Burrabazar
Encyclopedia
Burrabazar is a neighbourhood in central Kolkata
, earlier known as Calcutta, in the India
n state
of West Bengal
. It is an assembly constituency. Burrabazar expanded from a yarn
and textile
market into the commercial nucleus of Kolkata and one of the largest wholesale
markets in India.
. The Hindi-speaking merchants who ousted the earlier local merchants, made it ‘Bara’.
. With the arrival of the British these families flourished with renewed vigour. Janardan Sett was a trading agent of the British. Shobharam Bysack (1690-1773) became a millionaire by supplying textiles to British East India Company
.One of the earliest names floating around is that of Mukundaram Sett, who lived in the earlier part of sixteenth century and moved from Satgaon
to Gobindapur
.Sutanuti haat has been traced back to 1738 by Orme
. In the siege of 1756, troops of Siraj ud-Daulah
set fire to the market and took possession of Jorabagan
and Kumortuli
, neighbourhoods further north where the merchants lived.
s and the residential area covered another 400 bighas. Apart from the Seths and Basaks, there were the gold merchants Mullicks and other men of their calibre. Their affluence and pomp are legends even in their days.There also were merchants of comparatively lesser affluence. As for example, the area around what is now Kalakar Street was known as Dhakapatty, as it was home to the Sahas, cloth merchants from Dhaka
. The Sheths and Basaks had close links with such cloth producing centres as Dhaka, Murshidabad
and Cossimbazar
.
and Jorabagan
on the north, Jorasanko
and Kolutola on the east, B. B. D. Bagh
on the south and Hooghly River on the west. Lalbazar and Bowbazar
are at the south-west corner of Burrabazar.The neighbourhood is adjacent to Howrah Bridge
(renamed Rabindra Setu). One description of its boundaries puts it as follows: from Posta in the north to Canning Street in the south, and from Strand Road in the west to Chitpur Road in the east. Within this rough boundary it is a world in itself.
Cutting right across Burrabazar is Harrison Road, which runs straight from Howrah Bridge to Sealdah
railway station. It was constructed between December 1889 and 1892, sweeping away many an overcrowded tenement and festering lane. It is of the uniform breadth of 75 feet and named after Sir Henry Harrison, chairman of the corporation, by whom the scheme was inaugurated and matured. It has been renamed after Mahatma Gandhi
.
Burrabazar is served by the Mahatma Gandhi Road station of Kolkata Metro
.
Burrabazar expanded from a yarn and textile market into one of the largest wholesale markets in India.Burrabazar is divided into highly specialised sub-markets, according to the commodity it deals in – Dhotipatti, Fancypatti, Tulapatti, Chinipatti etc. Further subdivisions are katra, chowk or kothi.A popular saying goes, “Anything and everything is available at Burrabazar. Even the tiger's eye is available here if you pay the right price.”Each katra (market) is known for a particular item. There are approximately 25 katras in Burrabazar. At Raja Katra, which originally belonged to the Maharaja of Bardhaman
, most of the shops deal in spices. At Manohar Das Katra it is mostly hardware and textile. Vikram Chand Market and Khangrapatti sell mostly electronic goods and artificial ornaments.
For Diwali
, the festival of lights, it is transformed into a huge market for festive and religious ingredients. The number of makeshift stalls are around 800, spread around Kalakar Street and other areas. From idols to their dainty dresses, designer diyas (earthen lamps) to saffron-tinted laddus (round-shaped sweet meat), every conceivable article can be scooped from this gala bazaar, the city’s largest assortment of puja paraphernalia. The series of shops bang opposite the Jain temple, near Satyanarayan Park, flaunts ornately decked-up idols of Ganesha
and Lakshmi
— the brother-sister divinities symbolising wealth and prosperity.
With crime a major problem in Burrabazar the police stationhas a rough time.
More than 50,000 merchants from across the country have been attracted to Burrabzar because of the immense business opportunities but musclemen have followed them to the trade hub. From providing protection to businessmen and transporting their black money to running a satta (form of betting) racket and settling property and payment disputes, these men, mostly from the neighbouring states, start off as confidantes of the trading community. In a few years, they break free and form their own gangs to extort money and engage in other forms of criminal activities.
Even small traders coming to Burrabazar face problems, but of a different sort. More than 1,000 cyclists cross Howrah bridge everyday to make purchases at Burrabazar. Most of these are small traders, from across the Hooghly River and they carry back goods for sale in their localities. Such people are regularly harassed by policemen on duty and let off against small payments.
