1.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
2.
West Bengal
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West Bengal is an Indian state, located in East India on the Bay of Bengal. It is Indias fourth-most populous state, with over 91 million inhabitants and it has a total area of 34,267 sq mi, making it similar in size to Serbia. A part of the ethno-linguistic Bengal region, it borders Bangladesh in the east and Nepal and it also has borders five Indian states, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata, the seventh-largest city in India, the geography of West Bengal includes the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region in its extreme north, the Ganges delta, the Rarh region and the coastal Sundarbans. The main ethnic group are the Bengali people, with Bengali Hindus forming the demographic majority, Ancient Bengal was the site of several major janapadas, including Vanga, Radha, Pundra and Suhma. In the 2nd century BC, the region was conquered by the emperor Ashoka, in the 4th century AD, it was absorbed into the Gupta Empire. From the 13th century onward, the region was ruled by sultans, powerful Hindu states and Baro-Bhuyan landlords. The British East India Company cemented their hold on the following the Battle of Plassey in 1757. Between 1977 and 2011, the state was administered by the worlds longest elected Communist government, a major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to Indias net domestic product. It is noted for its activities and the presence of cultural and educational institutions. The states cultural heritage, besides varied folk traditions, ranges from stalwarts in literature including Nobel-laureate Rabindranath Tagore to scores of musicians, film-makers and artists. West Bengal is also distinct from most other Indian states in its appreciation and practice of playing football besides cricket. The origin of the name Bengal is unknown, one theory suggests that the word derives from Bang, a Dravidian tribe that settled the region around 1000 BC. The word might have derived from the ancient kingdom of Vanga. Although some early Sanskrit literature mentions the name, the early history is obscure. At the end of British Rule over the Indian subcontinent, the Bengal region was partitioned in 1947 along religious lines into east and west, the east came to be known as East Bengal and the west came to known as West Bengal, which continued as an Indian state. In 2011, the Government of West Bengal proposed a change in the name of the state to Poschimbongo. This is the name of the state, literally meaning western Bengal in the native Bengali language
3.
Kolkata
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Kolkata /koʊlˈkɑːtɑː/ is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. In 2011, the city had a population of 4.5 million, while the population of the city and its suburbs was 14.1 million, making it the third-most populous metropolitan area in India. Recent estimates of Kolkata Metropolitan Areas economy have ranged from $60 to $150 billion making it third most-productive metropolitan area in India, after Mumbai, in the late 17th century, the three villages that predated Calcutta were ruled by the Nawab of Bengal under Mughal suzerainty. After the Nawab granted the East India Company a trading licence in 1690, Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah occupied Calcutta in 1756, and the East India Company retook it the following year. In 1793 the East India company was enough to abolish Nizamat. Calcutta was the centre for the Indian independence movement, it remains a hotbed of contemporary state politics, following Indian independence in 1947, Kolkata, which was once the centre of modern Indian education, science, culture, and politics, suffered several decades of economic stagnation. Many people from Kolkata—among them several Nobel laureates—have contributed to the arts, the sciences, Kolkata culture features idiosyncrasies that include distinctively close-knit neighbourhoods and freestyle intellectual exchanges. Though home to major cricketing venues and franchises, Kolkata differs from other Indian cities by giving importance to association football, there are several explanations about the etymology of this name, The term Kolikata is thought to be a variation of Kalikkhetrô, meaning Field of Kali. Similarly, it can be a variation of Kalikshetra, alternatively, the name may have been derived from the Bengali term kilkila, or flat area. The name may have its origin in the words khal meaning canal, followed by kaṭa, according to another theory, the area specialised in the production of quicklime or koli chun and coir or kata, hence, it was called Kolikata. The discovery and archaeological study of Chandraketugarh,35 kilometres north of Kolkata, Kolkatas recorded history began in 1690 with the arrival of the English East India Company, which was consolidating its trade business in Bengal. The area occupied by the city encompassed three villages, Kalikata, Gobindapur, and Sutanuti. Kalikata was a village, Sutanuti was a riverside weavers village. They were part of an estate belonging to the Mughal emperor and these rights were transferred to the East India Company in 1698. In 1712, the British completed the construction of Fort William, facing frequent skirmishes with French forces, the British began to upgrade their fortifications in 1756. The Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, condemned the militarisation and his warning went unheeded, and the Nawab attacked, he captured Fort William which led to the killings of several East India company officials in the Black Hole of Calcutta. A force of Company soldiers and British troops led by Robert Clive recaptured the city the following year, declared a presidency city, Calcutta became the headquarters of the East India Company by 1772. In 1793, ruling power of the Nawabs were abolished and East India company took control of the city
4.
