Park Street Blues

Arjun Mukherjee

Park Street hides behind its soul.

A desolate, uncivilised character from its past.

Infested with dacoits in 1767, it was called the ‘Burying Ground Road’.

It only helped the cemetery fill up.

‘Gorasthan ka Rasta’ is what Bengal and Agra directory refers to it by.

Matters improved partially after 1840, when it got the sugary coating of ‘Vansitart Avenue’ after Governor Henry Vansitart.

The ‘park’ of the street possibly emanates from a deer-park at Vansitart’s garden house which incidentally was where Loreto House is today.

Surprisingly, reports also suggest that the street name could have come from Sir Elijah Impey’s deer-park.

Too many deer parks for that matter.

That past is now well passed.

Food Street

On this street food is not passable.

My endorsement comes from unforgettable foodie memories.

The Waldorf made Calcutta’s tongue wag to gourmet Chinese.

The heavenly Chicken Tetrazzini of Skyroom has managed to vanish with the angels.

And the hakka chow of the then ‘Chinese owned’ Peiping dutifully left with them.

Though the Fish Meuniere of Mocambo or the Chelo Kebab of Peter Cat are still superlative gastronomic escapades.

Drop in at The Street café for atmospherics or the Cha Bar at Oxford for quiet surprises.

Somebody at Park Hotel decided to down the shutters of the 007 Bar a long time back. Blame it on whom?

Even Barista next to Castlewood packed up. Pity.

Olympia as always was for the diehards with heady stuff. Former Olympians include the poet late Shakti Chattopadhyay, Pritish Nandy, my friend Tapan Chaki, Barun Chanda, Dritiman (Sundar) Chatterjee and too a degree, me. Most of us claimed that we dropped by for the beefsteak though.

Past Perfect

The IFA shield used to travel to Castlewood for its yearly spit and polish. As a class VIII Xaverian, I used to gawk in awe.

Does anyone remember Jakkimulls?

A gentleman tailor with a David Niven moustache waved the chalk like some mystic.

Sub Zero at Hobby Centre dished out ice creams that belonged to the Gods.

Melody

Arther Gracias, the Goan with butter fingers made piano sound like your heartstrings.

Usha, the Iyer not Uthup, produced a voice like a sweet sounding saxophone.

Braz Gonzales and Louis Banks were making music history in front of us and we hardly knew.

Fact File

Name the place and he owned it. The late Jit Paul owned almost half of Park Street.

The Park Hotel, Apeejay House, Oxford, Flurys, T3, Park Mansion, Apeejay Surrendra and surprisingly even the cemeteries!

The Oriental Gas Company on Park Street was the first to light up Calcutta’s streets. Remarkable to say the least.

Rabindranath Tagore was a student of St. Xavier’s on the same street.

Oxford still manages to draw Nobel laureates and a man called M. F. Hussain on bare feet.

And as I speak of Park Street, I almost forget that Mother Teresa has quietly changed its name to hers.