.svg)
College Street (Kolkata)
 Book stores along College Street | |
| Maintained by | Kolkata Municipal Corporation |
|---|---|
| Length | Template:Infobox street/meta/length |
| Location | Kolkata, India |
| Postal code | 700012, 700073 |
| Nearest Kolkata Metro station | MG Road, Central and Sealdah(under construction) |
| Coordinates | 22°34′32″N 88°21′48″E / 22.575514°N 88.363354°ECoordinates: 22°34′32″N 88°21′48″E / 22.575514°N 88.363354°E |
| north end | Barna Parichay Market |
| south end | Bowbazar |
College Street is a 900 metre long street in Central Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. It stretches from B.B. Ganguly Street crossing (Bowbazar) to MG Road crossing (Barna Parichay Market) via Dr. Lalit Banerjee Sarani crossing and Colootola Street/Surya Sen Street crossing. South of Bowbazar, College Street becomes Nirmal Chandra Street and north of Barna Parichay Market, College Street becomes Bidhan Sarani.[1][2] Its name derives from the presence of many colleges (Presidency University, The Sanskrit College and University, City College of Commerce & Business Administration to name a few). The road houses many centres of intellectual activity especially the Indian Coffee House, a café that has attracted the city's intelligentsia for decades.[3] Kolkata’s historic College Street is India’s largest book market, lending it the endearing nickname Boi Para (বইপাড়া; Book Town).
Book Stores[edit]
The College Street is most famous for its small and big book stores, which gives it the nickname Boi Para (Colony of Books).[2][4] People from the whole city and different parts of the state gathers here for their books. Many bigwigs of the Bengali publication industry (like: Ananda Publishers, Mitra and Ghosh Publishers, DasGupta and Company Pvt. Ltd, Dey's Publishing, Rupa & Co., Asha Book Agency etc.) are situated here. The street is also dotted with countless very small book kiosks which sell new and old books.[2] An article in the journal Smithsonian described College Street as ...a half-mile of bookshops and bookstalls spilling over onto the pavement, carrying first editions, pamphlets, paperbacks in every Indian language, with more than a fair smattering of books in and out of print from France, Germany, Russia and England.[5] One can buy rare books at throw-away prices and extensive bargaining take place.
Recognition[edit]
In 2007, College Street featured among the famous landmarks of India which have made it to 6pm to 9pm Magazine's "Best of Asia" list.[6]
Educational institutes[edit]
Well-known academic institutions situated on this street include
- Presidency University, established in 1817, making it one of the oldest educational institutions of western education in South Asia.
- University of Calcutta, established in 1857 and one of the first major multidisciplinary university in South Asia.
- Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, established in 1835, first college of European medicine in Asia.
- The Sanskrit College and University, established in 1824, and Sanskrit Collegiate School.
- Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, established in 1953, affiliated to University of Calcutta. It is India's first MBA offering institute.
- Hare School, established in 1818.
- Hindu School, established in 1817.[2][4]
Gallery[edit]
College Street view
College Street on Holiday
Kolkata Tram route no. 5 on College Street
College Street and MG Road Crossing
College Square at Night
View of College Square Swimming Pool
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Google maps
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 College Street or the Boi Para Archived 2013-11-16 at the Wayback Machine astrainfotech.org. Retrieved 24 March 2013
- ↑ Kolkata Heritage- College Street Archived 2013-09-02 at the Wayback Machine westbengaltourism.gov.in. Retrieved 24 March 2013
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kolkata's historical College Street 'Boi-Para' ceases to exist webindia123.com. Retrieved 24 March 2013
- ↑ Hollick, Julian Crandall (July 1991). "Amid Calcutta's poverty, there's no dearth of cultural wealth". Smithsonian. 22 (4): 32–41. ISSN 0037-7333.
- ↑ Press Trust of India (28 April 2007). "Mehrangarh Fort, College Street, figure in Time's Best of Asia". The Statesman. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 5 May 2007.
External links[edit]
  |