| Maidan | |
|---|---|
| Lungs of Kolkata[1] | |
 Kolkata skyline across the Maidan | |
 Interactive map of Maidan | |
| Location | Kolkata,West Bengal,India |
| Area | 519 hectares (1,280 acres) (total) 160 hectares (400 acres) (public urban green space) |
| Owned by | Ministry of Defence, Government of India |
| Public transit access | Kolkata Metro Blue Line: Kolkata Metro Purple Line: |
| Venues |
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Maidan (lit. 'open field';Bengali:ময়দান) is a large urban area containing vasturban green space, parks, playgrounds and several public venues in the center ofKolkata (Calcutta),India. The area is spread over a total area of 519 hectares (1,280 acres).[1][2] The urban green space of Maidan, which compromises an area of around 160 hectares (400 acres),[3] is the largesturban park and urban green space inKolkata city and second largest in theKolkata metropolitan area as well as inIndia. Prior to the 2013 creation ofEco Park, it was the largesturban park in India.[4] Its vast stretch of field that includes numerous sporting grounds, including the famouscricketing venueEden Gardens, severalfootball stadiums and theKolkata Race Course.[5]
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In 1758, one year after their decisive win inBattle of Plassey, the British East India Company commenced construction of the newFort William in the center of the villageGobindapur. The inhabitants of the village were compensated and provided with land in Taltala, Kumartuli and Shovabazar. The fort was completed in 1773.
The tiger-haunted jungle which cut off the village ofChowringhee from the river was cleared, and gave way to the wide grassy stretch of the Maidan of which Calcutta is so proud. The formation of this airy expanse and the filling up of the creek which had cut off the settlement in the south, led the European inhabitants to gradually forsake the narrow limits of the old palisades. The movement towards Chowringhee had already been noticeable as early as 1746.[6]
The Maidan was initially developed as a 5 square kilometre parade ground for the forces.[7] While the Europeans moved to the area around the Maidan, the Indians moved away from the area. The richer families such as theDebs moved to Sobhabazar, theTagores toPathuriaghata andJorasanko, and the Ghosals to Bhukailash (Khidirpur).[8] Although the army has owned the Maidan since it was developed, administering it was one on the long list of duties of the police. Thieves, both Indian and European, were there as early as the 1860s.[9] Legally also, the fort and the Maidan were excluded from the city as per Act 16 of 1847.[10]
In 1883–1884 the Maidan, along with grounds of theIndian Museum, hosted theCalcutta International Exhibition.[11]
In 1909,H.E.A. Cotton wrote,
The great Maidan presents a most refreshing appearance to the eye, the heavy night dew, even in the hot season, keeping the grass green. Many of the fine trees with which it was once studded were blown down in the cyclone of 1864. But they have not been allowed to remain without successors, and the handsome avenues across the Maidan still constitute the chief glory of Calcutta. Dotting the wide expanse are a number of fine tanks, from which the inhabitants were content in former days to obtain their water-supply.[12]
The park is considered the historical and cultural center of Kolkata, as well as one of the city's most popular tourist attractions and a hub of leisure and entertainment for Calcuttans. The Maidan stretches from theRaj Bhavan building on theEsplanade in the north to theNational Library on Belvedere Road inAlipore in the south. The wide field stretches from theHooghly River in the west to the Victoria Memorial in the east. Maidan police station is part of theSouth division ofKolkata Police.[13]
Due to the freshness and greenery it provides to the metropolis, it has been referred to as the "lungs of Kolkata".[14] In Bengali, the maidan is called 'Garh-er maath'. 'Garh', in Bengali, means fort and its meaning literally translates to the 'fort's ground'.
The Maidan hosts the army's Eastern zone high command in historicFort William.On Council House Street, at one corner of the Maidan, was the long-defunctFort William College,[15] which played a pioneering role in the development of many of the Indian languages, particularly Bengali.
Government House was built in 1803, the 48-metre (157 ft) highOcterlony Monument in 1828,[16] the museum was started in theAsiatic Society in 1814 but shifted to the present site as theIndian Museum in 1887,[17]St. Paul's Cathedral was built between 1839 and 1847, it was consecrated in 1874,[18] and theVictoria Memorial was erected in 1921.[19] The Maidan is also dotted with many statues and architectural works of British governor generals and other eminent personalities of the British Raj, includingLord Curzon,Kitchener,Roberts,Minto,Northbrook,Canning and others who had known Kolkata well. Two or three of them were erected in the first few years of Indian independence in 1947; it was not until 1983 that the last 16 were removed.[20][21]
Over time, statues of Indians, includingMahatma Gandhi,Ram Mohan Roy,Chittaranjan Das,Jawaharlal Nehru,Subhas Chandra Bose,Sri Aurobindo,Matangini Hazra,Pritilata Waddedar,Indira Gandhi, and Gostho Pal, were erected to occupy the vacant plinths or plots. At the north-east corner of the Esplanade stands a statue ofLenin, set up to celebrate the centenary of his birth.[21]
The cricket stadium atEden Gardens was built in stages.Netaji Indoor Stadium was later added.[22]
The second oldest cricket club namedCalcutta Cricket Club was founded in Maidan in 1792, where football and rugby are currently practiced.[23][24] The world's oldesthockey tournament,Beighton Cup, was instituted in1895 and is usually held on theMohun Bagan ground in the Maidan.[25] For theIndian Football Association, the Maidan has been the nerve centre.[26]
The notable venues around the maidan areRabindra Sadan, theAcademy of Fine Arts andNandan.[27][28]
The oldest road on the Maidan is the Course, extending from the 'Cocked hat' in the north to the Khidirpur bridge. The 'broad gravelled walk' on the west side of that portion is the Red Road, constructed in 1820. To the south of the fort is the Ellenborough Course, meant for horse exercises, and towards the east is the Race Course, started in 1819. That was the scenario a century back.[12]
Themetro stations bordering the Maidan as one travels from the south areVictoria (under construction),Rabindra Sadan,Maidan,Park Street andEsplanade.
TheHowrah Bridge is away from the Maidan, but theVidyasagar Setu (Second Hooghly Bridge) overlooks at least one corner of the Maidan andFort William.
The Maidan has been the venue for major political meetings and rallies of all political parties. Geoffrey Moorhouse in 1978 presents a vivid description of aCommunist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) rally on the Maidan: "They generally start about tea time, they rarely finish before nine o’clock… they are masterly exhibitions of organisation… The platform is high so that everyone on it will be visible at a great distance, and it is large enough to accommodate twenty or thirty… it is illuminated with spotlights, it flutters with red flags, and it has huge red backcloth upon which Lenin is straining resolutely forward from a thicket of banners. Everything is perfectly under control… as they sit there upon the ground, row after attentive row of them, a brigade of young women to the fore… distantly across the Maidan people have climbed trees and others are packed standing on top of the Esplanade tram shelters… there must be a hundred thousand here altogether… the leaders come through the guard of honour to the platform…it is only whenPromode Dasgupta andHare Krishna Konar are having their say… theirs is the oratory that sends men delirious with dreams, that can set a rabble to a march of destruction… when the speeches are done, the leaders begin to sing theInternationale… all over the crowd torches are swiftly lit and held high in flaring salute…"[29]
Cited sources
To Kolkata, it is the 'lungs of the city,' a recharge zone for the soul.
Further reading
Kolkata/Maidan travel guide from Wikivoyage| Colonial | |
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| Geographical | |
| Religious places | |
| Cultural | |
| Boulevards |
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| Shopping | |
| Parks, riverfront, zoos and stadiums | |
