Posta (also known as Posta Bazar) is a neighbourhood in central 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...

, earlier known as 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...

. Once a citadel of Bengali

Bengali people

The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...

 mercantile aristocracy, it is now an extension of the whole sale market in neighbouring Burrabazar

Burrabazar

Burrabazar is a neighbourhood in central Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is an assembly constituency. Burrabazar expanded from a yarn and textile market into the commercial nucleus of Kolkata and one of the largest wholesale markets in India...

, dominated by Marwaris

Marwaris

Marwari or Marwadi or Rajasthani people are Indian ethnic group, that inhabit the Rajasthan region of India. Their language Rajasthani is a part of the western group of Indo-Aryan languages....

. The wholesale market features a wide range of products such as edible oil, salt, cereals, spices, food grains, sugar, and vanaspati

Vanaspati

Vanaspati is the Sanskrit word that now refers to the entire plant kingdom. However, according to Charaka Samhitā and Sushruta Samhita medical texts and the Vaisesikas school of philosophy, "vanaspati" is limited to plants that bear fruits but no evident flowers...

 products.

History

The neighbourhood acquired its name from Posta Ghat, a paved stairway in the Hooghly River. The area was earlier occupied by Bengali merchants and bankers, whose riches were legendary. One such merchant was Nuku Dhar, or Lakshmikanta Dhar, who came from Hooghly

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...

 when it was in decline and settled in Sutanuti

Sutanuti

Sutanuti was one of the three villages which were merged to form the city of Kolkata in India. The other two villages were Gobindapur and Kalikata. Job Charnock, an administrator with the British East India Company is traditionally credited with the honour of founding the city...

. He is believed to have lent the English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 rulers nine lakh rupees during their campaign against the Maratha

Maratha

The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...

s. He used to lend money to Robert Clive

Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive

Major-General Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, KB , also known as Clive of India, was a British officer who established the military and political supremacy of the East India Company in Bengal. He is credited with securing India, and the wealth that followed, for the British crown...

 regularly. It is said that when Nabakrishna Deb

Nabakrishna Deb

Nabakrishna Deb , founder of the Shovabazar Raj family, was instrumental in a plot against Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula...

 approached him for a job, he introduced him to the English and they took him in.

Sukhamay Roy (? - 1811), grandson (daughter’s son) of Nuku Dhar, inherited his maternal grandfather’s wealth because his mother was the only child of Nuku Dhar and he was the only grand child. When the English wanted to bestow on Nuku Dhar the title of ‘Raja’, he requested them to honour his grandson with the title. The request was acceded to and Raja Sukhamay Roy was the founder of the Posta Raj family followed by Sri Bishnu Prosad roy,Sri Pashupatinath Roy Sri Jitendra Nath Roy, Sri Samir Roy, Sri Pronab Kumar roy, Sri Prodyut Kumar roy, Sri Dilip Kumar Roy, Sri Amti Kumar Roy, Sri Kaushik Roy, Sri Arnab Roy, Sri Priyojit Roy, Sri Abhishek Roy, Sri Riddhiman Roy, Sri Kuntal Roy. City development and road construction has eaten away some parts of his old palace. Now, three houses exist: Lalbari, Rajbari and Thakurbari.

The Posta Raj family had once constructed the road from Cuttack

Cuttack

Cuttack is the former capital of the state of Orissa, India. It is the headquarters of Cuttack district and is located about 20 km to the north east of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa. The name of the city is an anglicised form of Kataka that literally means The Fort, a reference to the...

 to Puri

Puri

Puri is district headquarter, a city situated about south of state capital Bhubaneswar, on the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal in the Indian state of Orissa. It is also known as Jagannath Puri after the Jagannath Temple . It is a holy city of the Hindus as a part of the Char Dham pilgrimages...

, in order that pilgrims could travel easily to the Jagannath temple

Jagannath Temple (Puri)

The Jagannath Temple in Puri is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath and located in the coastal town of Puri in the state of Orissa, India. The name Jagannath is a combination of the Sanskrit words Jagat and Nath...

. According to some, the road to Puri was built, with Sukahmoy Roy's financial support, from Uluberia

Uluberia

Uluberia is a city and a municipality in Howrah district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority.-Geography:...

. He contributed extensively to community development and social welfare activities. He was a director of the Bank of Bengal and was dewan of Sir Elijah Impey

Elijah Impey

Sir Elijah Impey was a British judge, at one time chief justice of Bengal and MP for New Romney.He was born the youngest son of Elijah Impey and his wife Martha, daughter of James Fraser and was educated at Westminster School with Warren Hastings, who was his intimate friend throughout life...

. He was subsequently honoured with the title of 'Maharaja'

Maharaja

Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...

. At the time when Posta was developed by the Posta Raj family, people were afraid of settling beyond 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:...

, on the banks of the Hooghly River. Even moving around in the area during day time was restricted because of the terror struck by Mugh pirates, thieves and dacoits. Posta Raj family dared to shift to the area because they had the strength and the manpower to withstand assaults.

Wholesale market

The neighbourhood was earlier called Amposta as it was a wholesale market for mangoes. It is no more so. Parts of the neighbourhood are called Aluposta, wholesale market for potatoes, and Dalposta, wholesale market for lentils.

West Bengal Government had earlier planned to shift the Posta-Burrabazar wholesale markets to Kona but majority of the traders resisted the move citing lack of infrastructure there. In the Vision 2025, the 20-year perspective for the overall development of Kolkata Metropolitan Area

Kolkata metropolitan area

Kolkata Metropolitan Area is the urban agglomeration of the city of Kolkata, West Bengal, India.-Constituents:The KMA consists of :...

, the proposal is to shift the wholesale market to New Town

Rajarhat

Rajarhat Gopalpur , a neighbourhood of Calcutta, located in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, is a fast-growing planned new city. It is situated near the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport. Many high-profile industrialists of national and international standing are...

, because it has adequate infrastructure.

Administration

Posta being in the business district, the police station has a tough time with the abundant criminals.

Culture

Sukumar Roy, Bengali humorous poet, has mentioned the neighbourhood in his collection of non-sense rhymes, Aboltabol, through which children in Bengal get acquainted with it. His lines are:

suntey pelam Posta giye,

tomar naki meyer biye…

Heard your daughter's getting married,

From Posta, the news I carried.