College Street

College Street is an eminent center of Kolkata’s literary crowd. It is second home to the intellectuals, scholars, academicians, students and book lovers of Kolkata city. Also colloquially known as ‘Boi Para’ (book-mart), it houses Kolkata’s most prestigious and renowned academic institutions like University Of Calcutta, Calcutta Medical College, Presidency College, Sanskrit College, Hare School and Hindu School. The place has a unique charm of its own. Dotted with makeshift book stalls constructed with bamboo, wood, canvas and sheets of tin on both sides of the road, College Street is a paradise for book lovers. It’s a one of its kind book market place in the world which draws locals and tourists alike from every corner of the globe. It is a regular place of visit for book trotters. One can get all kinds of book here. The universal availability of books and the large network of shop owners make your book buying experience truly memorable. Famous publication houses like Ananda Publishers, Abhijan Publishers, Dey’s publishing are located here. It is the largest second-hand book market in the world and largest book market in India.

Location of College Street at Kolkata

It is placed between Bowbazar and Mahatma Gandhi Road.

History of College Street of Kolkata

The inception of the name ‘College Street’ goes back to the time when The Hindu College was first established in 1817. The Hindu College was the brainchild of David Hare, who wanted to set up ‘an institution for giving a liberal education to the children of the members of the Hindu Community.’ This noble idea of the British man found admirable acceptance from eminent figures of the Hindu community. Babu Buddinath Mukherjee along with the support of the Chief Justice, Sir Edward Hyde East, and some European and Hindu gentlemen helped Hare to establish the college. With unanimous approbation finally Hare successfully established the Hindu College with twenty scholars. Thus, the street on which the Hindu college was located came to be known as College Street under the Governorship of Lord Wellesley. Lord Wellesley first introduced the construction of planned roads in Calcutta. It was under him that College Street formerly known as The Great Arterial Road found its name.

Coffee House

The famed Coffee House is located at College Street. It has been the rendezvous place of many illustrious and notable personalities like Rabindranath Tagore, Subhas Chandra Bose, Satyajit Ray, Manna Dey, Amartya Sen, Mrinal Sen, Shashi Kapoor and Aparna Sen etc. Many talented geniuses have penned down pieces of lyrics, poems, story scripts or exchanged brimming ideas related to the world of art and culture in this cafeteria. The Coffee House is a part of the Indian Coffee House restaurant chain in India, run by a series of worker co-operative societies. Presently, the place is regularly thronged by students from nearby premiere institutions, literary intellectuals and enthusiastic tourists.