Tollygunge
Encyclopedia
Tollygunge is a locality of South Kolkata
. It is flanked by the Eastern Railway
south suburban line to the north, Lake Gardens and Golf Green in the east, the Pashchim & Purba Putiaries in the south, and Behala
in the west.
William Tolly, the Ferdinand de Lesseps
of Calcutta, who in 1775-76 started a project to excavate and dredge the Tolly's Nullah (Adi Ganga
) (also named for him) as a passage for the people of East Bengal
and Assam
to Calcutta. He was also granted a license to collect tolls from the passing boats and permitted to open a gunj or market on the eastern bank of the nullah
by the British East India Company
.
The dream project of Major Tolly became fully alive in 1776 and subsequently it was opened to navigation in 1777. Since then, this 17 mile long canal is known as Tolly's Nullah and the market of Major Tolly as Tollygunge which was somewhere near Tollygunge Road on the eastern bank of this Nullah. Now a large area on both sides of the Nullah bears the name Tollygunge.
Today, Tollygunge is one of the premium localities of Kolkata. Tollywood
, the centre of the Bengali film industry
, is at Tollygunge.
It is one of the most rapidly developing areas of Kolkata
. Residents of Tollygunge are mostly East Bengali Refugees
, like many other South Kolkata neighborhoods.
Tollygunge Railway Station is located on the Budge Budge
section of the Sealdah South Suburban Railway
. The Mahanayak Uttam Kumar (formerly Tollygunge) metro station had been a terminal station of Kolkata's Metro Railway
from 1984-2009. From 2009, the overground extension of the Metro Railway has extended the Metro's range to beyond Tollygunge up to Garia
.
The Calcutta Tramways Company
depot in Tollyguge serves as a terminal point for the tram
service (which links it to Ballygunge
and B.B.D. Bagh) and city buses operated by the same company. Regular air-conditioned Volvo
bus services introduced in 2009 provide easy access to airport
.
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...
. It is flanked by the Eastern Railway
Eastern Railway (India)
The Eastern Railway is one of the 17 zones of the Indian Railways. Its headquarters is at Fairley Place, Kolkata, and comprises four divisions: Howrah, Malda, Sealdah, and Asansol. These are the financial departments and each has an assistant divisional financial manager , divisional railway...
south suburban line to the north, Lake Gardens and Golf Green in the east, the Pashchim & Purba Putiaries in the south, and Behala
Behala
Behala is a neighbourhood in South West Kolkata, in the Indian state of West Bengal. Behala was officially known as South Suburban Municipality until it was merged with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation on January, 1984. Now it is broadly spread across Ward Nos.118 and 132 of the KMC and is...
in the west.
History
Tollygunge is named after MajorMajor
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
William Tolly, the Ferdinand de Lesseps
Ferdinand de Lesseps
Ferdinand Marie, Vicomte de Lesseps, GCSI was the French developer of the Suez Canal, which joined the Mediterranean and Red Seas in 1869, and substantially reduced sailing distances and times between the West and the East.He attempted to repeat this success with an effort to build a sea-level...
of Calcutta, who in 1775-76 started a project to excavate and dredge the Tolly's Nullah (Adi Ganga
Adi Ganga
Adi Ganga , also known as Gobindapur creek, Surman’s Nullah and Tolly’s Nullah, was the main flow of the Hooghly River from the 15th to 17th century but has subsequently virtually dried up.-History:...
) (also named for him) as a passage for the people of East Bengal
East Bengal
East Bengal was the name used during two periods in the 20th century for a territory that roughly corresponded to the modern state of Bangladesh. Both instances involved a violent partition of Bengal....
and Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
to Calcutta. He was also granted a license to collect tolls from the passing boats and permitted to open a gunj or market on the eastern bank of the nullah
Nullah
A Nullah or Nulla is an arm of the sea, stream, or watercourse, a steep narrow valley. Like the wadi of the Arabs, the nullah is characteristic of mountainous or hilly country where there is little rainfall...
by the 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...
.
