ReggieHuntley0 at 04:57, 15 September 2025

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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox settlement


| name = Chitpur
| official_name =
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| settlement_type = Neighbourhood in Kolkata (Calcutta)
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| image1 = Kolkata Temple.jpg
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| imagesize = 270 px
| image_caption = Nabaratna Temple in 1798
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| pushpin_map = India Kolkata
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| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Kolkata
| subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name = {{IND}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[West Bengal]]
| subdivision_type2 = City
| subdivision_name2 = [[Kolkata]]
| subdivision_type3 = [[List of districts of West Bengal|District]]
| subdivision_name3 = [[Kolkata district|Kolkata]]
| subdivision_type4 = [[Kolkata Metro|Metro Station]]
| subdivision_name4 = [[Shyambazar metro station|Shyambazar]]
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| seat_type = [[Municipal Corporation]]
| seat = [[Kolkata Municipal Corporation]]
| parts_type = [[Kolkata Municipal Corporation|KMC]] ward
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| parts = [[Ward No. 6, Kolkata Municipal Corporation|6]]
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| timezone = IST
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| coordinates = {{coord|22|34|32.58|N|88|21|04.03|E|display=title,inline}}
| postal_code_type = PIN
| postal_code = 700002
| area_code = +91 33
| blank1_name_sec1 = [[Lok Sabha]] constituency
| blank1_info_sec1 = [[Kolkata Uttar (Lok Sabha constituency)|Kolkata Uttar]]
| blank2_name_sec1 = [[Vidhan Sabha]] constituency
| blank2_info_sec1 = [[Kashipur-Belgachhia]]
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'''Chitpur''' (or '''Chitpore''') is a neighbourhood in [[North Kolkata]] in [[Kolkata district]] in the [[India]]n [[States and territories of India|state]] of [[West Bengal]]. Sometimes, the entire area along Chitpur Road is referred to as Chitpur, although the various localities have distinctive names.

==History==
Chitpur has existed for at least 400 years. It received its name from the goddess Chitteswari, who had a splendid temple here erected by [[Gobindram Mitter]], where human sacrifices used to be offered. The lofty [[dome]] of the temple, which was known as Nabarutna or the shrine of nine jewels, fell during the [[1737 Calcutta Cyclone|earthquake of 1737]], and it is now in ruins.<ref>Cotton, H.E.A., ''Calcutta Old and New'', [1909] (1980), rev. ed., pp. 221, 283, General Printers and Publishers Pvt Ltd.</ref>
[[File:Kolkata Map 1690.jpg|left|200px]]
According to another source, the area was earlier named Chitrapur. It is referred to in [[Bipradas Pipilai]]'s poem ''Manasamangal'' in 1495, but it could be a later interpolation. According to it, Chitpur was home to Chakrapani, Commander-in-Chief of the [[Nawab of Bengal]]'s army, and had a flourishing colony of artists. It refers to one Gobinda Ghosh as founder of the Chitteswari temple in 1610. The most notorious bandit of the region was Chitey Dakat, who offered human sacrifices at the temple. The area could also have acquired its name from him.<ref name = "Gupta27-30">Gupta, Bunny and Chaliha, Jaya, ''Chitpur'', in ''Calcutta, the Living City'', Vol I, edited by Sukanta Chaudhuri, pp. 27-30, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-563696-3}}.</ref>

The [[East India Company]] obtained from the [[Mughal emperors|Mughal emperor]] [[Farrukhsiyar]], in 1717, the right to rent from 38 villages surrounding their settlement. Of these 5 lay across the [[Hooghly River|Hooghly]] in what is now Howrah district. The remaining 33 villages were on the Calcutta side. After the fall of [[Siraj-ud-daulah]], the last independent [[Nawab of Bengal]], it purchased these villages in 1758 from [[Mir Jafar]] and reorganised them. These villages were known en-bloc as ''[[Dihi Panchannagram]]'' and Chitpur was one of them. It was considered to be a suburb beyond the limits of the [[Maratha Ditch]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/DCHB_A/19/1916_PART_A_DCHB_KOLKATA.pdf |title = District Census Handbook Kolkata, Census of India 2011, Series 20, Part XII A |work = Pages 6-10: The History | publisher= Directorate of Census Operations, West Bengal| access-date = 20 February 2018}}</ref><ref>Cotton, H.E.A., ''Calcutta Old and New'', first published 1909/reprint 1980, pages 103-4 and 221, General Printers and Publishers Pvt. Ltd.</ref><ref>Nair, P.Thankappan, ''The Growth and Development of Old Calcutta'', in ''Calcutta, the Living City'', Vol. I, pp. 14-15, Edited by Sukanta Chaudhuri, Oxford University Press, 1995 edition.</ref>

