City Kolkata

Star sign Virgo

Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal, and is used to be spelled Calcutta. Nestled on the banks of the sacred Ganges river, it's the fourth largest city in India.

They call Kolkata 'the city of joy' - there's a charm about this city, a mixture of respected traditions and modern attitudes. Kolkatans are one of the most pleasant and helpful people you will ever meet.

Kolkata is the cultural and intellectual hub of India. It's a real treat for connoisseurs of art, literature, music and dance. It's a very wet city, though. It's uncomfortably humid from mid-April to mid-June, and then the monsoon rain comes.

It's actually a relief after the hot, sticky weather, but you're going to get soaked. And it rains in autumn and winter, too!

The city streets are dotted with small food stalls selling anything from beguni (fried, battered eggplant slices), kati roll (flatbread roll with vegetable, chicken, mutton or egg stuffing) and phuchka (deep-fried crepe with tamarind and lentil sauce) to rasagolla (spongy sweets made from milk), sandesh (sweets) and mishti doi (sweet yoghurt). We Kolkatans love to eat.

Music is my passion. I have my own rock band and we have a contract with a major record company, but I'm waiting until I get my college sorted out.

I practise every morning and we jam at my place one Sunday a month.

I'm a football fanatic and I spend a lot of time scouring the Web for news and information on, and posting blogs about, Liverpool Football Club. And whenever I have free time, I'm always up for soccer.

There's a lot to love about India. The best thing is the vast diversity of people.

The combination of traditions, values, heritage and landscapes is mind-boggling, as is the way we have learned to live side by side with mutual respect and understanding.