Ballygunge is a locality of
South Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...
, in
Kolkata district, West Bengal
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 ...
, India.
History
The
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
obtained from the
Mughal emperor
The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...
Farrukhsiyar
Farrukhsiyar or Farrukh Siyar () (20 August 16839 April 1719) was the tenth emperor of the Mughal Empire from 1713 to 1719. He rose to the throne after assassinating his uncle, Emperor Jahandar Shah. Reportedly a handsome man who was easily sw ...
, in 1717, the right to rent from 38 villages surrounding their settlement. Of these 5 lay across the
Hooghly in what is now Howrah district. The remaining 33 villages were on the Calcutta side. After the fall of
Siraj-ud-daulah
Mirza Muhammad Siraj-ud-Daulah ( fa, ; 1733 – 2 July 1757), commonly known as Siraj-ud-Daulah or Siraj ud-Daula, was the last independent Nawab of Bengal. The end of his reign marked the start of the rule of the East India Company over Be ...
, the last independent
Nawab of Bengal
The Nawab of Bengal ( bn, বাংলার নবাব) was the hereditary ruler of Bengal Subah in Mughal India. In the early 18th-century, the Nawab of Bengal was the ''de facto'' independent ruler of the three regions of Bengal, Bihar, ...
, it purchased these villages in 1758 from
Mir Jafar, and reorganised them. These villages were known en-bloc as ''
Dihi Panchannagram
Dihi Panchannagram was a group of 55 villages which the East India Company purchased in 1758 from Mir Jafar, after the fall of Siraj-ud-daulah, the last independent Nawab of Bengal, in what is now the city of Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutt ...
'' and Ballygunge was one of them. It was considered to be a suburb beyond the limits of the
Maratha Ditch
The Maratha Ditch was a 3-mile long deep entrenchment constructed by the English East India Company around Fort William in Calcutta. It was built to protect the surrounding villages and forts from the ruthless Maratha Bargi raiders. The ditch ...
. Beltala was a village in Dihi Mohanpur (later Monoharpukur).
Ballygunge grew up around a market for sand (''bali'' in Bengali) and had garden-houses of 18th century Europeans. Amongst the prominent residents were
George Mandeville, the zamindar/ collector, and
Colonel Gilbert Ironside
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel wa ...
, a friend of
Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first Governor-Genera ...
. In 1840,
Emily Eden
Emily Eden (3 March 1797 – 5 August 1869) was an English poet and novelist who gave witty accounts of English life in the early 19th century. She wrote a celebrated account of her travels in India, and two novels that sold well. She was also a ...
called Ballugunge 'our
Eltham
Eltham ( ) is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards of Elt ...
or
Lewisham
Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...
'. It also emerged as a citadel of the educated Bengali middle class after the suburban railway opened up the area.
[Nair, P.Thankappan, ''The Growth and Development of Old Calcutta'', in ''Calcutta, the Living City'', Vol. I, pp. 15–20, Edited by Sukanta Chaudhuri, Oxford University Press, 1995 edition.]
In 1888, Ballygunge and
Tollygunge
Tollygunge (Bengali: টালিগঞ্জ; nicknamed 'Mini Mumbai' or 'Mini Bombay') is a locality of South Kolkata, in West Bengal, India. It is famed as the centre of the Indian film industry, known as Tollywood, Marathi Cinema, South Indi ...
had a combined ''thana'' (police station).
Entally
Entally (also spelt Entali) is a neighbourhood of Central Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It was considered close to the area which was home to the poor and the depressed castes.Nair, P. Thankappan in ''The Growt ...
,
Manicktala
Maniktala is a residential area of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India.
Etymology
The tomb of Manik Pir is located in lane near Maniktala crossing. Some people say, the neighbourhood is named after Manik Pir.
Others say, M ...
,
Beliaghata
Beliaghata, also known as Beleghata, is a neighbourhood of Central Kolkata, in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India.
History
The East India Company obtained from the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar, in 1717, the right to rent from 38 villages sur ...
,
Ultadanga
Ultadanga is one of the most crowded junctions in Kolkata. The place is located at the north-eastern fringe of the city and marks the limit of Kolkata district. Prominent places in Ultadanga are Telenga Bagan and Muchi Bazar.
