Calcutta Capsule:Walking tours of Kolkata/walks of kolkata & Food Walks - Tour operator in Kolkata - Kolkata, India

I had the great pleasure of connecting with Soham on a trip to Kolkata (Calcutta) earlier this year. I was interested in a street photography experience, and Soham was my guide for an early morning workshop lasting approximately 4 hours. This workshop was my first foray into street photography in Kolkata, and I wasn't sure what to expect (or do) - I typically do landscapes, which require different techniques. Soham was patient, providing valuable tips and advice while navigating the city's bustling streets. I got ~ 40 photographs that I could use from the workshop. But more importantly, I had a chance to experience some of Kolkata's unique street life, which otherwise would be hidden from a visitor like myself. Soham is a Kolkata native who loves and knows the city's backstreets, and it shows. He is also an avid photographer and can guide his clients into seeing and capturing interesting perspectives of street life. We spent our time focusing on three broad topics (and neighborhoods): capturing the activities of workers washing the city's iconic yellow taxi cars, various street vendors, the Howrah Bridge, the Mullick Ghat flower market and Howrah station, and lastly, Kumortuli, where all the clay statues are made for festivals and events. These sorts of walking tours are the kind of experiences that provide insights into a city's soul and uniqueness. Overall, I highly recommend Soham workshops if you want to do photography or get to know this iconic city.

Nice guide, nice tour and nice storytelling. We've been so comfortable and the time flew away, Soham, our guide was the best!! And the pictures he took from us are brilliant!

We had a wonderful time with Soham on this tour. The reviews were glowing so we had high expectations but they were somehow exceeded. Soham is an excellent storyteller and seamlessly takes you around the city providing an insight into the city you could never get otherwise. He has thought through all the details so you can sit back and enjoy the journey!

This will be the longest review I have ever written but I would really like to express my gratefulness to Soham from Calcutta Capsule who turned our two days visit in Kolkata to a sensational and unforgettable experience. First off all I need to mention that we are a family of four from Germany, consisting of my husband and our two children (19 years and 17 years). At the end of September 2023 we went on a two week round trip through India - starting with two days in Kolkata. I contacted Soham by email for a guided tour which appealed to me (called Calcutta Contrast). His company had great reviews, but I was insecure to book the tour over the website and pay up front. Soham was very responsive and even in our electronic communication I could feel that it was his mission to customize the tour to our preferences in order to provide the best experience. It turned out that I booked two days of private tour (including private car) for our family. I would recommend that you specify your interest and let Soham come up with his ideas. We had different interest. My husbands is a passionate photographer. He loves to take pictures of people in every day life situations. Our son (17 years) is crazy about football and adventurous to try out new things. Our daughter is an enduring explorer, loves hidden spots, finding beauty in detail and taking instagram pictures. I enjoy interesting stories of history, present, society, religion etc. Plus I am concerned that everyone of the family is safe and happy! Turns out that on both days everybody was completely safe and every family member was extremely happy. We explored multiple vibrant, colorful local markets. We walked through busy and calm streets, tasted ,,tummy safe" food and drinks, went to the holy river Ganga, getting in touch with art students who were building up a temple and saw brave construction workers balancing in a couple of meters over the ground. We visited hidden gems such as a rooftop restaurant with a great city view as well as a secret palace and abandoned homes from the Victorian era. We saw where people live, commute (train station, city bus), work, eat and even sleep. Apart from that he got us tickets for the Indian Super League due to the fact we mentioned our son's interest in football. He accompanied us to a first league match of the local Bengal team. He is a great story teller, a fantastic organizer and such a friendly, happy and enthusiastic person. It is hard not to like him. His English is excellent and we had absolutely no problem understanding him (some locals speak English with such a strong accent that it is hard to follow). In addition to that Soham takes beautiful pictures of his guests with his premium Canon Camera, sending the pictures as a gift via WhatsApp. On the first day he surprised us with personalized post stamps! He had send a family picture of us to a friend who went to the major Kolkata post office and got us real Indian post stamps with our picture on it. To make a long story short: walking with Soham through his hometown Kolkata was a once in a lifetime experience for us. Thanks to him we bring home the most beautiful memories of Kolkata. I highly recommend booking a tour with Calcutta Capsule.

I took the magic hour tour with Soham and it was one of a memorable, and frankly my favorite memory out of my visit to India. The tour gave immersive experience all with right depth to legendary culture and tradition of Calcutta. Soham is very good story teller and it make your tour much more interesting rather taking just another tour. I got pretty good glimpse about Calcutta and the tour made me wanted to explore more of hidden beauty of Calcutta. Thanks for making my visit memorable. Cheers to "No refusal" Suggestion - I loved your No refusal T-shirt, if you can make your merchandise available to purchase, it will be an amazing souvenir to bring home. Much love <3

Someone reviewed this experience as THE best experience on airBnB. That's why I booked it. That is also a VERY HIGH BAR. For me, this kind of expectation is rarely met. Soham - with his Magic Hour Calcutta Capsule experience - EXCEEDED my expectations. I've traveled the world extensively and have been on countless tours and excursions, and I'd rank Soham's tour easily in my top 3. So why was this tour so good? First, and rarely have I ever felt this way, Soham immediately felt like a friend showing me around his city. He does not have the air of a talking head "tour guide". Calcutta is very personal to him - say 4 generations - and his tour embodies that. As you read about this tour, you might be thinking "a 5 hour walking tour? are you crazy?". Our tour actually lasted more like 6 hours, and yet, at the end, I left feeling somehow refreshed. Soham has masterfully crafted an experience where you travel by foot, taxi, tram, bus, and boat in a way that keeps you from getting bored by any one medium of travel. Aside from the efficiency of these forms of travel which help cover a lot of ground and get you quickly around Calcutta (a real feat in itself), you will get to EXPERIENCE these forms of travel the way locals do. In fact, I did not see a single foreigner traveling the way we were. Because Soham knows what he's doing, you, as the guest, get to soak in the experience and not worry about getting on or off at the right time or what direction you're going. As if taking fun transportation to awesome locations wasn't enough, Soham weaves a foodie experience into the whole deal (he has a separate foodie only tour as well). Sip chai tea with locals. Eat on the side of the road. If you have a sweet tooth like me, you might just end on a very sweet note. And the icing on the cake of all of this? Soham takes photos throughout the experience. A day after the tour he WhatsApp'd me a couple of me on the tour. Oh, did I say I got to play cricket in the large field in front of the Victoria Memorial? I did. And I have photo proof thanks to him. I can't say enough good things about Soham and this tour. Just sign up for it. Do it now. This is the REAL experience of Calcutta that you're looking for. It truly is magical, and it's a rare and beautiful thing.

Soham is a thorough, warm, sensitive and a kind host. We took a small tour with him through the lanes of Kumartuli and the surrounding neighbourhood. We had a hearty, traditional Bengali breakfast and the best Rasogullas in town. Soham knows a great deal about Calcutta- from history, culture, mythology to the changing landscape of the city. The tour was informative, fun and a gastronomic delight. Catch hold of Soham whenever you visit Calcutta and be greedy for the time you get to spend with him. This experience is truly one of its kind and one that's going to stay with you for a long time. Thank you Soham for putting so much thought into everything. You're absolutely amazing. More power to you!

Soham Raul the person behind Calcutta Capsule is like a walking soul of Kolkata. His high spirited energy , his +ve vibes & the way he passionately explains about the culture is truly an great experience. He takes us to Kolkata's iconic places , gives us some famous street foods. I loved the time in Kolkata thumbs up for Calcutta capsule most suitable for foreigners