Satyajit Ray, Meghnad Saha, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Ganesh Pyne, Amalendu Dasgupta, Soumitra Chatterjee, Subhendu Chatterjee, N Viswanathan, SD Burman, RD Bur-man, Kanan Devi, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pt Jasraj, Pt Shankar Ghosh, Devaki Kumar Bose, Hemanta Muk• herjee and Sandhyarani shared more than their association with the world of arts, science and culture. Each of these icons resided in the same south Kolkata neighbourhood, just a stone's throw from one of the nation's most picturesque artificial lakes.
Back to nature
Rabindra Sarobar, bordered by Southern Avenue to the north, Rashbe-hari Avenue (Russa Road) to the west, Dhakuria to the east and the Kolkata Suburban Railway tracks to the south, stands as a treasured landmark. Over the years, this spot has served as a fa-vourite meeting place for couples, a haven for joggers, a favoured location for outdoor film and TV shoots and Instagram reels, a sanctuary for yoga practitioners, a retreat for rowers, a hangout zone for club members, a sane-tuary for devotees and a bustling area for hawkers.
Created from marshy land in the early 1920s, Rabindra Sarobar received the status of a national lake in 2002. Once referred to as Dhakuria lake, some regulars remain attached to the moni-ker: No para in Kolkata, they insist, has such a collage of greens, blues and browns. The drooping branches on the shimmering lakes invite the migratory birds during the winters. This sight, say fitness freaks on the walking tracks, compares to what is seen in some of the best parks in the world. During sum• mers, when sweat bubbles drip down the forehead leaving people to scamper to the confines of air conditioning in the early evenings, couples seated on the black benches and caressed by the balmy breeze happily pen their private lakeside stories before heading to Vivekananda Park for rounds of 'aloor dum phuchka" or yogurt filled 'dahi phuchka.
Socio-cultural hot spot
For many, this zone has a huge impact on Kolkata's sports, social and cultural calendar. Cricket coaching at Vivekananda Park and first division football matches at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium made them sportspersons' delight. Then, there are the events at The Lake Club, The Calcutta Rowing Club and The Bengal Rowing Club. For author Prabal Kumar Basu, the added attraction is the blue waters of the Indian Life Saving Society where he has been swimming since 1965. "It is my second home. A day remains incomplete without a walk in Rabindra Sarobar," Basu said.
The once open-air Nazrul Mancha, now being turned into an AC auditorium, has hosted some of the greatest Indian concerts as well as western bands and musicians. The Filmotsav in 1990 was a huge draw. Rock guitar icon Joe Satriani played at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium, too. "I have lived in that neighbourhood for more than 50 years. My guru, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, established his first college of music in Lake Market in 1956.
Stalwarts like Ustad Vilayat Khan, Ustad Imrat Khan, Pt Nikhil Banerjee, Pt VJ Jog, Pt Jnanprakash Ghosh used to visit on Saraswati Puja. Inside the lakes, our favourite haunt has been the 'Chakraboithok', where legends regularly came to perform. From the 1990s, our biggest attraction on Southern Avenue has been the Dover Lane Music Conference at Nazrul Mancha. We even listened to Pete Seger's concert at Nazrul Manch." said musicologist Anindya Banerjee.
The Birla Academy of Art and Culture is a few steps away. "I remember visiting the Rodin exhibition there in 1983. It was such a sensation for us then. A recent addition is the Kolkata International Foundation for Arts Literature and Culture, which has a huge collection of books, an art gallery and is fast becoming a new space for creative minds," Basu said.
Films and film-makers
Till 1959, Satyajit Ray used to live in a flat on 31, Lake Avenue. Today, that four storey house is the property of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Ray called his para his home when he directed cult films like 'Pather Panchali", 'Parash Pather", "Jalsaghar' and 'Apur Sansar". This para unearthed the writer and illustrator persona of Ray. Professor Shonku and Feluda series were all written here. Even the 'Sandesh' magazine was revived from here. Old-timers still take pride in their celebrity neighbours. Director Atanu Ghosh remembers visiting Hemanta Kumar's residence that stood opposite Me-noka Cinema the day he passed away in 1989. "Soumitra Chatterjee, Anil Chatterjee and Mrinal Sen had all gathered. The hanging bridge and lily pool are favourite shooting destinations for Tollywood," Ghosh said.
A melting pot
The unique character of this para is evident in its seamless synthesis of the old with the new, blending the archaic with the cosmopolitan. Chinese, Lebanese and continental food joints vie for space alongside restaurants offering traditional Bengali fare or joints serving piping hot tea and singara. Art deco residences stand next to new-age architectural constructions.
Practice of different faiths is done with equal fervour: Pilgrims from various faiths coexist harmoniously in the area. Art enthusiasts find it impossible to overlook the monumental monolithic sculpture titled Mangal-Madhava at the Birla Academy of Art and Culture, located within the institution's premises. Devotees flock to the nearby Lake Kalibari. Maa Phire Elo - Kolkata's first Durga Museum - was established in 2012 inside Rabindra Sarobar. Inside the lake, just beyond the picturesque hanging bridge, a small island is home to a private mosque. In close proximity stands the pristine white Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist Temple, founded in 1935 by Nichidatsu Fujii, and reminiscent of a Sanchi stupa. The temple, much like this neighbourhood, extends a warm welcome to all.
LUNGS OF SOUTH KOLKATA
> Calcutta Improvement Trust (CIT) had acquired 192 acre of marshy jungle to develop the surrounding areas for residential use. Earth was excavated from here to raise the level of the land to the south. Eventually, Jodhpur Park came up in this raised land while the excavated area was developed into a huge lake
> The excavation of the lake was led by CIT's first chairman Cecil Henry Bompass, KMC's chief-engineer M R Atkins and an engineer from Shibpur BE College Prabodh Chandra Chatterjee
> The lake was initially known as Bompass Lake. It later came to be known as Dhakuria Lake and in May 1958, CIT renamed the lake Rabindra Sarovar. The eponymous water body now lends its name to the neighbourhood now
> Of the 192 acre, the lake covers 73 acres. The rest is the ground that has different species of trees and shrubs
