Calcutta Studies

Sumanta Mondal revisits the critically acclaimed novel that has given a new name to Calcutta as the city of joy.  The novel The City of Joy by the French author Dominique Lapierre was first published in 1985. The book is a gripping tale of Calcutta and its penurious streets. The ‘city of joy’ is the name given to Anand Nagar, one of the slums in Calcutta. The story focuses on the trials and tribulations of the interwoven lives of a young Polish Catholic priest named Stephan Kovalski, an improvised rickshaw puller Hasari Pal and an American doctor named Max Loeb. ‘City of Joy’ was inspired by true events where Dominique lived in the slums for two years to record the experiences of their lives. The book chronicles the themes of class segregation, stigmatization of the caste system, religion, and the perpetual struggle of the poor in urban Calcutta. The story begins with Father Stephen Kovalski who has decided to join a religious order that sends its members to provide aid to the ...

  The glorious Star Theatre Parna Das Basu curates the story of Hatibagan, the heritage market area of Calcutta, which had a Cinema Para now lost in the sands of time. Come the post monsoon season, the footfalls still increase in the entire stretch of Bidhan Sarani, erstwhile Cornwallis Street, in search of new saree designs or new dresses. Still now, in many Bengali households, Pujor Bajar start from and end in Hatibagan. Hatibagan still stands in testimony to the bygone time when people flocked in crowds to buy ‘Alpin to Elephant’ here after watching their favourite films shown in the single screen cinema halls, while joining in interesting conversations (read Adda) on their way to their respective homes. The main gate of Hatibagan Market says that Nawab Siraz-ud-Daula along with his generals Mir Madan and Mohanlal attacked the British constructed Fort William in Kolkata in the year 1757. His elephant troops were stationed in the area presently known as Hatibagan. The name Hatib...

The organizers of Khana-e-Kidderpore Antara Mukherjee reports a food festival at Government Girls’ General Degree College, Ekbalpore. In A Taste of Time: A Food History of Calcutta (2021), “Food,” says Mohona Kanjilal, “has always been an integral part of the lifestyle of the residents of Calcutta...whether it is...the phuchka wallah...the jhal muri wallah, selling the spicy puffed rice preparation...or the ghugni wallah serving...the semi-dry and spicy preparation of whole yellow peas...”. Indeed, Food, as a prominent marker of one’s culture, defines the socio-economic fabric of a particular region. As a trading post for the East India Company, the city of Kolkata saw a huge influx of communities and their accompanying culture and cuisine from around mid- eighteenth century. Resultantly enough, Khidirpur or the anglicized Kidderpore area – comprising of Khidderpore, Mominpur, Ekbalpore along with its suburban extension Metiaburz – became a hub of shipping activity and a base for migr...

  Three volumes of Darogar Daftar Shreya Das writes a review of Darogar Daftar .  Book: Darogar Daftar (Vol. I, II & III) Author: Priyanath Mukhopadhyay Publisher: Punashcha Priyanath Mukhopadhyay was a native daroga, active during the late nineteenth century. His Darogar Daftar is his account of true police procedurals that take place in and around contemporary Calcutta. As the metropole becomes a field for experiment for the Colonial Police and Legislation, Priyanath exhibits a very unique sensibility that was largely influenced by his training under his British superiors. Priyanath’s Darogar Daftar not only entertains with its gripping narrative of catching the perpetrators but also provides a faithful testimony to the changing face of British Calcutta. In this Calcutta, the contemporary fear of the Bengali Upper- and Middle-Class towards the poor and the uneducated, seeps through their treatment of the lower-class workers and prostitutes. Being an agent of t...