According to an estimate of Kolkata Municipal Corporation
, around 600 buildings in Burrabazar are risky and hazardous and another 500 partly risky. According to West Bengal Fire Service
officials, at least 100 persons were injured in separate mishaps in which five buildings collapsed and 30 buildings caved in partially in 2007. In almost every building, 50 to 100 shops were built on each floor by erecting plywood partitions. The civic body has plans to pull down many of the unsafe buildings.
According to fire brigade officials, “It is generally believed that there are more fires during Kali puja
. However, the number of fires during pujas has gone down considerably in recent times due to imposition of the fire-safety norms. There used to be around 15 fires during Durga puja
and over 100 fires during Kali puja. In 2005, there was only one fire during Durga puja and no fires at all during Kali puja.”
In January 2008, fire ravaged Nandram market in Burrabazar for nearly a week. 1,200 shops went up in flames.Three hundred fire fighters and 54 fire tenders were sent to fight the fire. More than 1,000 people, who live in neighbouring residential apartments, were evacuated. Traffic in the area was thrown out of gear.
Fires are regular features in Burrabazar. In January 2000, rows of shops were gutted at Manohar Das Katra. In December 2002, there was fire in the wholesale market of woollen goods. In April 2003, fire struck Satyanarayan Park AC market. In September 2004 there was fire in a sari shop in Hari Ram Goenka Street. In July 2005, there was fire at a hosiery warehouse, off Kalakar Street. In September 2005, there was fire in a Jackson Lane warehouse filled with plastic and paper. In March 2006, there was fire in a bank on Ezra Street.
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, earlier known as Calcutta, in the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...
of West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
. It is an assembly constituency. Burrabazar expanded from a yarn
Yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or...
and textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
market into the commercial nucleus of Kolkata and one of the largest wholesale
Wholesale
Wholesaling, jobbing, or distributing is defined as the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional, or other professional business users, or to other wholesalers and related subordinated services...
markets in India.
Etymology
Burrabazar is a Hindi word meaning big market. In Bengali, it is called Barobazar, , the meaning remaining same. However, there is another theory. The neighbourhood was earlier named after ‘Buro’, the popular name of ShivaShiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
. The Hindi-speaking merchants who ousted the earlier local merchants, made it ‘Bara’.
Sutanuti haat
Before the British came the most powerful families in the region were Sett and Bysacks, the merchants of yarn and cloth market at SutanutiSutanuti
Sutanuti was one of the three villages which were merged to form the city of Kolkata in India. The other two villages were Gobindapur and Kalikata. Job Charnock, an administrator with the British East India Company is traditionally credited with the honour of founding the city...
. With the arrival of the British these families flourished with renewed vigour. Janardan Sett was a trading agent of the British. Shobharam Bysack (1690-1773) became a millionaire by supplying textiles to British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
.One of the earliest names floating around is that of Mukundaram Sett, who lived in the earlier part of sixteenth century and moved from Satgaon
Saptagram
Saptagram was a major port, the chief city and sometimes capital of southern Bengal, in ancient and medieval times, the location presently being in the Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is about 4 km from Bandel, a major rail junction. By the early twentieth century, the...
to Gobindapur
Gobindapur
Gobindapur was one of the three villages which were merged to form the city of Kolkata in India. The other two villages were Kalikata and Sutanuti...
.Sutanuti haat has been traced back to 1738 by Orme
Robert Orme
Robert Orme , British historian, son of a British East India Company physician and surgeon, Dr. Alexander Orme, was born at Anjutheng, near Travancore on 25 December 1728, and after being educated at Harrow, entered the service of the British East India Company as a writer in Bengal in 1743...
. In the siege of 1756, troops of Siraj ud-Daulah
Siraj ud-Daulah
Mîrzâ Muhammad Sirâj-ud-Daulah , more commonly known as Siraj ud-Daulah , was the last independent Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The end of his reign marks the start of British East India Company rule over Bengal and later almost all of South Asia...
set fire to the market and took possession of Jorabagan
Jorabagan
Jorabagan is a neighbourhood in north Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal. As a neighbourhood, it covers a small area but its importance is primarily because of the police stationand the assembly constituency.- Etymology :...
and Kumortuli
Kumortuli
Kumortuli is a traditionally potters’ quarter in northern Kolkata , the capital of the east Indian state of West Bengal. By virtue of their artistic productions these potters have moved from obscurity to prominence...
, neighbourhoods further north where the merchants lived.
