Roy_Suvro
When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him: 'Whose?'
Burrabazar, Kolkata
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History -
Sutanuti haat
Before the British came the most powerful families in the region were Sett and Bysacks, the merchants of yarn and cloth market at Sutanuti. With the arrival of the British these families flourished with renewed vigour. Janardan Sett was a trading agent of the British. Shobharam Bysack (1690–1773) became a millionaire by supplying textiles to British East India Company. One of the earliest names floating around is that of Mukundaram Sett, who lived in the earlier part of sixteenth century and moved from Satgaon to Gobindapur. Sutanuti haat has been traced back to 1738 by Orme. In the siege of 1756, troops of Siraj ud-Daulah set fire to the market and took possession of Jorabagan and Kumortuli, neighbourhoods further north where the merchants lived.
Bazar Kolkata
In between Sutanuti haat made way for Bazar Kolkata, some time in the 18th century. The market was spread over nearly 500 bighas and the residential area covered another 400 bighas. Apart from the Seths and Basaks, there were the gold merchants Mullicks and other men of their calibre. Their affluence and pomp are legends even in their days.There also were merchants of comparatively lesser affluence. As for example, the area around what is now Kalakar Street was known as Dhakapatty, as it was home to the Sahas, cloth merchants from Dhaka. The Sheths and Basaks had close links with such cloth producing centres as Dhaka, Murshidabad and Cossimbazar.
Economy -
Burrabazar expanded from a yarn and textile market into one of the largest wholesale markets in India. Burrabazar is divided into highly specialised sub-markets, according to the commodity it deals in – Dhotipatti, Fancypatti, Tulapatti, Chinipatti etc. Further subdivisions are katra, chowk or kothi. A popular saying goes, “Anything and everything is available at Burrabazar. Even the tiger's eye is available here if you pay the right price.” Each katra (market) is known for a particular item. There are approximately 25 katras in Burrabazar. At Raja Katra, which originally belonged to the Maharaja of Bardhaman, most of the shops deal in spices. At Manohar Das Katra it is mostly hardware and textile. Vikram Chand Market and Khangrapatti sell mostly electronic goods and artificial ornaments.
For Diwali, the festival of lights, it is transformed into a huge market for festive and religious ingredients. The number of makeshift stalls are around 800, spread around Kalakar Street and other areas. From idols to their dainty dresses, designer diyas (earthen lamps) to saffron-tinted laddus (round-shaped sweet meat), every conceivable article can be scooped from this gala bazaar, the city’s largest assortment of puja paraphernalia. The series of shops bang opposite the Jain temple, near Satyanarayan Park, flaunts ornately decked-up idols of Ganesha and Lakshmi — the brother-sister divinities symbolising wealth and prosperity.
Traffic -
Slow traffic movement, congested footpaths, accident-prone roads, police-politician-hoodlum nexus and administrative apathy have become the bane of Burrabazar. Traffic in the area, including the approach road to Howrah bridge, has been a long-standing problem for people passing through the area. Whole of footpath and even around 30% of Brabourne Road is clogged by hawkers who have permanent shops on both side of roads made of tarpaulins and bamboos reducing the already sparse motarable road in the area.Pedestrians are forced to walk on roads along with vehicles . While lorries, taxis, vans, and three-wheel goods carriers crowd the main roads, slow-moving vehicles like cycle-vans and carts clog the side-streets. It often takes more than half-an-hour to cross the two-km stretch.
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For more stuffs visit - www.flickr.com/groups/snehangshu/pool
© All rights reserved. Use without permission is illegal
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him: 'Whose?'
Burrabazar, Kolkata
--------------------------
History -
Sutanuti haat
Before the British came the most powerful families in the region were Sett and Bysacks, the merchants of yarn and cloth market at Sutanuti. With the arrival of the British these families flourished with renewed vigour. Janardan Sett was a trading agent of the British. Shobharam Bysack (1690–1773) became a millionaire by supplying textiles to British East India Company. One of the earliest names floating around is that of Mukundaram Sett, who lived in the earlier part of sixteenth century and moved from Satgaon to Gobindapur. Sutanuti haat has been traced back to 1738 by Orme. In the siege of 1756, troops of Siraj ud-Daulah set fire to the market and took possession of Jorabagan and Kumortuli, neighbourhoods further north where the merchants lived.
Bazar Kolkata
In between Sutanuti haat made way for Bazar Kolkata, some time in the 18th century. The market was spread over nearly 500 bighas and the residential area covered another 400 bighas. Apart from the Seths and Basaks, there were the gold merchants Mullicks and other men of their calibre. Their affluence and pomp are legends even in their days.There also were merchants of comparatively lesser affluence. As for example, the area around what is now Kalakar Street was known as Dhakapatty, as it was home to the Sahas, cloth merchants from Dhaka. The Sheths and Basaks had close links with such cloth producing centres as Dhaka, Murshidabad and Cossimbazar.
Economy -
Burrabazar expanded from a yarn and textile market into one of the largest wholesale markets in India. Burrabazar is divided into highly specialised sub-markets, according to the commodity it deals in – Dhotipatti, Fancypatti, Tulapatti, Chinipatti etc. Further subdivisions are katra, chowk or kothi. A popular saying goes, “Anything and everything is available at Burrabazar. Even the tiger's eye is available here if you pay the right price.” Each katra (market) is known for a particular item. There are approximately 25 katras in Burrabazar. At Raja Katra, which originally belonged to the Maharaja of Bardhaman, most of the shops deal in spices. At Manohar Das Katra it is mostly hardware and textile. Vikram Chand Market and Khangrapatti sell mostly electronic goods and artificial ornaments.
For Diwali, the festival of lights, it is transformed into a huge market for festive and religious ingredients. The number of makeshift stalls are around 800, spread around Kalakar Street and other areas. From idols to their dainty dresses, designer diyas (earthen lamps) to saffron-tinted laddus (round-shaped sweet meat), every conceivable article can be scooped from this gala bazaar, the city’s largest assortment of puja paraphernalia. The series of shops bang opposite the Jain temple, near Satyanarayan Park, flaunts ornately decked-up idols of Ganesha and Lakshmi — the brother-sister divinities symbolising wealth and prosperity.
Traffic -
Slow traffic movement, congested footpaths, accident-prone roads, police-politician-hoodlum nexus and administrative apathy have become the bane of Burrabazar. Traffic in the area, including the approach road to Howrah bridge, has been a long-standing problem for people passing through the area. Whole of footpath and even around 30% of Brabourne Road is clogged by hawkers who have permanent shops on both side of roads made of tarpaulins and bamboos reducing the already sparse motarable road in the area.Pedestrians are forced to walk on roads along with vehicles . While lorries, taxis, vans, and three-wheel goods carriers crowd the main roads, slow-moving vehicles like cycle-vans and carts clog the side-streets. It often takes more than half-an-hour to cross the two-km stretch.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more stuffs visit - www.flickr.com/groups/snehangshu/pool
© All rights reserved. Use without permission is illegal
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------