The Street that Never Sleeps

Joydip Sur

Going down memory lane, in the year 1767, the official burial ground within the St. John’s Church premises was facing a severe space crunch. It was on August 25, 1767, when a new burial ground (now known as South Park Street Cemetery) was built on Circular Road. Since then, the connecting road came to be known as the ‘Road to Burial Ground’. And when we see Park Street today in the light and shade of ebullience, it is hardly believable that it was once nothing more than just the ‘Ghorustan Ka Rustah’.

The name ‘Park Street’ owes its origin to the deer park of Sir Elijah Impey, the first Chief Justice (appointed in 1773) of the New Supreme Court, then at Calcutta. It was this ‘park’ that made the discarded, uninhabited ‘rustah’ succumb to today’s peppy, dazzling and high on life Park Street. Slightly over a decade ago, Park Street has again been rechristened as Mother Teresa Sarani. But for the millions who call Calcutta their home, it still remains the good old ‘Park Street’.

Geographically, Park Street runs from Jawaharlal Nehru Road in the west to Park Circus in the east. This stretch that also runs through Mullick Bazaar has been one of the city’s main attractions for decades.

The street itself exudes an aura of perennial celebration. The night life on Park Street is the most enjoyable part, owing to the dazzling presence of the city’s cynosure discos, pubs and bars. Whether at the peak hours of noon or late at night, the jazzy street is always on the move.

This is also a shoppers’ paradise. Numerous shops dot both the sidewalks of Park Street conferring a busy look upon it. While the city droops to slumber, Park Street wakes up to the tune of life. Walking through the street one can feel the inexhaustible flow of elixir sweeping the entire area.

Among several notable buildings that calls Park Street their home are The Asiatic Society, Queens Mansion, Park Mansion, Stephen Court, St. Xavier’s College and the South Park Street Cemetery which has cenotaphs and tombs of prominent figures from the British Raj and Calcutta’s Armenian population.

Park Street remains Calcutta’s foremost dining district with noted restaurants such as Trincas, Flury’s, Quality, One Step Up and Bar-B-Q among others. And then there is Olypub – the popular watering hole famous for its chateaubriand. We must mention The Park Hotel, famous for its in-house restaurants and night club, Roxy.

The hotel is also home to Someplace Else, the Mecca of the live music scene in Calcutta. This pub has witnessed performances by the finest musicians of the city and from other parts of India.

A visit to Calcutta is deemed incomplete without a visit to pulsating Park Street. Any gloomy day can turn vibrant if you simply leisurely walk on one of the pavements in Park Street and feel the wave of life.

Park Street remains the recreation hub for the people of Calcutta since the British era. Crisscrossed by history, this street continues to live up to the emerging trend of glitz and glamour. It explains why it is the arterial hub of our social and nightlife.