The state of West Bengal is long and narrow, running from the delta of the Ganges River system at the Bay of Bengal in the south to the heights of the Himalayas at Darjeeling in the north. West Bengal offers the visitor two extremes - Calcutta, with its bewildering maelstrom of noise, culture, confusion and squalor at one end; and Darjeeling, serene and peaceful, at the other. Outside these two centres the intrepid traveller will find a number of places to consider visiting, either south of Calcutta on the Bay of Bengal or north along the route to Darjeeling. Few foreign tourists visit the ruined mosques of Malda, the palaces of Murshidabad, the temples of Vishnupur or the Sunderbans Wildlife Sanctuary. If you do, the friendly Bengalis will make you feel all the more welcome for being an exception to the rule.

Some of the other places are the Diamond Harbour, Krishnanagar, Shanti Niketan and Senchal from where one can get a view of Mount Everest.

Bengal, indeed, a proud land of no less than four Nobel Laureates, Rabindranath Tagore, C. V.Raman, Ronald Ross and Mother Teresa, is also known for its sweet Bengali language, appreciative audiences, connoisseurs of art and culture and for a highly cultured people who are ready to stand-up for a cause and take problems in their stride as they step towards a future. With no illusions, no false expectations but a deep conviction that life is truth and truth will triumph.