Chowringhee (alsoChourangi) is a neighbourhood of CentralKolkata, inKolkata district in the Indianstate ofWest Bengal.Chowringhee Road (officially Jawaharlal Nehru Road) runs on its western side. A neighbourhood steeped in history, it is a business district,[1] as well as a shopper's destination and entertainment-hotel centre. The area lies exactly at the centre of the city.
Chowringhee | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Metropolitan Building near Chowringhee | |
 Location of Chowringhee in Kolkata | |
| Coordinates:23°48′N88°15′E / 23.8°N 88.25°E /23.8; 88.25 | |
| Country |  India |
| State | West Bengal |
| City | Kolkata |
| District | Kolkata |
| KMC wards | 46,63 |
| Metro Station | Esplanade,Park Street,Maidan andRabindra Sadan |
| Kolkata Suburban Railway | Sealdah,Princep Ghat,Eden Gardens andB.B.D. Bagh |
| Elevation | 36 ft (11 m) |
| Population (2001) | |
• Total | 159,917 |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 700013, 700016, 700071, 700087 |
| Area code | +91 33 |
| Lok Sabha constituency | Kolkata Uttar andKolkata Dakshin |
| Vidhan Sabha constituency | Chowranghee andBhabanipur |
Etymology
editThe name 'Chowringhee' has defied etymologists. There is, however, the legend of aNath yogi, Chouranginath, who discovered an image of the goddess Kali's face and built the firstKalighat temple.[2]
History
editThe village
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In the seventeenth century or prior to it, the area now occupied by theMaidan andEsplanade was a tiger-infested jungle. At the eastern end of it was an old road, which had once been built by theSabarna Roy Choudhury family fromBarisha toHalisahar. In that region were three small hamlets – Chowringhee, Birjee and Colimba.[3]
Urbanisation
editThe strengthening of British power, subsequent to their victory in theBattle of Plassey was followed by the construction of the newFort William, in 1758. The European inhabitants ofKalikata gradually forsook the narrow limits of the old palisades and moved to around the Maidan.[4]
The neighbourhood
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Camac Street (renamed Abanindranath Tagore Sarani) running fromPark Street to Circular Road was named after William Camac, a senior merchant in the days ofCornwallis andWellesley. Wood Street was named after Henry Wood. Free School Street (renamedMirza Ghalib Street), named after a Free School established there in 1786, was a bamboo jungle in 1780.[5]
New names
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Indian independence saw a rush to rename streets. The process has slowed as few streets are left to be renamed. Chowringhee Road was renamed afterJawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. Park Street was renamed afterMother Teresa; Theatre Road afterWilliam Shakespeare; and Harrington Street after the leader of theVietnam independence movement,Ho Chi Minh. Camac Street has been renamed after the artistAbanindranath Tagore. Russel Street was renamed after industrialist Anandi Lal Poddar. Free School Street was renamed after the Urdu/Persian poetMirza Ghalib. Kyd Street was renamed Dr. Md. Ishaque Road. Lindsay Street was renamed afterNellie Sengupta.
Geography
editPark Street Flyover was inaugurated on 19 February 2005. The 1.3-kilometre (0.81 mi) long flyover aboveChowringhee Road helps in reduce the traffic jam betweenLindsay Street and Middleton Street.[6]
Creative inspiration
editIn 1981,Aparna Sen wrote and directed a film,36 Chowringhee Lane, about an agedAnglo-Indian school teacher who lives a lonely life in a single-room flat in the neighbourhood.[7]
Gallery
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Industry House onAbanindranath Tagore Sarani
Pantaloon outlet onAbanindranath Tagore Sarani
St. Thomas Church adjacent to Loreto House on Middleton Row
KFC outlet on Middleton Row
Middleton Street
Park Street Flyover
External links
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Kolkata/Esplanade travel guide from Wikivoyage
References
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- ^"Tax lawyer is CPM candidate for Chowringhee seat". The Hindu Business Line, 18 February 2006. Retrieved16 January 2008.
- ^Nair, P. Thankappan inThe Growth and Development of Old Calcutta, inCalcutta, the Living City, Vol. I, edited bySukanta Chaudhuri, pp. 14–15, Oxford University Press,ISBN 978-0-19-563696-3.
- ^Cotton, H.E.A.,Calcutta Old and New, 1909–1980, p. 19, General Printers and Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
- ^Cotton, H.E.A., p. 72.
- ^Cotton, H.E.A., pp. 230–236.
- ^"Park Street Flyover".
- ^"36 Chowringhee Lane (1981)".imdb.com. Retrieved16 January 2008.