Bazar Kolkata
In between Sutanuti haat made way for Bazar Kolkata, some time in the 18th century. The market was spread over nearly 500 bighaBigha
The bigha is a unit of measurement of area of a land, commonly used in Nepal, Bangladesh and in a few states of India including Uttaranchal, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Gujarat, Rajasthan etc. The precise size of a bigha appears to vary considerably...
s and the residential area covered another 400 bighas. Apart from the Seths and Basaks, there were the gold merchants Mullicks and other men of their calibre. Their affluence and pomp are legends even in their days.There also were merchants of comparatively lesser affluence. As for example, the area around what is now Kalakar Street was known as Dhakapatty, as it was home to the Sahas, cloth merchants from Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
. The Sheths and Basaks had close links with such cloth producing centres as Dhaka, Murshidabad
Murshidabad
Murshidabad is a city in Murshidabad district of West Bengal state in India. The city of Murshidabad is located on the southern bank of the Bhagirathi, a distributary of the Ganges River. It was the capital of undivided Bengal during the Mughal rule. Nawabs of Bengal used to rule Bengal from this...
and Cossimbazar
Cossimbazar
Kasim Bazar or Cossimbazar, or Kasimbazar is a census town in Murshidabad in the Indian state of West Bengal. The town on the river Bhagirathi in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal, India, at one time included in the Berhampore municipality. In 1901 its population was just...
.
Geography
Burrabzar is bounded by PostaPosta, Burrabazar
Posta is a neighbourhood in central Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal. Once a citadel of Bengali mercantile aristocracy, it is now an extension of the whole sale market in neighbouring Burrabazar, dominated by Marwaris...
and Jorabagan
Jorabagan
Jorabagan is a neighbourhood in north Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal. As a neighbourhood, it covers a small area but its importance is primarily because of the police stationand the assembly constituency.- Etymology :...
on the north, Jorasanko
Jorasanko
Jorasanko is a neighbourhood in north Kolkata. It is so called because of the two wooden or bamboo bridges that spanned a small stream at this point.-History:...
and Kolutola on the east, B. B. D. Bagh
B. B. D. Bagh
B.B.D. Bag , formerly called Dalhousie Square, is the shortened version for Benoy-Badal-Dinesh Bag . It is the seat of power of the state government, as well as the central business district in Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal.-Origin of name:B.B.D...
on the south and Hooghly River on the west. Lalbazar and Bowbazar
Bowbazar
Bowbazar is a neighbourhood and police stationin central Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal...
are at the south-west corner of Burrabazar.The neighbourhood is adjacent to Howrah Bridge
Howrah Bridge
The Howrah Bridge is a cantilever bridge that spans the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India. Commissioned in 1943, the bridge was originally named the New Howrah Bridge, because it links the city of Howrah to its twin city, Kolkata . On 14 June 1965 it was renamed Rabindra Setu, after Rabindranath...
(renamed Rabindra Setu). One description of its boundaries puts it as follows: from Posta in the north to Canning Street in the south, and from Strand Road in the west to Chitpur Road in the east. Within this rough boundary it is a world in itself.
Sealdah
Sealdah is one of the major train stations serving Kolkata in India, the others being Howrah Station, Shalimar Station and Kolkata Railway Station. Sealdah is one of the busiest rail stations in India and an important suburban rail terminal...
railway station. It was constructed between December 1889 and 1892, sweeping away many an overcrowded tenement and festering lane. It is of the uniform breadth of 75 feet and named after Sir Henry Harrison, chairman of the corporation, by whom the scheme was inaugurated and matured. It has been renamed after Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
.
Burrabazar is served by the Mahatma Gandhi Road station of Kolkata Metro
Kolkata Metro
The Kolkata Metro or Calcutta Metro is a mass rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata and the districts of South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas in Indian state of West Bengal. The network consists of one operational line and five lines currently under construction...
.
Economy
Bardhaman Raj
The Bardhaman Raj was a zamindari estate that flourished from about 1657 to 1955, first under the Mughals and then under the British in the province of Bengal in India...
, most of the shops deal in spices. At Manohar Das Katra it is mostly hardware and textile. Vikram Chand Market and Khangrapatti sell mostly electronic goods and artificial ornaments.
For Diwali
Diwali
Diwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons...
, the festival of lights, it is transformed into a huge market for festive and religious ingredients. The number of makeshift stalls are around 800, spread around Kalakar Street and other areas. From idols to their dainty dresses, designer diyas (earthen lamps) to saffron-tinted laddus (round-shaped sweet meat), every conceivable article can be scooped from this gala bazaar, the city’s largest assortment of puja paraphernalia. The series of shops bang opposite the Jain temple, near Satyanarayan Park, flaunts ornately decked-up idols of Ganesha
Ganesha
Ganesha , also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh, also known as Ganapati , Vinayaka , and Pillaiyar , is one of the deities best-known and most widely worshipped in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations...
and Lakshmi
Lakshmi
Lakshmi or Lakumi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity , light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage; and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Representations of Lakshmi are also found in Jain monuments...
