Chowringhee Road, Calcutta Oldest Road, 1910 Postcard
Old 1910 postcard of Chowringhee Road Calcutta’s oldest road. Once the toniest place at the time of British era Calcutta (Kolkata). Chowringhee Road was more of a boulevard, the broadest avenue in the city. Lined with charming and classy departmental stores, hotels, offices, bungalows, and so on. Officially renamed Jawaharlal Nehru Road, but commonly called by its old name even now. Interestingly the street was one of the first roads in the city.
Even before the arrival of the British, the road linked the villages of Kalighat and Chowringhee. The British expanded outside the Fort Williams area after perceived threats diminished from other colonialists and chieftains by the 1800s. Chowringhee was the earliest area to be developed, and Kolkata first began from here. So much so that it became their most cherished and popular commercial center until the departure of the British in 1947.
See post Horse-Drawn Tram Kolkata – Old Photo 1880.
Did you know- during the early developments around the Chowringhee area, they built huge bungalows and houses thus earning Kolkata the tag ‘City of Palaces.’
From the collection- 1964 M. Suriyamoorthy Charcoal Art Abstract (#8)., 1974 Photo Kerala Cargo Boat On The Backwaters., George Prince of Wales In India, Old Print 1906., Victoria Terminus Railway Station Bombay – 2 Old Photos