Etymology
Ultad ...
,
Chitpur
Chitpur (or Chitpore) is a neighbourhood in North Kolkata in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Sometimes, the entire area along Chitpur Road is referred to as Chitpur, although the various localities have distinctive names.
Hi ...
,
Cossipore
Kashipur (also spelt Cossipur, Kashipur) is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. One of the oldest neighbourhoods of the metropolis, it has a police station.
History
The East India Company o ...
, parts of
Beniapukur
Beniapukur is a neighbourhood of Central Kolkata in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is adjacent to Park Circus.
Etymology
The name of the neighbourhood is derived from two words, ''benia'' and ''pukur''. Influential '' ...
, Ballygunge,
Watgunge
Watgunge is a neighbourhood of South Kolkata in kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Although being a standard Indian neighborhood it is home to Famous swimming instructor Xavier Rodriguez and his wife Jennie Rodriguez. The smal ...
and
Ekbalpur
Ekbalpur is a neighbourhood of South Kolkata in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
History
Ekbalpur developed as a Muslim area, as it received a large number of people displaced with the development of the zoo at Zirat, Alipor ...
, and parts of
Garden Reach
Garden Reach is a neighbourhood of the city of Kolkata in West Bengal, India. It is situated in the south-western part of Kolkata near the bank of the Hooghly River. and
Tollygunge
Tollygunge (Bengali: টালিগঞ্জ; nicknamed 'Mini Mumbai' or 'Mini Bombay') is a locality of South Kolkata, in West Bengal, India. It is famed as the centre of the Indian film industry, known as Tollywood, Marathi Cinema, South Indi ...
were added to Kolkata Municipal Corporation in 1888. Garden Reach was later taken out.
When the
Bengal Renaissance
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
started taking roots in 19th century Calcutta, it was initially limited to the predominantly Hindu 'Indian town' stretching north and north-east from the fringes of
Burrabazar
Burrabazar (also spelt ''Bara Bazar'') is a neighbourhood of Central-North Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Bazar Kolkata
In between Sutanuti haat made way for Bazar Kolkata, some time in the 18th century ...
, with a somewhat later extension south and south-east of the 'European town' to
Bhowanipore
Bhowanipore (also Bhowanipur; bn, ভবানীপুর) is a neighbourhood of South Kolkata in Kolkata district of West Bengal, India.
History
In 1717, the East India Company obtained the right to rent from 38 villages surrounding their s ...
, and some decades later to Ballygunge, which was then developing as a suburb.
In the first half of the 20th century, "in the milieu of relative urban prosperity... Calcutta's rich citizens – those connected with
jute
Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ''Corchorus olit ...
, coal, tea, other industries, trade, money-lending and rentier income from urban property – did fabulously well for themselves." Large chunks of Ballygunge, Sunny Park, Rainey Park and Southern Avenue were developed during the 1930s and 1940s. Many of the mansions in Ballygunge,
Bhowanipore
Bhowanipore (also Bhowanipur; bn, ভবানীপুর) is a neighbourhood of South Kolkata in Kolkata district of West Bengal, India.
History
In 1717, the East India Company obtained the right to rent from 38 villages surrounding their s ...
and
Alipore
Alipore (Pron:ˌɑ:lɪˈpɔ:) is a neighbourhood in south Kolkata, in Kolkata district, in the Indian state of West Bengal.
It is flanked by the Tolly Nullah to the north, Bhowanipore to the east, the Diamond Harbour Road to the west and New ...
were built by the city's Bengali and new Marwari elite who wanted to move from the "dirtier sections of north Calcutta to the more fashionable areas in the south".
Geography
Location
Ballygunge is flanked by
Park Circus
Park Circus is a neighbourhood of Central-South Kolkata, 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 B ...
in the north,
Kasba and the
Eastern Railway south suburban line in the east,
Dhakuria
Dhakuria is a locality in the city of Kolkata, (previously Calcutta), in West Bengal, India.