The dream project of Major Tolly became fully alive in 1776 and subsequently it was opened to navigation in 1777. Since then, this 17 mile long canal is known as Tolly's Nullah and the market of Major Tolly as Tollygunge which was somewhere near Tollygunge Road on the eastern bank of this Nullah. Now a large area on both sides of the Nullah bears the name Tollygunge.
Today, Tollygunge is one of the premium localities of Kolkata. Tollywood
Cinema of West Bengal
The cinema of West Bengal refers to the Tollygunge-based Bengali film industry in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The origins of the nickname Tollywood, a portmanteau of the words Tollygunge and Hollywood, dates back to 1932...
, the centre of the Bengali film industry
Bengali cinema
Bengali cinema refers to the Bengali language filmmaking industries in the Bengal region of South Asia. There are two major film-making hubs in the region: one in Kolkata, West Bengal, India and the other in Dhaka, Bangladesh .The history of cinema in Bengal dates back to the 1890s, when the first...
, is at Tollygunge.
It is one of the most rapidly developing areas of Kolkata
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...
. Residents of Tollygunge are mostly East Bengali Refugees
East Bengali Refugees
East Bengali Refugees are people that left East Bengal following the partition of Bengal, which was part of the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947.-History:...
, like many other South Kolkata neighborhoods.
Transport
Tollygunge is facilitated with well connected transport mediums. It serves as terminal points of several transport services like the tram, city buses of the Calcutta Tramways company and is a major metro station.Tollygunge Railway Station is located on the Budge Budge
Budgebudge
Budge Budge is a town and a municipality in South 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority.-History:...
section of the Sealdah South Suburban Railway
Kolkata Suburban Railway
The Kolkata Suburban Railway is the rail system for the suburbs surrounding the city of Kolkata . Railways such as this are important and heavily-used infrastructure in India....
. The Mahanayak Uttam Kumar (formerly Tollygunge) metro station had been a terminal station of Kolkata's Metro Railway
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...
from 1984-2009. From 2009, the overground extension of the Metro Railway has extended the Metro's range to beyond Tollygunge up to Garia
Garia
Garia is a posh neighbourhood in south Kolkata, India. It includes the localities of Naktala, New Garia, Chak Garia, Garia Park, Baghajatin, Baishnabghata-Patuli, Techno City, Model Town, Ganguly Bagan, Tentulberia, East Tentulberia, Ramgarh, Briji, Kamalgazi, Mahamayatala, Boral, Sreenagar,...
.
The Calcutta Tramways Company
Calcutta Tramways Company
The Calcutta Tramways Company Limited is a West Bengal, India government-run company which runs trams in Kolkata and buses in and around Kolkata...
depot in Tollyguge serves as a terminal point for the tram
Calcutta Tramways Company
The Calcutta Tramways Company Limited is a West Bengal, India government-run company which runs trams in Kolkata and buses in and around Kolkata...
service (which links it to Ballygunge
Ballygunge
Ballygunge is an upmarket and elite locality in South Kolkata, India. It is flanked by Park Circus in the north, Kasba and the Eastern Railway south suburban line in the east, Dhakuria and the Lakes in the south, and the localities of Bhowanipore and Lansdowne in the west...
and B.B.D. Bagh) and city buses operated by the same company. Regular air-conditioned Volvo
Volvo
AB Volvo is a Swedish builder of commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and construction equipment. Volvo also supplies marine and industrial drive systems, aerospace components and financial services...
bus services introduced in 2009 provide easy access to airport
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport is an airport located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, serving the greater Kolkata metro area. The airport was originally known as Dum Dum Airport before being renamed in the honour of Subhas Chandra Bose...
.
Notable Neighborhoods
- Rabindra Sarovar
- Charu Market
- Tollygunge Phari
- Rajani Sen Road
- Kudghat
- Ashok Nagar
- Regent Park
- Moore Avenue
- Ranikuthi
- Netaji Nagar
- Bansdroni
- NaktalaNaktalaNaktala is a neighbourhood in South Kolkata, near Garia under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation in West Bengal, India. It is bounded by Ganguly Bagan to the north, Bansdroni to the west, Garia Crossing to the south and Baishnabghata to the east.- History :Previously forest, swampland and a...
