Chitpur
Encyclopedia
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
(formerly
Indian renaming controversy
The process of renaming of cities in India started after the end of the British imperial period in 1947 and continues to date. There were political controversies about several renamings. Not all proposed renamings were actually implemented...
Calcutta) in the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...
of West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
. Sometimes, the entire area along Chitpur Road is referred to as Chitpur, although the various localities have distinctive names.
History
Chitpur has existed for at least 400 years. It received its name from the goddess Chiteswari, who had a splendid temple here erected by Gobindram MitterGobindram Mitter
Gobindram Mitter was one of the earliest Indian officials under the British rule and earned a reputation for his wealth and extravagance.- Early life :...
, where human sacrifices used to be offered. The lofty dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
of the temple, which was known as Nabarutna or the shrine of nine jewels, fell during the earthquake of 1737, and it is now in ruins.
Bipradas Pipilai
Bipradas Pipilai , was a 15th century poet. He was the son of Mukunda Pipilai, the family hailed from Badurya-Batagram in 24 Parganas, now in the Indian state of West Bengal.-The Manasa Vijay:...
's poem Manasamangal in 1495, but it could be a later interpolation. According to it, Chitpur was home to Chakrapani, Commander-in-Chief of the Nawab of Bengal
Nawab of Bengal
The Nawabs of Bengal were the hereditary nazims or subadars of the subah of Bengal during the Mughal rule and the de-facto rulers of the province.-History:...
's army, and had a flourishing colony of artists. It refers to one Gobinda Ghosh as founder of the Chiteswari temple in 1610. The most notorious bandit of the region was Chitey Dakat, who offered human sacrifices at the temple. The area could also have acquired its name from him.
It was one of the thirty-eight villages whose right to rent the English obtained from Emperor Farukshiyar in 1717. It was later reorganised as Dihi Chitpur with Chitpur, Tala, Birpara and Kalidaha villages under it.
There was a house and garden of Mahmed Reza Khan, the Chitpur Nawab, to whom the administration of Bengal was assigned for several years after the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
acquired the dewani of Bengal from the Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
emperors in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
. The Chitpur Nawab lived on terms of intimacy with the 'powers' of the day and was accounted by them as a personage of first rank. The foreign governors—Danish, French, and Dutch—on their visits to Kolkata from Serampore
Serampore
Serampore is a city and a municipality in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. It is a pre-colonial town on the right bank of the Hoogli River...
, Chandannagar
Chandannagar
Chandannagar, formerly known as Chandernagore or Chandernagar , is a small city and former French colony located north of Kolkata, in West Bengal, India. It is head quarters of a subdivision in Hooghly District. It is one of the 6 municipal corporations in West Bengal. It is a part of the area...
and Chinsurah
Hugli-Chuchura
Hugli-Chuchura is a city in the state of West Bengal, India. It lies on the Hooghly River, 35 km north of Kolkata . It is located in the district of Hugli and is home to the district headquarters. Chuchura houses the Commissioner of the Burdwan Range...
, made it a practice to halt at Chitpur on their way to the Government House.
The Circular Canal joins the Hooghly River at Chitpur. Early in the twentieth century a large lock and tidal basin had been constructed, at the mouth of the canal.
Entally
Entally
Entally is a neighbourhood in central Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It has a police stationand is an assembly constituency...
, Manicktala, Beliaghata, Ultadanga, Chitpur, Cossipore
Cossipore
Cossipore is a neighbourhood in north Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal. One of the old neighbourhoods of the metropolis, it has a police station and is an assembly constituency.-History:...
, parts of Beniapukur, Ballygunge
Ballygunge
Ballygunge is an upmarket and elite locality in South Kolkata, India. It is flanked by Park Circus in the north, Kasba and the Eastern Railway south suburban line in the east, Dhakuria and the Lakes in the south, and the localities of Bhowanipore and Lansdowne in the west...
, Watganj and Ekbalpur, and parts of Garden Reach and Tollygunj were added to Kolkata Municipal Corporation
Kolkata Municipal Corporation
Kolkata Municipal Corporation is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city of Kolkata. The organization is known, in short, as KMC . This civic administrative body administers an area of 185 sq. km. Its motto, Purosree Bibardhan, is inscribed on its emblem in Bengali...
in 1888.