Alipore
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Alipore is the headquarters of South 24 Parganas district and a neighbourhood in South Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. The area is the most posh and costliest locality in Kolkata, the postal code of Alipore is Kolkata 700027. One of the most historical, eventful and elite localities of the city of Kolkata and it was in the middle parts of the 18th century that the British began exploring the areas outside their settlements of Fort William and the Dalhousie Square area beyond the Race Course. The Belvedere Estate was one of the oldest establishments in Alipore, the then Governor General Warren Hastings built it for himself and it became the Governors residence until the Government House came up later. It was about this period of time that Alipore started attracting more and more British settlers who built their mansions and bungalows with gardens. In 1820, William Carey built the Agri Horticultural Gardens behind the Belvedere Estate, also, the Alipore Zoological Gardens was thrown open to the public in 1875. The locality was also witness to the Alipore bomb case and a spectator to the struggle of the Indian revolutionaries. Post independence of India, Alipore became popular among the elite of the city. The Pauls, the Birlas, the Goenkas, the Dalmiyas, the Jalans, the Kotharis, in 1952, the Imperial Library shifted to its present premises on Belvedere Estate. The Alipore Mint was also inaugurated the same year, several consulates like those of Russia, Germany, France, Italy and residences of Hon. Consul General of Canada, Denmark, Greece, Peru, etc. are located in Alipore, by the late eighties and nineties other places like New Alipore and Ballygunge competed with Alipore as the most elite areas of Kolkata. Alipore is located at 22. 53°N88. 33°E /22.53,88.33 and it has an average elevation of 14 metres. Alipore area is bordered by the following roads - AJC Bose Road to the north, D L Khan Road to the East, Diamond Harbour Road to the West, Alipore is connected to all parts of the city by extensive bus services. Alipore is served by the Majherhat and New Alipore railway stations on the Budge Budge section of Kolkata Suburban Railway, the Kalighat metro station of the Kolkata Metro as well as the Jatin Das Park station is close to Alipore. Some of the best healthcare options in the city are located in Alipore Woodlands Multispeciality Hospital, Alipore Road CMRI, Diamond Harbour Road B. M
5.
B. B. D. Bagh
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Bagh, formerly called Dalhousie Square, is the shortened version for Benoy-Badal-Dinesh Bagh. It is the seat of power of the government, as well as the central business district in Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. Stands for three young Indian independence freedom fighters — Benoy, Badal and Dinesh — who on 8 December 1930 shot dead the Inspector General of Prisons, simpson, in the balconies of the Writers Building of the then Dalhousie Square. The square had been named after Lord Dalhousie, Governor General of India from 1847 to 1856, at different times it has been called ‘The Green before the Fort’ or Tank Square. Bagh area is near the Hooghly River in the part of central Kolkata and is a square built around the old Lal Dighi tank. The old fort built by the British was near where the General Post Office now is, the area was in the heart of Kalikata or the White Town in old Calcutta. Bagh was created as the center of the British East India Companys trading post along the banks of the Hooghly River, between the river and the tank, lay the original Fort William. In the summer of 1756, Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah of Bengal, Bihar, the survivors of the attack were sent to a garrison within the fort which spurred an incident infamously known as the Black Hole of Calcutta. The British soon retook the city after the Nawab retreated from the forces of Robert Clive, within a year, the British East India Companys forces had taken all of Bengal and Calcutta, along with the square, was established as the commercial and political center of British India. Over the next one and a half centuries, the square grew in importance and influence and it was named after Lord Dalhousie, the Governor-General of India. After the fall of company rule in India, the Writers Building became the secretariat of the Viceroy of India, a number of corporations and institutions opened offices and headquarters in and around the square, giving it its role as the central business district of the city. In 1912, the capital of British India was officially moved