Posted on: 13 July 2016

The Chitpore Road, Calcutta - 1867

This chromolithograph is taken from plate 3 of William Simpson's 'India: Ancient and Modern'. This is a a Bazaar or line of native shops along the Chitpore Road in Calcutta, leading northwards to Cossipore, Dum Dum and Barrackpore. Many different nationalities plied their trades in this Bazaar and on hot nights many also slept in the streets. There were no pavements, and the main modes of transport in this street were the bullock cart and the palanquin. Simpson wrote: "In this bazaar, hundreds of Englishmen have had their first conceptions of Eastern life realised, or more properly falsified, face to face with the living facts."

Text and image credit:
Copyright © The British Library Board


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Debasis Mutsuddi sir dekhun

The artist is really Amazing

Sohini De

it remains as congested as ever ,with the addition of cars and other vehicles besides the throng of people .

Thanks for the lovely painting ....it remains to be a trading hustle bustle even today ...so many years later , the essence the same just the shops have a different look , more traffic and yes certainly Cattle .

Wish one could go back to those days of innocence

Those were the good old days lost and gone forever

Beautiful painting

lovely veiw..

What were the days in those period great and lucky to glance the picture.

Amazing painting it looks so real

ভাল পোষ্ট

Sir, ekbar kolkata ta bhalo kjore ghure dekh. Kolkata ke London banate hobe na. Kolkata-te, etosob nbosto hobar poreo ja aache deklhle obak hoye jabi. Tobe Kolkata heritage perservation-er sobcheye boro badha encroachment ja obosyei political (Plz. ami kono particular party-r kotha bolchi na). Prince Albert jokhon Kolkata te esechilen tokhon Dhaka-r Nowab 2 to structure toiri korechilen. Tar ektar niche aagun jalige cha toiri tora hoi, r 1 tar mothar "gombuj" gulo bvhenge didyche.

Mr. Samar Ray.

Thanks Geetali Tare. This road is unrecognisable now. Tagore's Jorasanko is here.