Maheshtala

Behala (বেহালা Behālā) is one of the oldest suburbs of Kolkata, maintaining a strong local identity since time immemorial. The Sabarna Roy Choudhury family is known for taking credit to the modern city of Kolkata, challenging the traditional narrative of Job Charnock being the founder of the city, as the jagirdari rights over the original villages of Sutanuti, Gobindapur and Kalikata were originally belonged to them, and they transferred the rights over the villages to the East India Company (EIC) by lease on 10 Novermber 1698. The pillars of the cutchery (land rent collection office) where East India Company’s Charles Eyre, son-in-law of Job Charnock, was handed over the right to collect rent in three villages still stand. A "city within a city", Behala's transport system has changed drastically over the decades, from narrow-gauge railways and tramways to modern-day buses and metros.