to New Delhi, during the first half of the 20th century, the Indian Independence Movement began to reach its peak and took a violent turn in Bengal. On the eighth of December 1930, three revolutionaries, Benoy, Badal, and Dinesh, stormed the building and fatally shot the Inspector General of Prisons, the three committed suicide and the square was renamed B. B. D. Bagh in their honor after Indian independence, in 1947, the political establishments were officially handed over to the government of India and the government of the newly formed state of West Bengal. Over the next few decades, Calcutta would go through rapid economic decline, Bagh would remain the heart of East India. Bagh is still the commercial and political center of all of East India and many of the business, the centerpiece is the Writers Building which is the secretariat of the Government of the State of West Bengal and houses the office of the Chief Minister of West Bengal. The native name of the area is Office Para, to the north lie the Royal Exchange Building which houses the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Calcutta Stock Exchange, the Standard Chartered Building, and many financial establishments. The eastern end also houses a number of offices till Chittaranjan Avenue, the area south of the square is home to the Raj Bhavan, which is now the residence of the governor and the former residence of the viceroy and governor-general of India
6.
Bagbazar
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Bagbazar is a neighbourhood in north Kolkata, in the Indian state of West Bengal. The area, under Shyampukur police station of Kolkata Police, has been, along with neighbouring Shyambazar, Bagbazar has played an active role in growth and development of Kolkata. The name, Bagbazar, is derived from two words put together from old Bengali literature, bagh meaning garden and bazaar meaning market. So it refers to a place where flowers are abundant, as Kalikata became settled, Sutanuti was gradually abandoned by the English as a place of residence. However, it was frequented from around 1746 and by 1752 was sold for Rs.25,000. Captain Perin was owner of several ships, scott began manufacturing gunpowder at the garden. We can divide this glorious history in two very distinguished parts, the first period is from 1919 to 1930 and 1930 onwards and this was the first Puja of Calcutta organised by people communally and not inside a Zamindar home. Members of the Public contributed money and continued the Puja and it was named as Lebubagan Baroyari Durga-puja and it was continued in that very place for more three more years before being shifted in 1924 to the junction of Bagbazar Street and Pashupati Bose Lane. Next year it was placed at Kantapukur and in 1927 it tookplace in the Bagbazar Kali-temple and he is also the person who gave the name of the organization and set up the structure for a communal durga puja which was emulated by hundreds of other groups around the city thereafter. In 1929 for the occasion of the puja an exhibition took place, for the required space to organize the exhibition he selected this very place where the Durganagar of today is situated. This place was known as Metal-Yard formerly, and it used to the storage of Calcutta Corporations road-repair department, durgacharan Bandyopadhyay requested the Mayor of Calcutta Netaji Subhash Ch. Bose then to requested the Mayor of Calcutta Netaji Subhash Ch. Bose then for the due permission. Mr. Bose approved his request and agreed for a joint exhibition with the participation of Corporation. He also donated five hundred rupees to this organization, from 1930 itself the inaugural and closing ceremony of the occasion over here is a very integral and important part and an innumerable fellow persona had their presence in these occasion. The inauguration takes place on the shukla-panchami of the month of Ashwina whereas the closing ceremony takes place on the day of the sublimation of Goddess Laxmi. Basu, Netaji Subhash Ch. Bose, Acharya Prafulla Ch. Roy, Sir Harishankar Pal, in 1938-1939 this organization was privileged by the active participation of Netaji Subhash Ch Bose as the president. Patriot Pulin Das the renowned member of Anusulan Samity used to be present in the occasion of Birastami until when he was unable to join it. From the late 1990s the organization tried to move the higher authority for converting the yard to a permanent park under the control of this organization. We are hopeful to have all the charge of this park soon and this street is one of the most old and famous streets of Bagbazar, where the main Bagbazar Post Office is also located
7.
