Choosing your moving date
Both cities' monsoons fall at roughly the same time, about June to September, so a wet move at both ends is likely then. Ganesh Chaturthi closes roads in parts of Mumbai, and Durga Puja in the autumn affects many Kolkata roads for several days. November to May, outside festival weeks, is usually the easiest window.
Goods take several days over nearly 1,900 km. Ask for the expected delivery date in writing, keep some margin and plan where you'll stay in Kolkata until the truck arrives.
Leaving Mumbai
Book the service lift and a moving slot with your society, ask whether a gate pass or NOC is needed, and give the mover the permitted hours. If a large truck can't stand at your gate, goods may be staged in the compound or shuttled in a smaller vehicle; that should be on the quote.
For a route this long, ask for packing on a separate day with double-walled cartons, corner guards and proper cartons for televisions. Air cupboards and clothes before packing, because cartons will be sealed for days.
Across the country
The usual road heads east from Mumbai across Maharashtra to Nagpur, then through Raipur and Sambalpur into Odisha and on to Kolkata. It crosses several states, so keep your copy of the packing list handy; the mover carries the documents for the goods.
Ask whether the truck is dedicated to your goods or shared, and how you'll be updated on the way. A shared load can add days on a route this long.
Arriving in Kolkata
Coming from a Mumbai society with strict lift slots, Kolkata's older buildings can be the opposite problem: no lift at all, and a narrow lane outside. Tell the mover your floor and how close a truck can stop, so they bring enough people and plan a carry from the main road if needed.
Newer high-rises in Salt Lake and New Town do have lifts and building rules, much like Mumbai, so ask the office about notice and timings. Either way, keep a day of slack around the delivery in the monsoon, when heavy rain can waterlog streets.
More space, older buildings
Families moving from Mumbai to Kolkata often gain space, sometimes in an older building with high ceilings and large rooms. Unpack first and live in the home for a few weeks before buying furniture, so you buy for how you actually use the rooms.
In older buildings, ask neighbours how the street copes with heavy rain, and keep cartons and electronics off the floor during the monsoon. Bengali is the main language of the city, and Hindi and English are widely understood.
Across central India
From Mumbai, the usual road climbs to Nashik and runs east through Dhule and Jalgaon to Nagpur, then on through Raipur and western Odisha or Jharkhand to Kolkata, close to 2,000 km. It crosses five or six states, with tolls and checks at several borders. Ask the mover for the route they'll take and an all-inclusive written price, so nothing is added on the way.
Old Calcutta houses
Many Kolkata homes, especially in the north and central parts of the city, are old houses with high ceilings, wooden shutters, narrow stairs and rooms opening onto a courtyard or a long verandah. They often have more space than a Mumbai flat but much tighter access. Tell the mover the floor, the stair width and how close a vehicle can come, and send photos of the lane.
Where Mumbai families settle
People moving from Mumbai for work often look first at Salt Lake's Sector V and New Town, where many offices are, and at south Kolkata around Ballygunge, Alipore and the Bypass. Rents in these areas are well below Mumbai's for a similar flat. Measure the new home before deciding what to bring, since you may find you have room for things that were in storage.
Monsoon at both ends
Mumbai's and Kolkata's monsoons overlap from June to September, so a move in those months may meet heavy rain at loading and at unloading. Ask for waterproof covers on everything, keep a spare day at each end, and avoid ground-floor storage of cartons in Kolkata until the rain has passed.
Arriving before your goods
With several days on the road, you'll probably fly or take the train and wait for the truck. Plan where you'll stay, carry a bag with a week's clothes and medicines, and get the mover's tracking or update arrangements in writing.
Leaving a Mumbai society
The Mumbai end is about the society: NOC or register entry, lift booking and the hours heavy vehicles may move. Sort these first and share them with the mover, since a long-distance truck has to fit both.
Kolkata's rented homes
Many Kolkata rentals are in older buildings where the landlord lives on another floor. Agree with the landlord when the truck can arrive and where it can stand.
Rail or air ahead of the truck
With the truck taking several days, families usually take the train or fly to Kolkata. Agree with the mover who will be at the new home to receive the goods, and keep their number handy.
Nagpur's halt
Many movers halt near Nagpur, roughly halfway. Ask where the truck will stop.
Raipur and the Chhattisgarh plains
East of Nagpur, the road crosses the flat rice country around Raipur and Bhilai, a steel city, before entering Odisha or Jharkhand on the way to Kolkata.