Chitpur Road
Along that old road, popular as pilgrim's path, dharamshalasDharamshalas
Dharamshalas is the term for a religious resthouse. In Hindi, Dharma means religion, and shala means "sanctuary" hence dharamshala is a 'religious sanctuary' or rest-house for pilgrims, that are primarily created for a religious purpose for pilgrims, or as a religious endowment.Sometimes they are...
and shops came up. Habitations grew around them and localities developed. They were self-descriptive. The chicken (murgi) market (hat) was Murgihata, twin (jora) bridges (sanko) over a creek
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
distinguished Jorasanko
Jorasanko
Jorasanko is a neighbourhood in north Kolkata. It is so called because of the two wooden or bamboo bridges that spanned a small stream at this point.-History:...
, butchers (kasais) slaughtered animals at Kasitola, and the potters (kumors) spun the river clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
on wheels at Kumortuli
Kumortuli
Kumortuli is a traditionally potters’ quarter in northern Kolkata , the capital of the east Indian state of West Bengal. By virtue of their artistic productions these potters have moved from obscurity to prominence...
. Later, they took to making clay idols in demand in the mansions that grew up all around. When the new Fort William
Fort William, India
Fort William is a fort built in Calcutta on the Eastern banks of the River Hooghly, the major distributary of the River Ganges, during the early years of the Bengal Presidency of British India. It was named after King William III of England...
was built in the 1750s at Gobindapur
Gobindapur
Gobindapur was one of the three villages which were merged to form the city of Kolkata in India. The other two villages were Kalikata and Sutanuti...
, the inhabitants of the disbanded village migrated northwards.
Chitpur Road was Kolkata's oldest road. Apart from the aristocracy, there have been common folks engaged in various trades. The distinctive Bengali panjika
Panjika
The panjika , is the Hindu astronomical almanac, published in Maithili, Assamese, Bengali and Oriya. In colloquial language it is called a ‘panji’. In other parts of India it is called a panchangam...
almanac
Almanac
An almanac is an annual publication that includes information such as weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, and tide tables, containing tabular information in a particular field or fields often arranged according to the calendar etc...
was printed here. It was a centre for Battala books. So many things on Chitpore Road have been an integral part of Bengal's life and culture – the paan (betel
Betel
The Betel is the leaf of a vine belonging to the Piperaceae family, which includes pepper and Kava. It is valued both as a mild stimulant and for its medicinal properties...
leaf mouth refresher), the adda (stray gossipping), jatra shows and the brass band playing "He is a jolly good fellow" to enliven wedding receptions. "Today, Biren Mondal sits making violins on the ground floor and points to the room where Michael Madhusudan Dutt
Michael Madhusudan Dutt
Michael Madhusudan Dutt or Michael Madhusudan Dutta was a popular 19th century Bengali poet and dramatist. He was born in Sagardari , on the bank of Kopotaksho [কপোতাক্ষ] River, a village in Keshobpur Upozila, Jessore District, East Bengal . His father was Rajnarayan Dutt, an eminent lawyer, and...
lived while writing most of his best-known works including Meghnad Badh Kavya. The Mandals make and repair violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s and sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
s for the great. Their treasure chest holds a certificate from Yehudi Menhuin, whose violin they repaired in 1952.". As of 2005, there were some 55 troupes based in Chitpur Road, Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
's old jatra district, in what is a $21m-a-year industry, performed on nearly 4,000 stages in West Bengal alone.
A part of Lower Chitpur Road rivalled the Chandni Chowk
Chandni Chowk
Chandni Chowk , originally meaning moonlit square or market, is one of the oldest and busiest markets in Old Delhi, now in central north Delhi, India...
of Delhi before construction of Nakhoda Mosque in 1926. The last vestiges of Nawabi style were found along Chitpur Road. It was on this road that Raja Rammohun Roy
Ram Mohan Roy
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was an Indian religious, social, and educational reformer who challenged traditional Hindu culture and indicated the lines of progress for Indian society under British rule. He is sometimes called the father of modern India...
built his Brahmo Sabha, which later became Adi Brahmo Samaj. The road was renamed Rabindra Sarani, after its most famous resident, Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
. It is Kolkata’s museum with communities and social groups from various parts of country and beyond finding a place in nooks along the road.