Behala
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Behala is a neighbourhood in South West Kolkata, in the Indian state of West Bengal. Behala was officially known as South Suburban Municipality until it was merged with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation in January,1984, Behala, Parnasree, Thakurpukur, Haridebpur and Sarsuna police stations serve this area under the South West Division of Kolkata Police also known as Behala Division. Behala is one of the oldest residential areas of the city, the Sabarna Roy Choudhurys, one of the oldest zamindar families of western Bengal and the trustee of Kalighat Kali Temple lives here. It is also home to Sourav Ganguly, former Indian national cricket captain and Sovan Chatterjee, Behala is also an important industrial area of the city. There are many factories and industries include the manufacturing units like chemicals, plastic and plastic recycling, spray painting. There are many schools, hospitals, banks and other important institutes in the region, the Durga Puja celebration of Sabarna Roy Choudhury family at Barisha was launched in 1610 by Laksmikanta Majumdar, making it the second oldest family Durga Puja in western Bengal. Today Durga Puja at Behala is marked by exotic theme-based sarbojanin pujas, Barisha Chandi Mela, a 10-day fair held every year in November–December since 1792, is another notable festival. The major landmarks at Behala are West Bengal State Archaeology Museum, Sabarna Sangrahashala, Behala Airport, Sonar Durgabari, Barisha Chandi Mandir, the word Behala is commonly believed to have its root in Behula, the name of the female protagonist of Manasamangalkavya. Alternatively, the name may have derived from the Bengali term Bahulapur. Bahula is also an epithet of the goddesses Chandi and Kali, rev. James Long, who used to live in this parts, described Behala as Byala in one of his early writings. Names like Rajarbaganbehala, Sahapurbehala, Naskarpurbehala and Santoshbatibehala are also found in the old proceedings of South Suburban Municipality, Behala was once a part of the Sunderbans. The history of Barisha dated back to the Pala Era, in the 12th century, Barisha was a small village of farmers, fishermen and honey-gathers when a Kulin Kayastha named Dhananjay Mitra settled here. During the reign of Akbar Barisha came under the lordship of Basanta Roy who set up his capital at modern-day Sarsuna, roy’s nephew and the king of Jessore Pratapaditya murdered him and incorporated Barisha with his kingdom. After the Mughals defeated Pratapaditya, Laksmikanta Majumdar of the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family was given jagirdari of a vast tract of land by Raja Man Singh in 1608. On 10 November 1698, to the dissatisfaction of the entire Sabarna Roy Choudhury family, settlement in the area dates back to the 1797, but its urbanization is relatively recent. Population growth started in Behala after the partition of India, aath-chala-the ancestral home of Sabarna Roy Choudhurys zamindari could be regarded as the most ancient historical structure in the entire city of Kolkata. It is the structure, sitting under which under a lease from the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family on 10 November 1698, today, Behala encompasses one of the largest suburban agglomerations of the city of Kolkata. It consists of small localities like Parnasree Pally, Taratala, Sahapur, Behala Tram depot, Manton, Behala Chowrasta, Sakherbazaar, Silpara
8.