It is located in the southern part of the city and is surrounded by Ballygunge and Kasba in the north, Haltu in the east, Jadavpur/ Garia in the sout ...
and the Lakes (now called
Rabindra Sarobar
Rabindra Sarobar (formerly known as Dhakuria Lake) is an artificial lake in South Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. The name also refers to the area surrounding the lake. It is flanked by Southern Avenue to the North, Shyamaprasa ...
) in the south, and the localities of
Bhowanipore
Bhowanipore (also Bhowanipur; bn, ভবানীপুর) is a neighbourhood of South Kolkata in Kolkata district of West Bengal, India.
History
In 1717, the East India Company obtained the right to rent from 38 villages surrounding their s ...
and Lansdowne in the west. It is served by
Ballygunge Junction railway station
Ballygunge Junction railway station is a Kolkata Suburban Railway junction station on the Main line with an approximate distance from the Sealdah railway station. It is under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Railway zone of Indian Railways. B ...
.
Police districts
The following police stations in the Ballygunge area, which are part of the
South-east division of
Kolkata Police
The Kolkata Police Force (KPF) is one of the two presidency police forces of the Indian state of West Bengal. Kolkata Police has the task of policing the metropolitan area (apart from Bidhannagar and New Town, which are served by the Bidhannag ...
, cover four police districts in the area:
Rabindra Sarobar police station is a new police station being set up in the Rabindra Sarobar area.
Karaya Women police station, has jurisdiction over all police districts under the jurisdiction of the South-east division, i.e. Topsia, Beniapukur, Ballygunge, Gariahat, Lake, Karaya, Rabindra Sarobar and Tiljala.
Economy
Gariahat Market
Gariahat market, spread along
Rashbehari Avenue
Rashbehari Avenue (earlier known as Main Sewer Road or Ballygunge Avenue) is one of the most prestigious and important east–west avenues of Kolkata, India. A major portion of this road is often commonly referred to as Gariahat, the prime sh ...
,
Gariahat Road
Gariahat Road connects Ballygunge Phari with Prince Anwar Shah Road and Raja SC Mullick Road near Jadavpur Police station in the southern part of Kolkata, India. The space under Gariahat Flyover hosts one of the most prominent open air publi ...
and the lanes in the area, is one of the largest and busiest markets in Kolkata. The shops sell variety of saris, clothes, jewellery, electronic goods, furniture and what not. The makeshift shops along the footpaths, popular as
hawkers, sell everything – crockery, cutlery, decorative items and utilities. It has numerous eateries and street food joints. Modern malls have also come up. Gariahat market is also well known for selling fish which is a staple for the Bengali community living in Calcutta.
Education
Ballygunge is home to some of the following educational institutions in Kolkata:
*
Army Public School Army Public School may refer to:
* Indian Army Public Schools
* Army Public Schools & Colleges System
Army Public Schools & Colleges System or APSACS is one of the largest educational institutions of Pakistan which provides education till inte ...
, Kolkata, Ballygunge Maidan Camp
*
Kendriya Vidyalaya Ballygunge, Kolkata, Ballygunge Maidan Camp
*
Ballygunge Government High School, Beltala
*
Basanti Devi College, 147B Rash Behari Avenue, Kolkata
*
Jagadbandhu Institution, 25, Fern Road, Kolkata.
*
Kamala Girls' High School
Kamala Girls' High School is a girls' school situated in Southern Avenue, Vivekananda Park, South Kolkata, West Bengal, India, affiliated to the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education for Madhyamik Pariksha (10th Board exams), and to the West ...
, Lake Road (Kavi Bharati Sarani)
*
Patha Bhavan, Swinhoe Street, Ekdalia Road, Palm Avenue, Ballygunge Place and Merlin Park
*
South Point School
South Point is a higher-secondary co-educational private school located in Kolkata, West Bengal and affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education, consisting of three organisations – South Point School (Nursery to Class V), South Poi ...
, Mandeville Gardens and Ballygunge Place
*
St. Lawrence High School, Ballygunge Circular Road
People from Ballygunge
*
Jyoti Basu, politician
*
Buddhadeva Bose, writer
*
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee also known as Buddha Babu (born 1 March 1944) is an Indian Communist politician and a former member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He served as the 7th Chief Minister of West Bengal from 20 ...
