Down Chowringhee, past the Maidan, keep going south beyond the Calcutta Club, then turn right into any of the small side streets further on, and there you are: Small Town Calcutta.

Waiting for the poetry

 

 Probably my favourite

Bhowanipore, that is. Whether Calcutta is a City of Palaces, of Villages, and even of Small Towns, Bhowanipore certainly qualifies as the latter. It isn’t really self-contained, but I’d call it semi-detached from the main metropolitan mass. Its south-central location is superbly sited, with Tolly’s Nullah on the west, the Police Training School and epic hospitals on the north, and to the east, the great Metro meridian cleaves down its middle. Though Bhowanipore’s eastern half has many charms, such as the Jadu Babu Bazar, and flirts with the luxuries of Ballygunge further over, it’s the western bit that really displays the small town character, which goes back to 1765, when it was officially recognised as such.

One of the best houses in town

 

Members only

Modest but stately

My guru P.T. Nair, who resided right in the thick of things in Kansaripara Road for many years, charted the neighbourhood’s history via its streets. As Bhabanipur, some claim the Kali Temple was located here before it was transferred to Kalighat further south in 1809. Its name anglicised to Bhowanipore (also Bhawanipur), the village grew into a working-class area, and its roads were defined by the trades located therein. Kansaris (metalsmiths), telis (oil-pressers), kaluas (oil-sellers), sankaris (conch-shell workers), goalas (milkmen), and others each had their own separate zones. It was a much more formalised arrangement than elsewhere in the city. Longstanding residents and their families tend to stay put in Bhowanipore, which does not particularly allow much infusion of new people in the area. As a result, the social structure has remained remarkably constant.

High-quality overflow from Jadu Babu

 

The quietude

 

It will be good as new

If Bhowanipore once had the Kali Temple but does no longer, the removal of its destination feature would suggest that the town was sidelined, and it suffered accordingly. In the early 1980s, during the Metro’s construction (which dragged on and on), the town was virtually going out of business, due to its awkward isolation. As an appreciative visitor, I may sing praises over the comparative quietude of these human-scaled environs, but Bhowanipore is not a rich community. It is modest, working-class, away from the fast lane, and displays its confidence by a conspicuous orderliness and slower pace. Small town attributes, all.

They will have it running tonight

 

One of Bhowanipores expert trades

One of the best preservative elements found in ‘old’ Bhowanipore (that is, the western half) is that all the arterials are on its periphery. The quietude is welcome and easygoing. Elders are more present, as they have more leeway and fewer distractions. Kids have plenty of bye-lanes and courtyards to play in. Newspapers are still tacked on public reader boards. Residential facades are clearly cared for and cheerfully painted.

Speaking of the latter, as far as I can tell, Bhowanipore lacks the grand mega-family rajbaris so integrated into the makeup of Calcutta north of MG Road. There are certainly some deluxe heritage townhouses which attempt such gentility, a few ambitious blocks of flats in the Cal Beaux Arts style, and some downright rural-feeling corners. Milch cows stroll here and there, pigs loll on the Nullah’s black-mudded banks, and a little girl shows me her pet green parrot, as a bunch of neighbour kids gather, hooting and giggling.

The stress of the job

 

Uncertain contents

The Bhowanipore I know is all about sincerity and genuineness, traits built in to the people’s very being. Pretentiousness doesn’t ever seem to come up. The fabric of this corner of Calcutta is strong as jute, though softened by its own sense of humanity. 

Bhowanipore is a neighbourhood you can rely on. It’s definitely wired to the great city around it, though the voltage is lower, but flowing nicely, so to speak. Because of its set-aside status, with its inherent pros and cons, the town doesn’t seem especially vulnerable to change of the negative kind. Such a course is certainly possible, but the self-assurance I detect throughout its territory speaks of practicality, common sense, and most of those things we consider normal for everyday life.

A human-scaled environment

Consequently, I’m very fond of Bhowanipore. So are they who live and work here.

Stay curious, have fun, and be sure to come when Calcutta calls!