Bhowanipore
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Bhowanipore or Bhabanipur is the oldest locality of South Kolkata. It is located just south of the Lower Circular Road. It is the second largest locality in South Kolkata after Ballygunge, Bhowanipore is perhaps the first posh south Kolkata neighbourhood. In the early 19th century, it was just a village on the southern outskirts of the city of Calcutta. By the early 1850s it developed into a home to many immigrants into the city from the countryside of East Bengal. These immigrants were literate and prosperous and just wanted to settle outside the more famous localities of northern Kolkata. The Lower Circular Road had just been constructed and the area just south of the road home to many Indians who wanted to live in proximity to the city. Many Englishmen also took fancy to the area and they began settling in the area. Initially the locality was bounded by Lansdowne Road to the east, Russa Road to the west, but it expanded much more to the west, far beyond Harish Mukherjee Road to the Tolly Nullah. The Jadu Babus Bazaar on Asutosh Mukherjee Road was the heart of south Kolkata before Gariahat even developed and it is still the major market for the locality. Bhowanipore was also known as the hall area of the city. Number of cinema halls like Purna, Indira, Bijoli, etc. screened Bengali, many of the halls are now closed down due to lack of patronage. Since the start of the 20th century, the area home to a large number of immigrants from other parts of India. Sikhs, Gujaratis and Tamils now form a population of the locality. Bhowanipore has also has its share of 21st century commercialization sweeping Kolkata and it is home to Kolkatas first mall-cum-multiplex - The Forum mall on Elgin Road with its Inox multiplex. Many big companies have their office in Bhowanipore, like Exide Industries Limited, Tata Tea Limited. The head office of Automobile Association Of Eastern India is also located in this area, a club in the name of Bhowanipore Club founded by one Nani Mitra stands at the entrance of the Maidan near the Rani Rashmani Statue and presently managed by the Sangbad Pratidin group. The Kolkata Metro serves the area with the Rabindra Sadan, Netaji Bhavan, united Missionary Girls High School, Mukherjee Road. Mitra Institution, Harish Mukherjee Road St. Johns Diocesan Girls Higher Secondary School Hartleys High/Pvt, bijon Bhattacharya, eminent theater artist, director and famous Bengali play writer, also husband of eminent international award winning social worker and writer Smt. Mahasweta Devi
9.
Bowbazar
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Bowbazar is a neighbourhood and police station in central Kolkata, in the Indian state of West Bengal. The neighbourhood has been at the forefront of Kolkata’s changing society, on Lt. Col. Job Charnock is said to have chosen the site of Kolkata for a city, in consequence of the pleasure he found in sitting and smoking under the shade of a large tree. Posterity loved to connect his name with the Baithakkhana tree, which is shown in Aaron Upjohn’s map of 1794, however, the tree is not on Wood’s map. Later, Lal Bazar and Boytaconnah Streets were called Avenue to the Eastward, subsequently, that road was named Bow Bazar Street. Bow Bazar is commonly said to be a corruption of Bahu Bazar or Bride’s Bazar, one source says that a bazar is said to have been part of the share of a daughter-in-law of Biswanath Matilal, but some historians have failed to trace or identify that person. This particular market is said to have located at No. 84A, near the present crossing with Nirmal Chandra Street, there were several markets along its course, among them Baithakkhana Bazar at Nos. 155–58, where many items were sold. Bow Bazar Street has been renamed Bepin Behari Ganguly Street, however, the locality continues to be called Bow Bazar. In keeping with the neighbourhoods earliest name, a road stretching from B. B, Ganguly Street to Mahatma Gandhi Road is called Baithakkhana Road, as well as the market along the road at the southern end being called Baithakkhana Bazar. At the cross roads where Lal Bazar, Bow Bazar, Chitpore Road and Bentinck Street meet was the place of execution, after their victory in the Battle of Plassey, the English decided to build anew Fort William, in 1758. The native population shifted from Gobindapur, mostly to Sutanuti, the European inhabitants of Kalikata gradually moved to around the Maidan. Civilians were not allowed to live within the new fort, gradually the areas to the south of the Great Tank and to the east along Chowringhee Road emerged as preferred haunts for the Englishmen. While Sutanuti developed as the Black Town, the Esplanade and Chowringhee emerged as the White Town, the 1876 census found that around 10,000 people crossed the Hooghly River and entered the city every day. They settled in numbers, clustered in slums, in the area between Mechuabazar and Bowbazar. In the 18th and 19th centuries when Kolkata was growing and was the capital of the British Empire in India, later, a large portion moved to Tangra on the eastern fringe of Kolkata and set up tanneries there. Thereafter, although some Chinese continued to live in Bowbazar, it was Tangra that became Kolkata’s China town, the Chinese in Bowbazar were mainly Cantonese. The narrow lanes of Bowbazar have numerous kothas - quarters which house numerous singing and dancing girls, there are renowned dance teachers coaching the dancing girls. He was accompanied by one of his students, a boy named Chitresh Das
10.