Jorasanko Thakur Bari
Jorasanko Thakur Bari
The Thakurbari The Thakurbari The Thakurbari (Bangla: House of the Thakurs (anglicised to Tagore) in Jorasanko, north of Kolkata, West Bengal, India is the ancestral home of the Tagore family. It is currently located on the Rabindra Bharati University campus at 6/4 Dwarakanath Tagore Lane...
, the home of the Tagore family
Tagore family
The Tagore family, with over three hundred years of history, has been one of the leading families of Kolkata, and is regarded as a key influence during the Bengal Renaissance...
now houses Rabindra Bharati University
Rabindra Bharati University
Rabindra Bharati University is a university in Kolkata, India. It was founded on May 8, 1962, under the Rabindra Bharati Act of the Government of West Bengal in 1961, to mark the birth centenary of the poet Rabindranath Tagore...
.
Corporation ward and police station
In 1876, the peripheral areas of Kolkata were brought under the umbrella of a single Suburban Municipality. In 1889, the suburban area was split into five units of which one was the Suburban Municipality of Kashipur and Chitpur. In 1931, it was merged with Kolkata. Chitpur now forms ward no. 6 of Kolkata Municipal CorporationKolkata Municipal Corporation
Kolkata Municipal Corporation is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city of Kolkata. The organization is known, in short, as KMC . This civic administrative body administers an area of 185 sq. km. Its motto, Purosree Bibardhan, is inscribed on its emblem in Bengali...
. With the Hooghly River on the west, it is surrounded by Kashipur
Kashipur
Kashipur is a city and a municipal board in Udham Singh Nagar district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.- History :Kashipur was known as Govishan or Govisana, during the time of Harsha , when Xuanzang visited this region. The ruins of the large settlement of those days are still to be seen near...
, Sinthi, Paikpara, Belgachia
Belgachia
Belgachia is a neighbourhood in north Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal.-See also:* Kashipur Belgachhia * Belgachia East * Belgachia West...
and Bagbazar
Bagbazar
There is also a bagbazar in Kathmandu, Nepal.Bagbazar is a neighbourhood in north Kolkata, in the Indian state of West Bengal...
on the other three sides. Across the Hooghly is Salkia in Howrah district
Howrah District
Howrah district is a district of the West Bengal state in eastern India. It has thousands of years of rich heritage in the form of the great Bengali kingdom of Bhurshut. The district is named after its headquarters, the city of Howrah.-Geography:...
.
It is a police station under North and North Suburabn Division
Divisions of Kolkata Police
Kolkata Police is divided into 5 administrative divisions. Each division is under a Deputy Commissionar of Police.-North and North Suburban Division:...
of Kolkata Police.
Railway passenger terminal
Chitpur is home to the fourth and latest railway passenger terminal for the city. The first two stations, HowrahHowrah station
Howrah Station is one of the four intercity train stations serving Howrah and Kolkata, India; the others are Sealdah Station, Shalimar Station and Kolkata railway station in Kolkata. Howrah is situated on the West bank of the Hooghly River, linked to Kolkata by the magnificent Howrah Bridge which...
and Sealdah
Sealdah
Sealdah is one of the major train stations serving Kolkata in India, the others being Howrah Station, Shalimar Station and Kolkata Railway Station. Sealdah is one of the busiest rail stations in India and an important suburban rail terminal...
, were built more than a century ago and now both of them have reached the saturation point in capacity. The third one, Shalimar
Shalimar Station
Shalimar Station is the newest of the four intercity train stations serving Howrah and Kolkata, India; the others are Sealdah Station, in Kolkata, Kolkata Station in Kolkata and Howrah Station in Howrah. Shalimar station is situated in the Shalimar area of Howrah. It is located near Shibpur area of...
, which is under jurisdiction of South Eastern Railway, is located in Howrah district, far from the city centre. The new terminal has been named “Kolkata”. The decision to build a passenger terminal at Chitpur came after a lot of deliberations. Chitpur was finally approved by the Railway Ministry in 2003-04. Certain inherent advantages helped in the selection of this place. Other than being located in the heart of Kolkata, Chitpur has already functioned as an important rail yard for around a century.