Educational Institutions
- G.D.Birla Centre For EducationG.D.Birla Centre For EducationG.D. Birla Centre for Education is an ICSE affiliated school in Kolkata. The youngest school in in the Ashok Hall Group Of Schools, it was founded in 1973 and is named after Ghanshyam Das Birla. The school is located in Tollygunge...
- Calcutta Institute of Engineering and ManagementCalcutta Institute of Engineering and ManagementCalcutta Institute of Engineering and Management is a Tertiary institution in Tollygunge, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.The Institute was founded in 2003 with an aim to develop a “Center for Excellence”, by eminent educationalists, social workers and most importantly the Government of West Bengal...
- NSHM Business School
- Nava Nalanda High SchoolNava Nalanda High SchoolNava Nalanda is a co-educational institution in South Kolkata, India, affiliated to the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education for Madhyamik Pariksha , and to the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education for Uchcho Madhyamik Pariksha...
- Sir Nripendranath Institution
- Gangapuri Siksha Sadan
- Paschim Putiary Sukharanjan Vidyamandir High School
- Naktala High School
- Swami Pranabananda Vidyapith
- Shri Ritam Vidyapith
- Chatterjee Institute For Education, Ramgarh
- The Assembly of God Church School
- Miranda High School, Boral
- B.D. Memorial Institute
- Narmada High School
- Brajamohan Tewary Institution
- Mansur Habibullah Memorial School (Formerly: South End School)
- Rajendra Nath Vidya Bhawan
- Kalidhan institution
- Ashok Nagar Boys High School
- Milan Garh Girls High School
- The Future Foundation School
Places of Interest
- Rabindra SarobarRabindra SarobarRabindra Sarobar is an artificial lake in south Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is popularly referred to as the "Lungs of Calcutta"....
lake - Tollygunge ClubTollygunge ClubThe Tollygunge Club, popularly called the Tolly, is a country club with, among other facilities, a 18-hole course located in Tollygunge in South Kolkata. The course has a yardage of 6520/5686 and Par: 71....
- Mudiali Club, Shivmandir Durgapuja
- Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC)
- ITC Sangeet Research AcademyITC Sangeet Research AcademyITC Sangeet Research Academy is a Hindustani classical music academy run by the corporate house, ITC Ltd.. It is located in Kolkata, India. Noted musicians associated with the academy include Ulhas Kashalkar...
- Indrapuri Film Studio
- Technicians Studios, NTI & NT2
- Swetambar GujaratiGujarati peopleGujarati people , or Gujaratis are an ethnic group that is traditionally Gujarati-speaking and can trace their ancestry to the state of Gujarat in western India...
Jain TempleTempleA temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
at N.S.C. Bose RoadNetaji Subash Chandra Bose RoadThis is an important thoroughfare in South Kolkata that runs in a north-west to south-east direction. It connects the localities of Tollygunge in the north-west and Garia in the south-east.... - Malancha Cinema Hall
- Charnock City 2
- Karunamoyee Temple on M.G.Road
- Navina Cinema hall
- Sadhu Baba (Sadhu Taracharan Asram) Tollygunge road
- Mukta Das' Rhythm Tabla Shop
- Ranga Java Alta Sindoor Company
Notable Residents
- A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami PrabhupadaA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami PrabhupadaAbhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was a Gaudiya Vaishnava teacher and the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, commonly known as the "Hare Krishna Movement"...
, founder of ISKCON - Utpal DuttUtpal DuttUtpal Dutt was an Indian actor, director, and writer-playwright. He was primarily an actor in Bengali Theatre, where he became a pioneering figure in Modern Indian theatre, when he founded the 'Little Theater Group' in 1947, which enacted many English, Shakespearean and Brecht plays, in a period...
, notable film actor and theater personality. His house is near Regent Park Post Office and Malancha Movie Hall. - Sailen Mukherjee. notable film actor and theater personality. His house is in Jubilee Park , Tollyguange.