Burrabazar
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Burrabazar is a neighbourhood in central Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal. Burrabazar expanded from a yarn and textile market into the nucleus of Kolkata. Burrabazar is a Hindi word meaning big market, in Bengali, it is called Barobazar, the meaning remaining same. The neighbourhood was named after ‘Buro’, the popular name of Shiva. The Hindi-speaking merchants who ousted the local merchants, made it ‘Bara’. Before the British came the most powerful families in the region were Sett and Bysacks, with the arrival of the British these families flourished with renewed vigour. Janardan Sett was an agent of the British. Shobharam Bysack became a millionaire by supplying textiles to British East India Company, one of the earliest names floating around is that of Mukundaram Sett, who lived in the earlier part of sixteenth century and moved from Satgaon to Gobindapur. Sutanuti haat has been traced back to 1738 by Orme, in the siege of 1756, troops of Siraj ud-Daulah set fire to the market and took possession of Jorabagan and Kumortuli, neighbourhoods further north where the merchants lived. In between Sutanuti haat made way for Bazar Kolkata, some time in the 18th century, the market was spread over nearly 500 bighas and the residential area covered another 400 bighas. Apart from the Seths and Basaks, there were the gold merchants Mullicks and their affluence and pomp are legends even in their days. There also were merchants of comparatively lesser affluence, as for example, the area around what is now Kalakar Street was known as Dhakapatty, as it was home to the Sahas, cloth merchants from Dhaka. The Sheths and Basaks had close links with such cloth producing centres as Dhaka, Murshidabad, burrabzar is bounded by Posta and Jorabagan on the north, Jorasanko and Kolutola on the east, B. B. D. Bagh on the south and Hooghly River on the west. Lalbazar and Bowbazar are at the south-west corner of Burrabazar, the neighbourhood is adjacent to Howrah Bridge. One description of its boundaries puts it as follows, from Posta in the north to Canning Street in the south, within this rough boundary it is a world in itself. Cutting right across Burrabazar is Harrison Road, which runs straight from Howrah Bridge to Sealdah railway station and it was constructed between December 1889 and 1892, sweeping away many an overcrowded tenement and festering lane. It is of the breadth of 75 feet and named after Sir Henry Harrison, chairman of the corporation. It has been renamed after Mahatma Gandhi, Burrabazar is served by the Mahatma Gandhi Road station of Kolkata Metro
11.
Chowringhee
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Chowringhee is a neighbourhood in central Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal. Jawaharlal Nehru Road runs on its western side, a neighbourhood steeped in history, it is a business district, as well as a shopper’s destination and entertainment-hotel centre. The name ‘Chowringhee’ has defied etymologists, there is, however, the legend of a yogi, Chourangi Giri, who discovered an image of the goddess Kali’s face and built the first and founded the original Kalighat temple. In the seventeenth century or prior to it, the now occupied by the Maidan. At the eastern end of it was an old road, which had once built by the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family from Barisha to Halisahar. Beyond it there were “pools, swamps and rice-fields, dotted here and there with the huts of fishermen. In that region were three small hamlets – Chowringhee, Birjee and Colimba, in 1717, Chowringhee was a hamlet of isolated hovels, surrounded by water-logged paddy-fields and bamboo-groves separated from Gobindapur by the jungle. Tradition has it that Warren Hastings, hunted with elephants in the jungle, Birjee occupied the south-eastern end of later day Maidan, Victoria Memorial and Rabindra Sadan area. Colimba took its name from the Bengali word for musk melon, the strengthening of British power, subsequent to their victory in the Battle of Plassey was followed by the construction of the new Fort William, in 1758. The European inhabitants of Kalikata gradually forsook the narrow limits of the old palisades, in the mid eighteenth century Englishmen began to build magnificent houses on the Chowringhee that earned Kolkata the title of ‘City of