, politician
*
Debabrata Biswas
Debabrata Biswas (also known as George Biswas and George-''da''; 22 August 1911 – 18 August 1980), was an Indian Rabindra Sangeet singer.
Early life
Biswas was born in 1911 in Barisal and then later came to Kishoreganj of Mymensingh distri ...
, Rabindra Sangeet singer
*
Prosenjit Chatterjee
Prosenjit Chatterjee (born 30 September 1962) is an Indian actor and producer. He is widely regarded as one of the leading actors in modern Bengali cinema. He predominantly works in Bengali cinema . He is the son of veteran Bollywood actor Bisw ...
, Bengali Film Actor
*
Sachin Dev Burman Sachin may refer to:
* Sachin (given name), an Indian given name, including a list of people with the name
** Sachin (actor) (born 1957), Indian actor and filmmaker
** Sachin Tendulkar (born 1973), Indian cricketer
Films
* ''Sachein'', a 2005 Tam ...
, singer
*
Sarat Chandra Chatterjee
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, alternatively spelt as Sarat Chandra Chatterjee ( bn, শরৎচন্দ্র চট্টোপাধ্যায়; 15 September 1876 or ৩১ শে ভাদ্র ১২৮৩ বঙ্গাব্দ ...
, novelist
*
Aroup Chatterjee
Aroup Chatterjee (born 23 June 1958) is a British Indian author and physician. He was born in Calcutta, and moved to the United Kingdom in 1985. He is the author of the book ''Mother Teresa: The Untold Story'' (originally published as ''Mother T ...
, (born 1958) – British Indian atheist physician, author of ''Mother Teresa: The Untold Story''
*
Somnath Chatterjee
Somnath Chatterjee (25 July 1929 – 13 August 2018) was an Indian politician who was associated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) for most of his life, though he had been a non affiliated independent during his last decade. He was t ...
, politician
*
Jibanananda Das
Jibanananda Das () (17 February 1899 – 22 October 1954) was an Indian poet, writer, novelist and essayist in the Bengali language. Popularly called "Rupashi Banglar Kabi'' ('Poet of Beautiful Bengal'), Das is the most read poet after Rabindr ...
, poet
*
Barun De
Barun De (30 October 1932 – 16 July 2013) was an Indian historian. He served as the first professor of social and economic history of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, founder-director of the Centre for Studies in Social Sci ...
, historian
*
Supriya Devi
Supriya Devi (Supriya Choudhury; 8 January 1933 – 26 January 2018) was an Indian actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema for more than 50 years. She is best known for her portrayal of Neeta in Ritwik Ghatak's Bengali film '' Megh ...
, film actress, lived on Ballygunge Circular Road.
*
Swarnakumari Devi, poet, musician, and social worker
*
Aroti Dutt
Aroti Dutt (1924–2003) was a social worker from India. She was the world president of the Associated Countrywomen of the World for two terms, from 1965 to 1971, and subsequently their Member of Honour. She was also the international vice-pr ...
, social worker
*
Gurusaday Dutt
Gurusaday Dutt (1882–1941) was a civil servant, folklorist, and writer. He was the founder of the ''Bratachari'' Movement in the 1930s.
Early life and education
Gurusaday was the son of the Ramkrishna Dutta Chaudhuri and Anandamayee Debi. ...
, civil servant
*
Ghanshyam Das Birla
Ghanshyam Das Birla (10 April 1894 – 11 June 1983) was an Indian businessman and member of the Birla Family.
Birla family history
Ghanshyam Das Birla was born on 10 April 1894 at Pilani town in Jhunjhunu district, in the region known as R ...
, industrialist
*
Sunil Gangopadhyay
Sunil Gangopadhyay or Sunil Ganguly (7 September 1934 – 23 October 2012) was an Indian poet, historian and novelist in the Bengali language based in the city of Kolkata. He is a former Sheriff of Calcutta. Gangopadhyay obtained his ma ...
, writer
*
Anup Ghoshal
Anup Ghoshal is an Indian playback singer, composer in Hindi films and other vernacular Indian films, especially Bengali language films. He is known in his native Bengal primarily as one of the foremost Nazrulgeeti exponents, and was one of th ...
