North Kolkata has its distinct identity with its pioneering institutes standing cheek by jowl with old buildings—some crumbling, some still holding up its past glory—food and sweet shops, serpentine lanes steeped in history and para culture. Hatibagan is this old Kolkata’s shopping hub, living in the past as much as embracing the modern world.
A famous song, written by Sarat Chandra Pandit, popularly known as Dadathakur, and sung by Debabrata Biswas, goes: “Kolkata te sab kothate dekhchi bhari bhul/Ki ba kori ghure mori, naiki narakul/Naiko hati naiko bagan, Hatibagan bole/R badur bagan ete dekhi badur nahi jhole (Every name in Kolkata seems wrong/ There are neither elephants nor garden yet the area is called Hatibagan)."
Hatibagan got its name probably in 1756 when Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah captured Calcutta from East India Company. “The nawab aimed to recapture Calcutta from European control. During the preparation of the attack, Siraj and his trusted aide, Mir Jafar, started to assemble elephants at an open area of the then Sutanuti. Thus the area got its name, Hatibagan,” said Heritage enthusiast Swarnali Chattopadhyay and admin of Purono Kolkatar Golpo Society. The British were unprepared. Fort William, housing the entire European population, fell to the Indians on June 20. Siraj renamed Calcutta ‘Alinagar’. Chattopadhyay pointed out there was another theory: A person, with the surname, ‘Hati’, had a huge villa and a garden in this area. This was later bought by Mehtab Chand Mullick, who established Hatibagan market.
Skirting Shyambazar, Hatibagan is among the city’s oldest and largest markets, which has witnessed the changing history of Kolkata. During World War II, the Japanese troops dropped a bomb on the market that did not explode and devastating fires failed to raze the commercial hub. Even now, it thrives with hawkers’ stalls, centuryold shops and department stores doing brisk business together.
The market offers a varied range of fares, ranging from affordable clothes, cosmetics, shoes, accessories to stationery items, toys, games, sports goods and sweets, catering to buyers of all sections. Makeshift stalls selling jewellery, hair clips and crockery have a steady customer base. Whether it’s the pre-festive season or a usual day, shoppers can be seen milling around and bargaining with shopkeepers for the best price. For a month before Durga Puja, the entire Hatibagan area gets chock a block with buyers till late at night, and the crowd even spills onto the road, leaving hardly any space for vehicles.
Sanjit Kumar Saha, one of the owners of Bikrampur Bastralaya, famous for taant saris, said, “My father came to Calcutta almost 10 years before the Partition and started selling gamchhas at College Square. After a few years, probably after 1947, he rented this space and set up the shop, which was named Bikrampur Bastralaya, after our hometown. The name is a reminder of our roots. ” Saha added ‘gamchhas’ were still their “mother product” despite the popularity of taant saris. Hatibagan is also a place to buy affordable jewellery, laces and accessories. For Snigdha Chowdhury, a teacher, visiting Hatibagan is a ritual. “The variety and low price make Hatibagan a favourite. There are a few shops that I have been visiting since childhood. Whenever I need to buy earrings, blouse, taant sari or crockery, I go to Hatibagan. ”
The market has a unique merchandise on offer: toys and games, meant for toddlers as well as the elderly. Laxmi Narayan Mallick or Nanu Da, who owns Striker, one of the oldest toy shops in the area, said the variety of games and toys available at affordable rates in the shops along Shibdas Bhaduri Road was a major attraction. “Earlier, people had to go all the way to Park Street to buy toys. We opened our shop in 1981 exclusively for toys. ” He said, adding they avoided Chinese products. “We have toys for newborns as well as brain games for 99-yearolds,” said Mallick, adding several retired people visit his shop to buy games for themselves and to spend some time there. He pointed out after the pandemic, the middle-class seemed not too keen on spending on toys. “Online shopping is also affecting our business,” he said.
Hatibagan is one of the oldest markets here, offering a varied range of fares, ranging from affordable clothes, cosmetics, accessories, shoes to stationery items, toys, sports goods and sweets, catering to buyers of all sections
Hatibagan was also known as ‘cinema para’ with a number of single-screen theatres being located within half-a-kilometre. Uttara was probably the first single-screen hall in the Hatibagan area. Sri, Rupbani, Minar, Darpana, Mitra, Radha and Talkie Showhouse followed suit. The neighbourhood would be abuzz with cine-lovers, be it office babus or homemakers. But with the rise of multiplexes and OTT platforms, most of the single-screen halls have d isappeared. Minar and Star are the only ones in Hatibagan, which are still surviving, carrying on the legacy of a bygone era.
