Coffee House, Palaces and Bazaars
Great wealth was made not only by the British and other Europeans during the British Raj but by local men of enterprise or Babus, who created untold wealth for themselves and families. Often this was lost on later generations who did not have their forebears zeal and application.
One of the signs of this wealth were the so called Palaces of Calcutta. These were the lavish, sometimes direct copies of European palaces built by Indians, some of which still stand.
A Calcutta institution is the old Coffee House next to the Calcutta University. Its history is rich and diverse even if the coffee is not.
The city grew as a trading port and the Burrabazar was at its centre. One of the largest wholesale and retail precincts in the world, it grew to service trade in and out of eastern India. We explore just a fraction of it.
Coffee House and Bazaars to the Spice Market
This walk starts with a ride on one of Kolkata’s beloved rickety trams to the famous old student coffee house where many a political plot has been hatched, then proceeds through the famous book bazaar opposite the Universities and onto a poor but vibrant Muslim community, on through a frenetic wholesale fruit market, into Burrabazaar, one of the most complete market areas anywhere in the world, with its small intense market streets and ends in the sometimes seemingly chaotic spice market. The walk usually finishes here but if you want to continue walking on your own we will show you how to get to the river ghats, the majestic Howrah Bridge and the colourful craziness that is the flower market.
If you are all walked out we will help you get back to where you want and invite you to join another walk that covers these last areas of interest.
Meeting Point: K.C. Das Sweet Shop opposite the Tipu Sultan Mosque Esplanade.
Proviso: Trams sometimes stop running. If they do we can take a bus as an alternative, unless they have stopped for the same reason as the trams. This does not happen often. If getting up on a bus is a problem for you please indicate at the time of interest.
Coffee House and Palaces Walk
Just like the walk above we start with a tram ride to the famous old coffee house for a South Indian coffee and then through a poor but vibrant Muslim community. It is just one street but one of our favourites for its life and variety. As we leave this community we take a different road to the one traversed in the Bazaar Walk and move on to some of the Palaces of North Kolkata built by extraordinarily wealthy Indians as a result of their contact with the British Raj. These include the Marble Palace built by the XXXX family and Rabindranath Tagore’s home but also many more. Chitpur road features. It was once the main street in and out of old Calcutta and is teeming with energy and life. We come back through an old Bengali, predominantly Hindu area in the north, depending on time.
Meeting Point: K.C. Das Sweet Shop opposite the Tipu Sultan Mosque Esplanade.
Proviso: Trams sometimes stop running. If they do we can take a bus as an alternative, unless they have stopped for the same reason as the trams. This does not happen often. If getting up on a bus is a problem for you please indicate at the time of interest.
See also
Great wealth was made not only by the British and other Europeans during the British Raj but by local men of enterprise or Babus, who created untold wealth for themselves and families. Often this was lost on later generations who did not have their forebears zeal and application.
One of the signs of this wealth were the so called Palaces of Calcutta. These were the lavish, sometimes direct copies of European palaces built by Indians, some of which still stand.
A Calcutta institution is the old Coffee House next to the Calcutta University. Its history is rich and diverse even if the coffee is not.
The city grew as a trading port and the Burrabazar was at its centre. One of the largest wholesale and retail precincts in the world, it grew to service trade in and out of eastern India. We explore just a fraction of it.
Coffee House and Bazaars to the Spice Market
This walk starts with a ride on one of Kolkata’s beloved rickety trams to the famous old student coffee house where many a political plot has been hatched, then proceeds through the famous book bazaar opposite the Universities and onto a poor but vibrant Muslim community, on through a frenetic wholesale fruit market, into Burrabazaar, one of the most complete market areas anywhere in the world, with its small intense market streets and ends in the sometimes seemingly chaotic spice market. The walk usually finishes here but if you want to continue walking on your own we will show you how to get to the river ghats, the majestic Howrah Bridge and the colourful craziness that is the flower market.
If you are all walked out we will help you get back to where you want and invite you to join another walk that covers these last areas of interest.
Meeting Point: K.C. Das Sweet Shop opposite the Tipu Sultan Mosque Esplanade.
Proviso: Trams sometimes stop running. If they do we can take a bus as an alternative, unless they have stopped for the same reason as the trams. This does not happen often. If getting up on a bus is a problem for you please indicate at the time of interest.
Coffee House and Palaces Walk
Just like the walk above we start with a tram ride to the famous old coffee house for a South Indian coffee and then through a poor but vibrant Muslim community. It is just one street but one of our favourites for its life and variety. As we leave this community we take a different road to the one traversed in the Bazaar Walk and move on to some of the Palaces of North Kolkata built by extraordinarily wealthy Indians as a result of their contact with the British Raj. These include the Marble Palace built by the XXXX family and Rabindranath Tagore’s home but also many more. Chitpur road features. It was once the main street in and out of old Calcutta and is teeming with energy and life. We come back through an old Bengali, predominantly Hindu area in the north, depending on time.
Meeting Point: K.C. Das Sweet Shop opposite the Tipu Sultan Mosque Esplanade.
Proviso: Trams sometimes stop running. If they do we can take a bus as an alternative, unless they have stopped for the same reason as the trams. This does not happen often. If getting up on a bus is a problem for you please indicate at the time of interest.
See also
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