivals. Buddha Purnima, which marks the birth of Gautama Buddha, is one of the most important Hindu/Buddhist festivals while Christmas, called Bôŗodin (Great day) in Bengali is celebrated by the minority Christian population. Poush mela is a popular festival of Shantiniketan, taking place in winter.
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