Pathuriaghata Street, a link to the past in the context of Kolkata's present

Chitpur Road (now Rabindra Sarani) was once a tram route. Now the tram service has stopped permanently. But the tram stop sign is still there. The house on the left of the picture with the clock visible on top is known as “Ghariwalla Mullickbari” (clock house). Pathuriaghata area is along this Chitpur Road. Pathuriaghata, Kolkata, West Bengal, February 26, 2025.

Kolkata is an old city. In the words of a noted Bengali poet, “My city is not that old; You will not find any bones, coins, Chaitya Vihara of the past, you will not find any dirt anywhere in it. Suddenly, when the merchants came to the riverside, my city came down with muddy feet.”

In the late seventeenth century, the city of Kolkata gradually developed with three villages namely Sutanuti, Dihi Kalikata and Gobindapur. These three villages were the centres of trade. In the sixteenth century, during the reign of Aurangzeb, Europeans began to arrive. First came the Portuguese. Then the French, Dutch, British and Danes. But in 1757, the British rule in Bengal was firmly established through the defeat of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah in the battle of Palashi. And along with that, Kolkata’s status and prestige began to rise. Kolkata became the capital of India. The British East India Company’s new trading ventures attracted even more Bengali entrepreneurial families to locate in Sutanati. Example, Tagore, Ghoshal, Deb, Dutta and Mitra.

The picture on the left is about 152 years old, a brass utensil shop in the Pathurudhata area. Hindu gods and goddesses made of brass are also sold now. The name of the shop is Samanta. The founder was Banamali Samanta. Now the sixth generation is running this business. The brass utensil seen in the picture on the right is about 150 years old. It is a drinking glass. Now such brass glasses are not available. It is now a priceless treasure preserved by the shop owner. Pathuriaghata, Kolkata, West Bengal, February 26, 2025.

These families provided the basis for the development of a new urban mercantile class in Bengal. The old areas of Kolkata still silently tell the stories of those past memories. Even though this Kolkata is now slowly moving forward on the path of a new change, a sad melody of history is still resounding in its heart in the context of the present time. One such old area is Pathuriaghata Street.

British Kolkata had two parts – Tank Square and Chowringhee was Sahebpara. And groups of people from the villages came to Kolkata and built houses on a piece of land. It was a very crowded area. There were also people of respectability. Some of them were kings, some held the title of Rai Bahadur. These upper-class Bengali Hindu businessmen also lived in Pathuriaghata, Jorasanko, and Shobhabazar. The palatial homes of these wealthy people can still be seen in this Pathuriaghata Street area. Yet, while wandering around the alleys here, the colonial architecture of the houses of that era is still eye-catching. It feels good to stop and stand in front of them. Besides, on one side is the busy Rabindra Sarani, lined with countless brass and copper shops.

This house on Pathuriaghata Street is called “Madhav Kutir”. But to the locals, this house is known as “Vande Mataram Bari” (বন্দেমাতরম বাড়ি). During the British era, when the English police came to this area, the women of this house would blow conch shells to alert the Bengali freedom fighters hiding in the area. Pathuriaghata, Kolkata, West Bengal, February 26, 2025.

This road, Pathuriaghata Street, has started next to it. An elite neighbourhood. The attraction here is still Durga Puja. Along with the Durga Puja of the Pathuriaghata Panch Palli Club, many people still flock to see the puja of the old houses. Especially the puja of Khelat Ghosh house and Manmatha Nath Ghosh’s house is still famous. The worship of the deity Singha Bahini of the Mullicks family is steeped in tradition. The ‘Singha Bahini’ deity of the Mullicks family has a history of more than 1500 years. The members of the Tagore family were one of the oldest and most influential residents of the Pathuriaghata area. On one side of Pathuriaghata is Prasanna Kumar Thakur Street. If you go there even today, you can see the ruins of an old fort. This fort was once known as Tagore Castle. It was built by Jatindramohan Tagore in 1895. It is believed that Kali Kumar handed it over to his brother Prasannakumar Tagore.

The picture on the top left Open thakur dalan that was constructed by Darpanarayan Tagore’s son Gopimohan Tagore,youngest son and scion of the Pathuriaghata Tagore family and noted zamindar and philanthropist from Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. Started with the name Metropolitan training school back in 1857,then established by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and named as Metropolitan institution. A “teen khilan” thakurdalan with a triple row of arches,the outermost clad in stone. The huge courtyard (thakur dalan) of the Khelat Ghosh Mansion on Pathuriaghata Street in the top right picture. Khelat Chandra Ghosh was the grandson of Ramlochan Ghosh, a clerk of Governor General Warren Hastings. Khelat Chandra Ghosh was born in this house in 1829. A highly erudite individual, who received enormous appreciation from all strata of the society. Apart from being a successful businessman he was known for his religious, spiritual and philanthropic activities. The two pictures below, left and right, are inside the Pathuriaghata Ghosh mansion, where the walls show the famous classical musicians of India. All of them performed in this house. Notable among them are Gauhar Jaan, Mallikajaan, Abdul Karim Khan etc. This house is about 310 years old. Manmatha Nath Ghosh, a personality well known in the world of Indian Classical music as its great patron. The all night concerts that he organized in this very house were famous and much sought after. His father, Bhupendra Krishna Ghosh, had started the famous All Bengal Music Conference in 1934. After Bhupendra’s death the mantle fell on Manmatha, who continued to organize the conference for some years thereafter, till the music fell silent in 1953. Pathuriaghata, Kolkata, West Bengal, February 26, 2025.

Prasannakumar Tagore was a brilliant student of Hindu College, the editor of the magazine ‘Reformer’ and later founded the ‘Hindu Theatre’. Currently, there are small shops and godowns of Bihari, Marwari and Muslim communities in the Tagore Castle area. Many parts have been occupied and turned into colonies. Apart from some ruins of that Tagore Castle, there is no evidence of its existence anywhere today. Tagore Castle is located just a few streets away from the Natun Bazar. This market was built in 1871 by Raja Rajendra Mallick, one of the biggest traders of Kolkata. Rows of shops line both sides of the narrow lanes of the market. The market is still very architecturally impressive. The glory of the past has gone into the lap of time. During the British period, the educational excellence, cultural intelligence, social and political reforms of the Bengalis all contributed to the golden age of Kolkata.

At one time, the Bengalis were the most prosperous and famous business community in India. Today, this entire area is inhabited by Marari traders. Non-Bengali families live in the old houses. Migrant workers live in crowded places. Again, a part of a house has been rented out as a godown. The heart and glory of Bengali business and culture is almost gone in this area today. The domestic atmosphere of the neighbourhood is also disappearing due to commercial influence. The architecture and diversity of the houses still attract many tourists from home and abroad. Some people enter these houses and talk. On one side of this area, these old memories are still the heart of this city of Kolkata.