Palaces’. The first road in Kolkata to be macadamised was Chitpur Road in 1839, in the evening of 6 July 1857 Chowringhee was lit up with gas lights provided by the Oriental Gas Company. Building of pavements started in 1858, first in Chowringhee and then elsewhere, the pavements were built to facilitate the erection of gas lamps. The traders objected as their customers were forced to park their carriages some distance from the shops, the ‘road to Chowringhee’ ran from Lower Circular Road in the south to Dharmatala in the north. According to old maps, Chowringhee is a locality, not a road, in Colonel Mark Wood’s map of 1784 while the road is marked ‘Road to Chowringhee’, the name ‘Chowringhee’ is given to the locality immediately south of Park Street. Travelling along the ‘Road to Chowringhee’ from south to north, the first crossing was with Theatre Road, at that corner was the Theatre of Calcutta from 1813 to 1839. It was destroyed in a fire, the next turning is that of Harrington Street named after John Herbert Harrington, a judge of the Sadar Adalat. The next crossing Middleton Street was named after Dr. Thomas Fanshaw Middleton, further down the road was Bengal Club. The building was once the residence of Thomas Babington Macaulay, behind Bengal Club ran Russel Street, named after Sir Henry Russel, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1806-1813
12.
Dharmatala
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Dharmatala is a neighbourhood in central Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal. Dharmatala Street has been renamed Lenin Sarani but the neighbourhood continues to be referred to as Dharmatala and it is a busy commercial area that had come up with the growth of Calcutta during the British Raj and is thus one of the repositories of history in the city. It is commonly held to derive its name from a mosque which stood at the site of Cook. Some discern the name as a reference to dharma, one of the units of the Buddhist Trinity, there was a Buddhist temple at Janbazar, nearby. Tipu Sultan Mosque at the corner of Chowringhee Road and Dharmatala, was built in 1842, by Prince Gholam Mohammad, bioy Ghosh feels that the name Dharmatala is because of the preeminence of Dharmathakur in olden days. Haris and Doms, who are worshippers of Dharmathakur, predominated the area even in the memorable past, Dharmatala extends from Chowringhee Road to Lower Circular Road. It is bounded to the north by Bowbazar and the south by Janbazar, the neighbourhood is spread over 4 wards,46,47,50 and 51 of Kolkata Municipal Corporation. In the 18th century, Dharmatala is described as ‘a well raised causeway, just north of Dharmatala a creek formerly ran from Chandpal Ghat to Beliaghata. The creek passed through what was later Wellington Square and Creek Row, the earlier name of Creek Row was Dhinga Bhanga, as a ship broke there during the cyclone of 1737. The creek was navigable for large boats, Wellington Square was a tank made on the bed of this creek. Both Wellington Square and Creek Row were developed by the Lottery Committee, the native quarters to the north consisted of a number of straggling villages. After their victory in the Battle of Plassey, the English decided to build new Fort William, for this purpose, the native population shifted from Gobindapur mostly to Sutanuti. The European inhabitants of Kalikata gradually forsook the narrow limits of the old palisades, civilians were not allowed to live within the new fort. Gradually the areas to the south of the Great Tank and to the east along Chowringhee Road were emerging as preferred haunts for the Englishmen, while Sutanuti developed as the Black Town, the Esplanade and Chowringhee emerged as the White Town. Rudyard Kipling in the last chapter of his Kolkata sketches published under the title of The City of Dreadful Nights, has given a description of the market. It was formerly called Shakespeare’s Bazar, in the earliest list of police stations in Kolkata made in 1785, both Dharmatala and Dingabhanga were included. However, when the stations were reorganised in 1888-89, the number of police stations were reduced. A three-horse omnibus plied briefly between Dharmatala and Barrackpore in November 1830 but the truly successful horse-drawn public transport was the tramcar and these were introduced in Dharmatala in March 1882
India
Kolkata/East travel guide from Wikivoyage