Black Hole of Calcutta, West Bengal

Smithsonian MagazineSep 2, 2025

Traveling down a river in West Bengal reveals the enduring imprint of empire—and the soul of a region shaped by centuries of change

dungeon where British soldiers were imprisoned

20 things in this story

Howrah Railway StationTrain stationlocated in Kolkata
Howrah BridgeSightsteel cantilever span over the Hooghly River
Mullick Ghat flower marketMarketone of the largest in Asia, founded in 1855
Mother Teresa’s Home for the Dying DestitutePlacecharity shelter for the desperately ill
Indian Coffee HouseRestauranticonic, nearly 150-year-old establishment
College StreetSightoverflowing bookstalls testify to intellectual life
Rabindranath TagorePublic artworkIn 1913, Tagore became the first Asian to win a Nobel Prize in any category, and also the first lyricist and…
Hooghly RiverSightriver lined with crematoriums and temples
HugliNeighborhoodfounded by the Portuguese in the 16th century
Farakka BarrageSightdam that diverts water from the Ganges
MurshidabadNeighborhoodcapital of the old Bengali kingdom
RajmahalHotelthe "King's Palace" in Hindi
Assam Bengal NavigationPlaceoperates luxury river vessels
ChandannagarNeighborhoodfounded as a French trading post
Fort d’OrléansSightmud-walled fortress erected in 1696
PlasseyTrain stationsite of a battle on June 23, 1757
Black Hole of CalcuttaAttractiondungeon where British soldiers were imprisoned
BaranagarTrain stationsleepy village of tin-roofed bungalows
Char BanglaSightred terra-cotta Hindu temple complex
Amartya SenPlace

Black Hole of Calcutta