— the brother-sister divinities symbolising wealth and prosperity.
Administration
More than 50,000 merchants from across the country have been attracted to Burrabzar because of the immense business opportunities but musclemen have followed them to the trade hub. From providing protection to businessmen and transporting their black money to running a satta (form of betting) racket and settling property and payment disputes, these men, mostly from the neighbouring states, start off as confidantes of the trading community. In a few years, they break free and form their own gangs to extort money and engage in other forms of criminal activities.
Even small traders coming to Burrabazar face problems, but of a different sort. More than 1,000 cyclists cross Howrah bridge everyday to make purchases at Burrabazar. Most of these are small traders, from across the Hooghly River and they carry back goods for sale in their localities. Such people are regularly harassed by policemen on duty and let off against small payments.
Traffic
Slow traffic movement, congested footpaths, accident-prone roads, police-politician-hoodlum nexus and administrative apathy have become the bane of Burrabazar. Traffic in the area, including the approach road to Howrah bridge, has been a long-standing problem for people passing through the area. Whole of footpath and even around 30 % of Brabourne Road is clogged by hawkers who have permanent shops on both side of roads made of tarpaulins and bamboos reducing the already sparse motarable road in the area.Pedestrians are forced to walk on roads along with vehicles . While lorries, taxis, vans, and three-wheel goods carriers crowd the main roads, slow-moving vehicles like cycle-vans and carts clog the side-streets. It often takes more than half-an-hour to cross the two-km stretch.Unsafe buildings
Kolkata Municipal Corporation
Kolkata Municipal Corporation is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city of Kolkata. The organization is known, in short, as KMC . This civic administrative body administers an area of 185 sq. km. Its motto, Purosree Bibardhan, is inscribed on its emblem in Bengali...
, around 600 buildings in Burrabazar are risky and hazardous and another 500 partly risky. According to West Bengal Fire Service
West Bengal Fire Service
West Bengal Fire Service is the state owned service that attends fire/rescue calls throughout the Indian state of West Bengal, including the city of Kolkata. The service consists of 95 fire stations, 7500 Fire Force with over 350 fire appliances....
officials, at least 100 persons were injured in separate mishaps in which five buildings collapsed and 30 buildings caved in partially in 2007. In almost every building, 50 to 100 shops were built on each floor by erecting plywood partitions. The civic body has plans to pull down many of the unsafe buildings.
Fire hazards
Along with buildings in danger of collapsing, the fire services department has fixed its gaze on structures in Burrabazar that can catch fire any moment because of faulty wiring. According to fire service officials, most of the 50-odd fires that broke out in the trade hub in 2005 were caused by short circuits, a consequence of faulty connections. At least 500 buildings in Burrabazar can be described as fire hazards. A disaster can strike any day. There are numerous building with hundreds of temporary electrical connections. Most tenants have drawn up temporary connections, ignoring all rules. These illegal and haphazard connections often lead to short circuits and fire.According to fire brigade officials, “It is generally believed that there are more fires during Kali puja
Kali Puja
Kali Puja or Shyama Puja is a festival dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali, celebrated on the new moon day of the Hindu month Ashwin in Bengal. It coincides with the pan-Indian Lakshmi Puja day of Diwali...
. However, the number of fires during pujas has gone down considerably in recent times due to imposition of the fire-safety norms. There used to be around 15 fires during Durga puja
Durga Puja
Durga puja ; দুর্গা পূজা,ଦୁର୍ଗା ପୂଜା,‘Worship of Durga’), also referred to as Durgotsava ; , is an annual Hindu festival in South Asia that celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga. It refers to all the six days observed as Mahalaya, Shashthi, Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami and...
and over 100 fires during Kali puja. In 2005, there was only one fire during Durga puja and no fires at all during Kali puja.”
In January 2008, fire ravaged Nandram market in Burrabazar for nearly a week. 1,200 shops went up in flames.Three hundred fire fighters and 54 fire tenders were sent to fight the fire. More than 1,000 people, who live in neighbouring residential apartments, were evacuated. Traffic in the area was thrown out of gear.
Fires are regular features in Burrabazar. In January 2000, rows of shops were gutted at Manohar Das Katra. In December 2002, there was fire in the wholesale market of woollen goods. In April 2003, fire struck Satyanarayan Park AC market. In September 2004 there was fire in a sari shop in Hari Ram Goenka Street. In July 2005, there was fire at a hosiery warehouse, off Kalakar Street. In September 2005, there was fire in a Jackson Lane warehouse filled with plastic and paper. In March 2006, there was fire in a bank on Ezra Street.