7-900: Bethune College is a women's college located on Bidhan Sarani in Kolkata , India, and affiliated to the University of Calcutta . It is the oldest women's college in India. It was established as a girls' school in 1849, and as a college in 1879. The college was founded as the Calcutta Female School in 1849 by John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune , with the financial support of Dakshinaranjan Mukherjee. The school started in Mukherjee's home in Baitakkhana , with 21 girls enrolled. The following year, enrolment rose to 80. In November, on
14-474: A plot on the west side of Cornwallis Square, the cornerstone for a permanent school building was laid. The name "Hindu Female School" was inscribed on the copper-plate placed in the stone and on the ceremonial silver trowel made for the occasion. Support for the school waned after Bethune's death in August 1851. The government took it over in 1856, renaming it Bethune School after its founder in 1862–63. In 1879 it
21-484: The Theatre. Unfortunately a fire destroyed the glorious Star Theatre on 16 October 1991. It has again been built but it has failed to regain its old glory. With six cinema halls — Sree, Uttara, Radha, Rupbani, Bina, Minar, Mitra and Darpana — in a row along Bidhan Sarani the road was considered to be the entertainment hub in the city. The Bethune College , is situated on Bidhan Sarani near Hedua. The street
28-641: The capital of the Indian state of West Bengal . It was named after the first Chief Minister of West Bengal, Bidhan Chandra Roy . The road starts from Shyambazar five-point crossing and extends up to MG Road crossing (Barna Parichay Market), after which the street continues as College Street towards the south. Bidhan Sarani encompasses the neighbourhoods of Shyambazar , Hatibagan ( Aurobindo Sarani crossing), Hedua (Dani Ghosh Sarani/Abhedananda Road crossing), Shimla ( Vivekananda Road crossing), Thanthania and College Street . The three-mile long Maratha Ditch
35-499: Was built by the Lottery Committee. The Hatibagan Bazar is located on Bidhan Sarani. The street market continues till Aurobindo Sarani crossing and has resulted in congestion of the area. The Star Theatre located on Bidhan Sarani was famous for over 100 years and during the period nearly 250 Bengali dramas of more than 80 playwrights were performed by different producers. More than 12 Hindi dramas were also staged at
42-617: Was developed into Bethune College, the first women's college in India and Bethune school was Second (First being in Bhidewada Pune, by Jyotirao Phule) women's school in whole Asia. The college is ranked 91st among colleges in India by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2024. Bidhan Sarani Bidhan Sarani (formerly known as Cornwallis Street ) is a principal north–south thoroughfare in north part of Kolkata ,
49-830: Was excavated in 1742 as a protection against the marauding Maratha soldiers then foraging in the countryside but who never came. It was filled up in 1799 to build the Circular Road, that ran from Shyambazar, right around old Kolkata, covering the southern end of the Maidan . It was metalled in the early 19th century. Around the same time, the most important axial thoroughfare from south to north — Wood Street (portion renamed Dr. Martin Luther King Sarani), Wellesley Street (renamed Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Street), Wellington Street (renamed Nirmal Chandra Street), College Street and Cornwallis Street (renamed Bidhan Sarani) —
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