18-531: Chowringhee Road (also spelt Chourangi Road ), located in the Chowringhee neighbourhood of Kolkata , is the arterial road running from the eastern fringes of Esplanade southwards up to the crossing with Lower Circular Road (AJC Bose Road), in the city of Kolkata , West Bengal, India. It is the single most important road of the metropolis of Kolkata. It was officially renamed as Jawaharlal Nehru Road after Jawaharlal Nehru , India's first Prime Minister, but
36-575: Is at the intersection of Chowringhee Road, Chittaranjan Avenue and Lenin Sarani (formerly Dharmotollah Street). The huge expanse of the Maidan is busy throughout the year with fairs and political meetings. [REDACTED] Media related to Jawaharlal Nehru Road at Wikimedia Commons Chowringhee Chowringhee (also Chourangi ) is a neighbourhood of Central Kolkata , in Kolkata district in
54-531: The Battle of Plassey was followed by the construction of the new Fort William , in 1758. The European inhabitants of Kalikata gradually forsook the narrow limits of the old palisades and moved to around the Maidan. Camac Street (renamed Abanindranath Tagore Sarani) running from Park Street to Circular Road was named after William Camac, a senior merchant in the days of Cornwallis and Wellesley . Wood Street
72-496: The Maidan metro station now stands and still a third on where the Esplanade bus-terminus now stand. The beauty of the road no longer exists and can only be seen in drawings and sketches of the bygone era. With the advent of trams, tram-tracks were laid along the western edge of Chowringhee to connect the southern areas of Tollygunge and Ballygunge to Esplanade . These tracks, also, no longer exist due to trams' slow speed and
90-489: The Indian state of West Bengal . Chowringhee Road (officially Jawaharlal Nehru Road) runs on its western side. A neighbourhood steeped in history, it is a business district, as well as a shopper's destination and entertainment-hotel centre. The area lies exactly at the centre of the city. The name 'Chowringhee' has defied etymologists. There is, however, the legend of a Nath yogi, Chouranginath, who discovered an image of
108-606: The Metro Railway Building, among others. Chatterjee International Center is the tallest building situated on this road. It rises up to a height 91 metres (299 ft) from the ground and comprises 24 floors. Chowringhee Road is not only the commercial heart of the city, but also the cultural heart. The Indian Museum and the Government Art College are located here, along with the afore-mentioned The Asiatic Society . The Bishop's House, housing
126-555: The advent of metro rail. Of the grand palaces and mansions of the era, only a few still remain - "the Oberoi Grand Hotel", the " Janbazar " Building (which was owned by Rani Rashmoni ) at the junction of Corporation Street (now S.N. Banerjee Road), "The Chowringhee Mansions" (now housing several offices) at Kyd Street intersection, the "Asiatic Society" at the Park Street crossing and the majestic " Indian Museum " are
144-506: The eastern end of the road, thus earning Kolkata the sobriquet - 'City of Palaces'. It was a prosperous era of Kolkata, which came to be the second city of the British empire. Rows of huge palatial houses flanked by gardens and the area along the western edge of the road was a huge open area called the Maidan . The Maidan was intentionally kept open and development-free due to security purposes of Fort William . Later there were tanks made on
162-546: The goddess Kali's face and built the first Kalighat temple . In the seventeenth century or prior to it, the area now occupied by the Maidan and Esplanade was a tiger-infested jungle. At the eastern end of it was an old road, which had once been built by the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family from Barisha to Halisahar . In that region were three small hamlets – Chowringhee, Birjee and Colimba. The strengthening of British power, subsequent to their victory in
180-590: The heart of Kolkata and the place of choice for many large business houses. This saying of old must have been followed by each architect who designed the newer buildings on Chowringhee, showcasing their extravagant self. Examples include the Tata Centre at the intersection of Harrington Street (now Ho Chi Minh Sarani), Jeevan Sudha (at the Middleton Street intersection), Everest House (next to Tata Center), J K Centre, SAIL Building, The Reliance House,
198-635: The leader of the Vietnam independence movement, Ho Chi Minh . Camac Street has been renamed after the artist Abanindranath Tagore . Russel Street was renamed after industrialist Anandi Lal Poddar. Free School Street was renamed after the Urdu/Persian poet Mirza Ghalib . Kyd Street was renamed Dr. Md. Ishaque Road. Lindsay Street was renamed after Nellie Sengupta . Park Street Flyover was inaugurated on 19 February 2005. The 1.3-kilometre (0.81 mi) long flyover above Chowringhee Road helps in reduce
SECTION 10
#1732790281045216-516: The original name Chowringhee Road is used commonly. Arguably one of the first roads in the city, prior to the coming of the British , the road used to link the villages of Kalighat and Chowringhee. The village of Chowringhee was named after the hoary saint Chowranginath of the Nath sect of mystical Hinduism who had his 'dera' or camp over there, and the name stuck on in spite of the British rule and
234-724: The residence of the Bishop of Kolkata and the St. Paul's Cathedral , is located here. The M. P. Birla Planetarium is on the junction of Chowringhee Road and Cathedral road and the Victoria Memorial (on Queens Way) is a stone's throw away from here. The neo-cultural centres of Rabindra Sadan , Nandan and the Academy of Fine Arts are next to Chowringhee on Lower Circular Road and the Cathedral Road. The Tipu Sultan Mosque
252-531: The traffic jam between Lindsay Street and Middleton Street. In 1981, Aparna Sen wrote and directed a film, 36 Chowringhee Lane , about an aged Anglo-Indian school teacher who lives a lonely life in a single-room flat in the neighbourhood. [REDACTED] Kolkata/Esplanade travel guide from Wikivoyage Indian Museum Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
270-589: The well known ones. Some buildings from a later period include the "Kanak Building" (now housing offices of Citibank and Standered Chartered Bank) at the junction of Middleton Street, "Virginia House" (housing the headquarters of ITC) and the New Market Watch Tower building. The building at the Lindsay Street intersection, which used to house the famous Italian joint Firpo's, was razed in a blaze in 2002. Chowringhee still remains very much
288-755: The western stretch of the road at each important crossing right from the Lower Circular Road junction (now the Exide crossing) to the Esplanade near Curzon Park. Of these only a couple exist now - the Manohar Das Tarag and the one at the junction of Park Street and Chowringhee. Of the reclaimed tanks, one was where the Calcutta Information Centre and the Maidan Police Station now stand, another one where
306-621: Was changed after the independence of India during the rule of the Congress regime. After the British started expanding their settlement outside the Fort area in the mid-18th century, the area around Chowringhee was one of the first expansions. And the same area remained their pride and commercial centre until their departure in 1947. During the early British developments around the Chowringhee area, they built huge bungalows and houses all along
324-483: Was named after Henry Wood. Free School Street (renamed Mirza Ghalib Street ), named after a Free School established there in 1786, was a bamboo jungle in 1780. Indian independence saw a rush to rename streets. The process has slowed as few streets are left to be renamed. Chowringhee Road was renamed after Jawaharlal Nehru , the first Prime Minister of India. Park Street was renamed after Mother Teresa ; Theatre Road after William Shakespeare ; and Harrington Street after
#44955