A dollop of Bengal – Esplanade

E is for Eden Gardens – the mecca of cricket, Ecopark – the biggest park in India situated in New Town- Rajarhat and Entally – one of the oldest localities in Kolkata, but for me E is and will always be the heart of the city –Esplanade.

Esplanade –

Situated in central Kolkata, this is the area from where the first tram and then the first underground metro started. It is also one of the busiest areas with 2 to 3 lakh vehicles passing during the rush hours each day. Esplanade has a bus terminus near Shahid Minar from where buses connecting spots within the city as well as places within the state begin their journey. Walking down the streets give a feeling of the bygone era. Most of the vintage cinema halls like Metro, New Empire and Lighthouse have been mostly replaced by multiplexes and malls. The pavement has branded showrooms on one side while street hawkers selling a range of items on the other. It is difficult to walk through the crowded place with thriving business on the street side stalls.

Esplanade
Esplanade

An old shop called Symphony in the surrounding was famous for stacking rare collection of music cassettes from all over the world. If a cassette was not available here, it simply implied that it would not be available anywhere else. The oldest five-star hotel of the city Grand Oberoi known as the Grand Dame of Chowringee is located near Esplanade metro station. The first multi-storeyed AC complex Sreeram Arcade was opened in this area. The street shops are a delight to shop at if one is pro at bargaining. One gets quality products for prices as cheap at 100 INR. Purses, soft toys, artificial jewellery, dress materials, cosmetics are few of the items in high demand. Apparel Shops like Sumangal and Milaan selling clothes and dress materials are much sought after even today. The place is also famous for street food. New market is located just a few minutes away. 

The personal angle –

Every visit to and from Kolkata by bus ended or began from Esplanade. This was the first place in the city that I had grown up to be familiar with. The first movie that I ever saw in the city was Ajnabee in Metro cinema. I hadn’t explored this area much during my student life but post wedding, every trip to the city meant  a day dedicated to street shopping at Esplanade with the husband. And now that we are settled here, Esplanade is gradually becoming a must visit destination for us quite frequently.

Towards Esplanade
Walking towards Esplanade

Stay tuned for some interesting subjects on F tomorrow.

Author: Sonia Chatterjee

Who am I? An erstwhile banker turned blogger/writer/author. Any qualifications? A Post-Graduate degree in Chemistry followed by a second Post-Graduate Diploma in Management. I completed a one-year MFA in creative writing course from the Writer's Village University, U.S. in Dec 2020. Though I must admit that I am still trying to figure out how and when I can connect all these dots. Have I done any real work? If two years in market research, six years in banking as a branch head, three-plus years of blogging, writing, and publishing a book can be considered as real work, then yes! Where do I live? After spending life like a nomad for sixteen years in Delhi, Bangalore & Mysore, I am back to where it all started from - Kolkata. My favorite things - Books, coffee, travel, food, and my five-year-old son. What is this blog about? Through Sonia's musings, I intend to explore writing in various genres, create social awareness, spread laughter, and give words to emotions. Anything for readers? You can check out my book 'Deal of Death' on Amazon Kindle. If you like fast-paced thrillers, this Detective fiction introducing the woman sleuth, Raya Ray could turn out to be your perfect weekend read.

23 thoughts on “A dollop of Bengal – Esplanade”

  3. I Just realised I haven’t visited Esplanade in a long time. Got to visit, soon. I have always enjoyed the Esplanade- park street. Really missed the iconic cinema halls on my last visit to Esplanade , around a year ago. I really love the new market too. Was a place I regularly visited during my student life with PCGH friends or sisters/ cousins. So many memories!
    Thanks, my dear for the nostalgia.
    Superb write!

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  4. You know, Sonia, you could collate all these posts and make it into ‘Bengal Diaries’, or a magazine dedicated to giving info about Bengal. There’s everything here that one would want to know about that place! I can see your hard work in every post!

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  9. You do have a way with words and I am really planning to visit West Bengal for my next vacation. The personal angle adds color to the description. Thanks for the ride.

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