Janbazar
Encyclopedia
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...
. The two century-old house of Rani Rashmoni
Rani Rashmoni
Rani Rashmoni was the founder of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple, Kolkata, and remained closely associated with Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa after she appointed him as the priest of the temple...
, the central attraction in Janbazar, is still used by descendants in the family.
History
Janbazar was one of the thirty-one police stations in the earliest list of police stations in Kolkata, prepared in 1785. However, it vanished after a reorganisation.After their victory in the Battle of Plassey
Battle of Plassey
The Battle of Plassey , 23 June 1757, was a decisive British East India Company victory over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies, establishing Company rule in South Asia which expanded over much of the Indies for the next hundred years...
, the English decided to build new Fort William
Fort William, India
Fort William is a fort built in Calcutta on the Eastern banks of the River Hooghly, the major distributary of the River Ganges, during the early years of the Bengal Presidency of British India. It was named after King William III of England...
, in 1758. The native population shifted from 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...
mostly to Sutanuti
Sutanuti
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...
. The European inhabitants of Kalikata
Kalikata
Kalikata was one of the three villages which were merged to form the city of Kolkata in India. The other two villages were Gobindapur and Sutanuti. Job Charnock, an administrator with the British East India Company is traditionally credited with the honour of founding the city...
gradually forsook the narrow limits of the old palisades and moved to around the Maidan
Maidan (Kolkata)
The Maidan is the largest urban park in Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a vast stretch of field and home to numerous play grounds, including the famous cricketing venue Eden Gardens, several football stadia, and Kolkata Race Course. Maidan is dotted with several statues and...
. Civilians were not allowed to live within the new fort. Gradually the areas to the south of the Great Tank
Lal Dighi
Lal Dighi is a body of water in the middle of B. B. D. Bagh, earlier known as Tank Square or Dalhousie Square, in the heart of Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal.-History:...
and to the east along Chowringhee Road were emerging as preferred haunts for the Englishmen. Thus, while Sutanuti emerged as the Black Town, the Esplanade
Esplanade, Calcutta
Esplanade is an area in central Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal. This is not a conventional esplanade in the sense that the place is not exactly situated alongside a waterbody. However, the river Ganges, also known as the Ganga or the Hooghly, is located nearby...
and Chowringhee emerged as the White Town.
Initially, the area between Jan Bazar Road (as it was then known) and Park Street attracted some 40 Europeans to build their residences there. However, the areas around Writers' building
Writers' Building
The Writers' Building is the secretariat building of the State Government of West Bengal in India. It is and is located in West Bengal's capital city of Kolkata. The Writers' Building originally served as the office for writers of the British East India Company, hence the name...
, Baitakkhana (Boubazar)
Bowbazar
Bowbazar is a neighbourhood and police stationin central Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal...
, Dharmatala
Dharmatala
Dharmatala is a neighbourhood in central Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal. Dharmatala Street has been renamed Lenin Sarani but the neighbourhood continues to be referred to as Dharmatala...
and Janbazar went down in estimation and were gradually taken over by 'the rest', which included half-castes, Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
ns and so on, 'to become grey areas between Black and White Towns of old Kolkata'.
Geography
Janbazar is broadly spread across Ward Nos. 52 and 46 of Kolkata Municipal Corporation.The road from Chowringhee to Circular Road, about a mile long, was called Jan Bazar Road till the end of the 19th century. It was then renamed Corporation Street and was further renamed Surendranath Banerjee Road.
In olden days, Kolkata streets had oil lamps. Then came the gas lamp and electricity. For sometime there was a tussle between gas lamps and electricity. In 1914, high-powered Keith lamps of 1,000 candle power were fixed on Corporation Street, and Chowringhee Road. Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation
Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation
The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation or CESC supplies electricity to area under the Kolkata municipal corporation in the city of Kolkata, India, mainly but also few areas of Howrah, Hooghly, 24 Parganas and 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal, India.-History:On 7 January 1897 Kilburn & Co...
bore the cost to demonstrate the advantage of electricity.
Janbazar is served by New Market Police Station of Kolkata Police
Kolkata Police
The Kolkata Police Force is one of the two police forces of the Indian state of West Bengal....
. The police station is located in Janbazar.
Rani Rashmoni's house
The most famous resident of Janbazar was Rani RashmoniRani Rashmoni
Rani Rashmoni was the founder of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple, Kolkata, and remained closely associated with Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa after she appointed him as the priest of the temple...
. Married at the age of 11 to Raj Chandra Das (Marh), the zamindar
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
of Janbazar, she constructed Dakshineswar Kali Temple
Dakshineswar Kali Temple
The Dakshineswar Kali Temple is a Hindu temple located in Dakshineswar near Kolkata. Situated on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, the presiding deity of the temple is Bhavatarini, an aspect of Kali, meaning, 'She who liberates Her devotees from the ocean of existence i.e Saṃsāra'...
and engaged in numerous philanthropic activities.
What is now known as Rani Rashmoni's house at the crossing of Rani Rashmoni Road and Surendranath Banerjee Road, was initially 70&71 Free School Street. Rani Rashmoni's father-in-law, Pritiram Das, started constructing this house in 1805. It took some 7–8 years to complete construction of the big house.
Rani Rashmoni did not have a son, she had four daughters – Padmamani, Kumari, Karunamoyee and Jagadamba. Karunamoyee died two years after her marriage. Mathuramohan Biswas, the widower, was married to Jagadamba. The house is now divided into three parts. Jagadamba's descendants live in 13 Rani Rashmoni Road, Kumari's descendants live in 18/3 Surendranath Banerjee Road, and Padmamani's descendants live in 20 Surendranath Banerjee Road.
Rani Rashmoni was a pillar of strength in the male dominated society of mid-nineteenth century. Almost all the rooms of her house are occupied or are still in use. There is a natmandir in front of the verandah, where the famous 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...
is held. The family is finding it difficult to maintain the house and although Kolkata Municipal Corporation
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...
has declared it a heritage building, it has no funds needed for restoration. Parts of the house are collapsing.