Chowringhee (also Chourangi) is a neighbourhood of Central

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, in

Kolkata district Kolkata district (formerly known as Calcutta district) is a district in the Indian state of West Bengal, headquartered in Kolkata. History Long before the British came to India, the ''zamindari'' (land lordship) of all lands from Barisha to ...

in the Indian

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * '' Our ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the four ...

Chowringhee Road Chowringhee Road (also spelt ''Chourangi Road''), located in the Chowringhee neighbourhood of Kolkata, is the arterial road running from the eastern fringes of Esplanade southwards up to the crossing with Lower Circular Road (AJC Bose Road) ...

(officially 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.

Etymology

The name 'Chowringhee' has defied etymologists. There is, however, the legend of a

Nath Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India.Kalighat temple Kalighat Kali Temple is a Hindu temple in Kalighat, Kolkata, West Bengal, India dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali. It is one of the Shakti Peethas. Kalighat was a Ghat (landing stage) sacred to Kali on the old course (Adi Ganga) of the Hoo ...

.Nair, P. Thankappan in ''The Growth and Development of Old Calcutta'', in ''Calcutta, the Living City'', Vol. I, edited by

Sukanta Chaudhuri Sukanta Chaudhuri (born 1950) is an Indian literary scholar, now Professor Emeritus at Jadavpur University, Kolkata. He was educated at Presidency College, Kolkata and the University of Oxford. He taught at Presidency College from January 1973 ...

, pp. 14–15, Oxford University Press, .

History

The village

In the seventeenth century or prior to it, the area now occupied by the Maidan and

Esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

was a tiger-infested jungle. At the eastern end of it was an old road, which had once been built by the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family from Barisha to

Halisahar Halisahar is a city and a municipality of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). History Halisahar is believed to have existed fro ...

. In that region were three small hamlets – Chowringhee, Birjee and Colimba. Cotton, H.E.A., ''Calcutta Old and New'', 1909–1980, p. 19, General Printers and Publishers Pvt. Ltd.

Urbanisation

The strengthening of British power, subsequent to their victory in the

Battle of Plassey The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies on 23 June 1757, under the leadership of Robert Clive. The victory was made possible by the defection of Mir Jafar, ...

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 and moved to around the Maidan.

The neighbourhood

Camac Street (renamed Abanindranath Tagore Sarani) running from Park Street to Circular Road was named after William Camac, a senior merchant in the days of

Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United ...

and Wellesley. Wood Street was named after Henry Wood. Free School Street (renamed Mirza Ghalib Street), named after a Free School established there in 1786, was a bamboo jungle in 1780.Cotton, H.E.A., pp. 230–236.

New names

Tata Centre - 43 Chowringhee Road - Kolkata 2013-01-05 2424

Indian independence saw a rush to rename streets. The process has slowed as few streets are left to be renamed. Chowringhee Road was renamed after

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

, the first Prime Minister of India. Park Street was renamed after

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was ...

. Theatre Road was renamed after

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

. Harrington Street was renamed after the leader of the

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

independence movement,

Ho Chi Minh (: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as (' Uncle Hồ'), also known as ('President Hồ'), (' Old father of the people') and by other aliases, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman. He served as P ...

. Camac Street has been renamed after the great artist Abanindranath Tagore. Russel Street was renamed after industrialist Anandi Lal Poddar. Free School Street was renamed after the Urdu/Persian poet Mirza Ghalib. Kyd Street was renamed Dr. Md. Ishaque Road. Lindsay Street was renamed after Nellie Sengupta.

Geography

Park Street Flyover was inaugurated on 19 February 2005. The long flyover above

helps in reduce the traffic jam between Lindsay Street and Middleton Street.

Creative inspiration

In 1981,

Aparna Sen Aparna Sen (, ''Ôporna Shen'') is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has received several accolades as an actress and filmmaker, including nine National Film Awards, five Film ...

wrote and directed a film, ''

36 Chowringhee Lane ''36 Chowringhee Lane'' is a 1981 film written and directed by Aparna Sen and produced by Shashi Kapoor. It marked the directorial debut of Sen, who had until then been known as a leading actress of Bengali cinema. The film was very well receive ...

'', about an aged

Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people fall into two different groups: those with mixed Indian and British ancestry, and people of British descent born or residing in India. The latter sense is now mainly historical, but confusions can arise. The ''Oxford English ...

school teacher who lives a lonely life in a single-room flat in the neighbourhood.

Gallery

Image:Kolkata Chowringhee 3.jpg, Industry House on Abanindranath Tagore Sarani Image:Kolkata Chwringhee 4.jpg, Pantaloon outlet on Abanindranath Tagore Sarani Image:Kolkata Chowringhee 5.jpg, St. Thomas Church adjacent to Loreto House on Middleton Row Image:Kolkata Choweinghee 6.jpg, KFC outlet on Middleton Row Image:Middleton Street - Kolkata 2015-02-07 2148.JPG, Middleton Street Image:Kolkata AJC Bose Road Area Shots.jpg, Park Street Flyover

External links

References

{{Kolkata neighbourhoods Neighbourhoods in Kolkata Shopping districts and streets in India