There was a house and garden of Mahmed Reza Khan, the Chitpur Nawab, to whom the administration of Bengal was assigned for several years after the [[British East India Company]] acquired the ''dewani'' of Bengal from the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] emperors in [[Delhi]].<ref name = "Cotton221">Cotton, H.E.A., p. 221,</ref> The Chitpur Nawab lived on terms of intimacy with the 'powers' of the day and was accounted by them as a personage of first rank. The foreign governors—Danish, French and Dutch—on their visits to Kolkata from [[Serampore]], [[Chandannagar]] and [[Hugli-Chuchura|Chinsurah]], made it a practice to halt at Chitpur on their way to the Government House.<ref>Cotton, H.E.A., p. 109.</ref>

The Circular Canal joins the [[Hooghly River]] at Chitpur. Early in the 20th century a large lock and tidal basin had been constructed, at the mouth of the canal.<ref name = "Cotton221"/>

[[Entally]], [[Manicktala]], [[Beliaghata]], [[Ultadanga]], Chitpur, [[Cossipore]], parts of Beniapukur, [[Ballygunge]], [[Watgunge]], Ekbalpur, [[Garden Reach]] and [[Tollygunj]] were added to [[Kolkata Municipal Corporation]] in 1888. Garden Reach was later taken out.<ref>Bagchi, Amiya Kumar, ''Wealth and Work in Calcutta, 1860-1921'', in ''Calcutta, the Living City'', Vol. I, p. 213.</ref>

==Chitpur Road==
{{quote box|width=300px|quote=The great thoroughfare, which commencing in the extreme south, assumes the various names of Russa Road, Chowringhee Road, Bentick Street, Chitpore Road, and Barrackpore Trunk Road, forms a continuation of the Dum Dum Road and was the old line of communication between Morshedabad and Kalighat. It is said to occupy the site of the old road made by the [[Sabarna Roy Choudhury]]s, the old zemindars of Calcutta, from [[Barisha, India|Barisha]], where the junior branch resided, to [[Halisahar]], beyond [[Barrackpore]], which was the seat of the senior branch.<ref>Cotton, H.E.A., p. 283</ref>|source= [[H.E.A.Cotton]]}}
Along that old road, popular as pilgrim's path, [[dharamshalas]] and shops came up. Habitations grew around them and localities developed. They were self-descriptive. The chicken (''murgi'') market (''hat'') was Murgihata, twin (''jora'') bridges (''sanko'') over a [[stream|creek]] distinguished [[Jorasanko]], butchers (''kasais'') slaughtered animals at Kasitola, and the potters (''kumors'') spun the river [[clay]] on wheels at [[Kumortuli]]. Later, they took to making clay idols in demand in the mansions that grew up all around. When the new [[Fort William, India|Fort William]] was built in the 1750s at [[Gobindapur, Kolkata|Gobindapur]], the inhabitants of the disbanded village migrated northwards.<ref name = "Gupta27-30"/>

Chitpur Road was Kolkata's oldest road. Apart from the aristocracy, there have been common folks engaged in various trades.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bandyopadhyay |first1=Ritajyoti |title=streets in motion: the making of infrastructure, property, and political culture in twentieth-century Calcutta |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/streets-in-motion/2D42F4BF0D2086A1DBB254A5120ACB42}}</ref> The distinctive Bengali ''[[panjika]]'' [[almanac]] was printed here. It was a centre for Battala books. So many things on Chitpore Road have been an integral part of Bengal's life and culture – the ''paan'' ([[betel]] leaf mouth refresher), the ''adda'' (stray gossiping), ''[[Jatra (Bengal)|jatra]]'' shows and the brass band playing "He is a jolly good fellow" to enliven wedding receptions.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/05/south_asia_india0s_changing_folk_theatre/html/2.stm Jatra 2] ''[[BBC News]]'', 2005.</ref>

A part of Lower Chitpur Road rivalled the [[Chandni Chowk]] of Delhi before construction of Nakhoda Mosque in 1926. The last vestiges of Nawabi style were found along Chitpur Road.<ref>Chakraborty, Manish and Hanig, Florian. Bialobrzeski, Peter.(Ed.) (2008) ''Calcutta - Chitpur Road Neighborhoods''. Hatje Cantz. {{ISBN|978-3-7757-2106-6}}</ref> It was on this road that [[Ram Mohan Roy|Raja Rammohun Roy]] built his Brahmo Sabha, which later became Adi Brahmo Samaj. The road was renamed Rabindra Sarani, after its most famous resident, [[Rabindranath Tagore]]. It is Kolkata's museum with communities and social groups from various parts of country and beyond finding a place in nooks along the road.<ref name = "Gupta27-30"/>

[[Jorasanko Thakur Bari]], the home of the [[Tagore family]] now houses [[Rabindra Bharati University]].

