Why is Kolkata a top tourist destination for Bangladeshis?

Bangladesh's one of the most popular food vloggers Rafsan The Chotobhai recently visited Kolkata to review its fantastic street foods in collaboration with The Lazy Bong, another popular food blogger from West Bengal. 

Another renowned travel vlogger' Nadir on the Go' recently went to Kolkata to vlog its popular destinations like Victoria Memorial, Kolkata Coffee House, Howrah Bridge, South Park Street, etc. Many popular YouTubers like Khudalagse, Bangladeshi Food Reviewers, and Tawhid Afridi have recently visited Kolkata, which has drawn much social media attention. 

Dhaka and Kolkata share an unwavering friendship that can be dated back to the colonial period. We have nearly the same racial features, linguistic affinities with Bangladesh and the eastern Indian states, and a shared historical and cultural development. 

Cross-border cultural ties have existed for centuries, and people from Bangladesh visit Kolkata for medical treatment, business, family relations, vacations, etc. Besides, eminent artists, musicians, writers, and poets of Bangladesh like Jaya Ahsan, Chanchal Chowdhury, Nusrat Faria, Miles, and Artcell frequently visit Kolkata to collaborate and perform with Kolkata's film and media houses and even open-air concerts. 

Kolkata is a historically and culturally rich city that every tourist should visit at least once. However, it has created some hype recently, making it a top destination for Bangladeshi people. A good number of reasons can explain this desire to visit Kolkata. 

Vlogging

Vloggers worldwide are travelling more due to YouTube's ongoing development in the popularity of vlogging videos. It's a highly well-liked type of entertainment since it allows you to experience the beauty and culture of places you've never been. 

Many travel and food vloggers from Bangladesh recently visited Kolkata, which will help us to get familiar with Kolkata's rich heritage and food at an affordable price. 

A rising number of vloggers visit Kolkata to observe the nation firsthand and show their followers. Kolkata continues to amaze content makers who come, and more will probably come in the future for various reasons. 

Eid Shopping

Bangladeshis travel to Kolkata for Eid, weddings, business, and shopping. Bangladeshis also go to West Bengal for leisure, education, and medical purposes. Despite the suspension of other visas, India recently began awarding medical visas since a portion of Indian hospitals and hotels in the surrounding areas are entirely dependent on Bangladeshi patients. 

In South Kolkata, between 60 and 70 per cent of the hospitals' patients are Bangladeshis. Certain hospitals in cities like Hyderabad and Chennai provide Bengali-speaking counters for Bangladeshi patients.

Touch of Tradition

With almost a century of service as British India's capital, Kolkata is a city steeped in history. The British East India Company's headquarters were there, and subsequently, under the British Raj, it served as the regional capital of all British colonies on the subcontinent. 

Some of India's busiest and oldest marketplaces are found in Kolkata. From one of the biggest secondhand book markets in the world at College Street to one of the biggest flower marketplaces in Asia at Mallik Ghat, Kolkata's bustling bazaars will enchant anybody with the sheer variety of necessary and unusual things for a discount. 

Pocket-friendly city

Transport costs are fairly reasonable in the city. The least expensive metro is the one in Kolkata. There are many other ways to get about, including local trains, buses, cars, rickshaws, the metro, taxis, and even launches. Some of Kolkata's highways are still traversed by antiquated trams. Despite being a large metropolis, Kolkata is relatively budget-friendly. 

In comparison to other cities, the cost of transport, as well as food, is quite low here. Recent efforts to reconnect India and Bangladesh, such as the Maitri (Friendship) Express and Padma Multipurpose Bridge with the newly featured railway links, have brought tremendous changes in the transport connectivity between Dhaka and Kolkata, which makes travel a lot more hassle-free. 

Estiak Hossain, a young entrepreneur remembering his recent experience of visiting Kolkata, shared, "It is becoming a great place for importing products comparatively at an affordable price. Travel has become less hectic and more convenient." 

Affordable food

There are remnants of this history in the city's architecture and culture of India's best places to experience wonderful food since it is home to delectable street food, exquisite Bengali sweets and desserts, classic Indo-Chinese restaurants, and a range of renowned cafes. 

Dhrubo Nahian, a Rajshahi University student, stated, "Kolkata's Street food is amazing and cheaper which makes it one of my favourite vacation destinations." 

Due to social media and numerous Bengali food vloggers, people like Dhurbo learn more about Kolkata's food carnivals and become interested in visiting. 

India's Cultural Capital

India's unofficial literary capital has long been Kolkata, and that designation will continue to be used. The City of Joy is a must-visit destination for readers of Bengali literature since it is the birthplace of Rabindranath Tagore and numerous other luminaries of Bengali literature and culture. 

Eminent filmmakers like Satyajit Ray, Hrithik Ghatak, and Srijit Mukherjee have portrayed Mahanagar Kolkata in a way that any film lover will be very enthusiastic to at least walk on the streets of Kolkata. 

Recently emerged OTT platforms are making films and television dramas starring artists from both nations, leading to cross-culture affinity. 

Kolkata started branding itself, especially after the pandemic realising its prospects in the tourism and medical sectors, which include popularising its food, fashion, culture, and architecture through social media, advertising, films, and songs, especially among the neighbouring countries. Transport costs are fairly reasonable in the city. 

Dhaka and Kolkata always share a heart-to-heart connection, which is now celebrated by social media and films, especially by the people of the two Bengals. In the age of globalisation, Kolkata is no longer a distant place but rather a friend in our backyard. 

Hence, nowadays, Bangladeshis are more eager to visit their Bengali other halves living on the other side of the line, just separated by fences.  

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