, singer
*
Jaimin Rajani
Jaimin Rajani (born on 30 June 1991 in Bombay) is a singer-songwriter and documentary filmmaker from Calcutta, India. He writes songs into the traditions of folk and rock music. As a producer, Jaimin has worked on the albums ‘Then & Now’ (20 ...
, singer-songwriter
*
Buddhadeb Guha
Buddhadeb Guha (29 June 1936 – 29 August 2021) was an Indian writer of fiction in Bengali language. Apart from writing, he was a trained singer and a painter too.
Career
Born in Calcutta, Guha studied at St. Xavier's College of the Universi ...
, novelist and poet
*
Indrajit Gupta
Indrajit Gupta (18 March 1919 – 20 February 2001) was an Indian politician who belonged to the Communist Party of India (CPI). From 1996 to 1998, he served as Union Home Minister in the United Front governments of prime ministers H. D. Deve ...
, politician
*
Sheila Jasanoff
Sheila Sen Jasanoff is an Indian American academic and significant contributor to the field of Science and Technology Studies. In 2021 she was elected to the American Philosophical Society. Her research has been recognized with many awards, includ ...
*
Satyendra Chandra Mitra
Satyendra Chandra Mitra (23 December 1888 – 27 October 1942) was an Indian freedom fighter, who started his political career as a revolutionary and got associated with the Jugantar Party. He was arrested and interned at Janjira Char in the ...
, politician
*
Suchitra Mitra, singer
*
Hemanta Mukherjee
Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989), known professionally as Hemant Kumar and Hemanta Mukherjee, was a legendary Indian music composer and playback singer who primarily sang in Bengali and Hindi, as well as other Indian ...
, singer
*
Mani Shankar Mukherjee
Mani Shankar Mukherjee (commonly known as ''Sankar'' in both Bengali and English-language literature) is an Indian writer in the Bengali language, who also served as the Sheriff of Kolkata. He grew up in Howrah district of West Bengal.
Personal ...
, writer
*
Pranab Mukherjee
Dr. Pranab Mukherjee (11 December 193531 August 2020) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th president of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the India ...
, politician
*
Subrata Mukherjee
Subrata Mukherjee (14 June 1946 – 4 November 2021) was an Indian politician who was cabinet minister of the government of West Bengal and sitting member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly. He was a member of All India Trinamool Congress. H ...
, former Mayor of Kolkata
*
Subhas Mukhopadhyay, physician
*
Prof. Meghnad Saha, physicist
*
Nares Chandra Sen-Gupta
Naresh Chandra Sen-Gupta (17 May 1882 – 19 September 1964) was an Indian legal scholar and a novelist of Bengali literature based in Calcutta.
Early life and career
Sen-Gupta was born into a Baidya Brahmin family on 17 May 1882 at his patern ...
, Bengali novelist and legal scholar
*
P. C. Sorcar, Jr., magician
*
Suchitra Sen, film actress lived on Ballygunge Circular Road.
*
Ruma Guha Thakurta
Ruma Guha Thakurta (21 November 1934 – 3 June 2019) was an Indian actress and singer primarily associated with Bengali language films. She founded Calcutta Youth Choir in 1958.
Early life
Ruma Guha Thakurta was born on 3 November 1934 to ...
, singer
*
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of fil ...
, film-maker
*
Satyendranath Tagore
Satyendranath Tagore (1 June 1842 – 9 January 1923) was an Indian Bengali civil servant, poet, composer, writer, social reformer and linguist from Kolkata, West Bengal. He was the first Indian who became an Indian Civil Service officer in 186 ...
, civil servant
*
Mrunal Thakur
Mrunal Thakur (born 1 August 1992), is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Hindi, Marathi, and Telugu cinema. She began her acting career with the television soaps '' Mujhse Kuchh Kehti...Yeh Khamoshiyaan'' (2012) and '' Kumkum Bhagya'' ...
, actress
*
Rashmika Mandanna
Rashmika Mandanna (born 5 April 1996) is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Telugu and Kannada films besides few Hindi and Tamil films. She is a recipient of four SIIMA Awards and a Filmfare Award South. She made her acting debut wi ...
, actress
References
External links
{{Kolkata neighbourhoods
Neighbourhoods in Kolkata