==Corporation ward==
In 1876, the peripheral areas of Kolkata were brought under the umbrella of a single Suburban Municipality. In 1889, the suburban area was split into five units of which one was the Suburban Municipality of Kashipur and Chitpur. In 1931, it was merged with Kolkata.<ref>Chakraborty, Satyesh C., ''The Growth of Calcutta in the Twentieth Century'', in ''Calcutta, the Living City'', Vol II, edited by Sukanta Chaudhuri, p. 2, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-563697-0}}.</ref> Chitpur now forms ward no. 6 of [[Kolkata Municipal Corporation]]. With the [[Hooghly River]] on the west, it is surrounded by [[Cossipore]], [[Bagbazar]], Paikpara, [[Tala, Kolkata|Tala]], [[Belgachia]] and [[Shyambazar]] on the other three sides.<ref>''Detailed Maps of Kolkata'', D.P.Publication & Sales Concern.</ref> Across the [[Hooghly River]] is [[Salkia]] in [[Howrah]].

==Police district==
Chitpur police station is part of the [[Divisions of Kolkata Police|North and North Suburban division]] of [[Kolkata Police]]. Located at 19, Cossipore Road, Kolkata-700002, it has jurisdiction over Chitpur neighbourhood/ Ward no. [[Ward No. 6, Kolkata Municipal Corporation|6]], of [[Kolkata Municipal Corporation]].<ref name="police">{{cite web |url = http://www.kolkatapolice.gov.in/division.asp?ID=3&Division=X |title = Kolkata Police |work = North and North Suburban Division |publisher = KP |access-date = 5 March 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180330083931/http://kolkatapolice.gov.in/division.asp?ID=3&Division=X |archive-date = 30 March 2018 |url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>Kolkata: Detail Maps of 141 Wards with Street Directory, Fourth Impression 2003, Map No. 4, D.P.publication and Sales Concern, 66 College Street, Kolkata - 700 073.</ref>

[[Amherst Street (Kolkata)#Police district|Amherst Street Women police station]] covers all police districts under the jurisdiction of the North and North Suburban division i.e. Amherst Street, Jorabagan, Shyampukur, Cossipore, Chitpur, Sinthi, Burtolla and Tala.<ref name="police"/>

==Railway passenger terminal==
Chitpur is home to [[Kolkata railway station]], the fourth and latest railway passenger terminal for the city. The first two stations, [[Howrah Station|Howrah]] and [[Sealdah Station|Sealdah]], were built more than a century ago and now both of them have reached the saturation point in capacity.<ref name="frontline">[http://www.flonnet.com/fl2225/stories/20051216002509200.htm Online version of Frontline magazine dated 3-16 Dec 2005] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212165344/http://www.flonnet.com/fl2225/stories/20051216002509200.htm |date=12 February 2012 }}</ref> The third one, [[Shalimar Station|Shalimar]], which is under jurisdiction of [[South Eastern Railway Zone (India)|South Eastern Railway]], is located in [[Howrah]], far away from the city centre. The new terminal has been named "Kolkata".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=167700 |title=News article dated January-31-2006 from expressindia.com |access-date=23 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060212190252/http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=167700 |archive-date=12 February 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="frontline"/>

==Transport==
Cossipore Road (Sri Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa Dev Sarani) is the artery of Chitpur. Buses ply along the road. The road is connected to [[Barrackpore Trunk Road|B.T. Road]] (at Chunni Babu Bazar) with '''Lock Gate Road Overbridge'''. It is also connected to [[Bagbazar]] (Khirode Vidyavinode Avenue) with '''Chitpur Bridge''' over a canal.<ref>Google maps</ref> Chitpur Bridge was firstly inaugurated in 1937.<ref>{{cite news|title=Chitpur Bridge|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/the-ill-health-of-calcutta-bridges-spells-much-more-than-logistical-doom/cid/1719743}}</ref>
===Bus===
====Private Bus====
* 34B [[Dunlop, Kolkata|Dunlop]] - [[Esplanade, Kolkata|Esplanade]]
* 43 [[Dakshineswar]] - [[Esplanade, Kolkata|Esplanade]]
* 242 [[Cossipore]] 4B - [[Esplanade, Kolkata|Esplanade]]

====CSTC Bus====
* S17A Ariadaha - [[Kudghat]]

===Train===
Besides [[Kolkata Station]], [[Tala railway station]] and [[Bagbazar railway station]] (both are on [[Kolkata Circular Railway]] line) are also located nearby.

==In popular culture==
Chitpur is the setting for the 2012 [[Malayalam]] novel ''[[Aarachaar]]'' ({{Translation|''Hangwoman''}}) by [[K. R. Meera]], which won many awards.
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage-inline|Kolkata/North Kolkata}}

{{Kolkata neighbourhoods}}

[[Category:Neighbourhoods in Kolkata]]

Chitpur - Revision history

ReggieHuntley0 at 04:57, 15 September 2025