Ekla Chalo Re!

Stroll down North Kolkata8217;s streets and immerse yourself in history

Heritage is synonymous with architecture in North Kolkata, with the traditional zamindar houses cheek by jowl with the nouveau rich babus8217; palaces. On the morning of the Bengali new year, we landed up at Prasanna Kumar Tagore Street, just off Rabindra Sarani . Earlier known as Tagore Castle Street, this street once housed the creme de la creme of Bengali society.

The Pathuriaghata Tagores, the za-mindar families and diwans of the var-ious Governor Generals8212;all vied for attention with their palaces. For in-stance, the Doric architecture of the Notunbajar Rajbari with its tall pillars and Ionic capitals with curlicues holding the pediment at the top. The main en-trance is flanked by a couple of coloured mosaics depicting nude pa-gan gods. The courtyard and the Thakurdalan, once famous for hosting absurdly lavish Durga Pujas, are now rented out for weddings. The splen-dour is still reflected in the Venetian glass mirrors, the elegant chandeliers and the busts in the marbled interior.

A few steps away stands the Tagore Scottish Castle, with its watchtower and baroque architecture. The crum-bling palace is now home to countless families, but taking a walk around the courtyard, one still catches glimpses of its French-influenced conical spires and its unmistakably Scottish tower.

We reach Rabindra Sarani and take a left turn. The Mullickbari looms on our right. The huge red building with its mixture of Corinthian and Ionic ar-chitecture has a high steeple and an ancient clock, which surprisingly gives the right time. Bang opposite stands the Lohia Hospital, a great Victorian structure with a flight of stairs leading to the marbled gallery. Once the abode of millionaire Haren Sil, who report-edly spent Rs 7 lakh in the early 20th century for the marriage of a favourite dancer8217;s cat, it was given to the Lohias to turn it into a hospital.

A threatening lion scowls down at passers-by. We trudge on south in a part of Kolkata that uniquely mixes the Raj era with the cosmopolitanism that de-fines the modern city. The original rich families have mostly made way for tenants. The crowd on the narrow street is a medley of communities, spouting Hindi, Bhojpuri and Bengali. We walk on to the Jorasanko Thakur-bari, once home to Rabindranath Tagore8217;s family, now housing a few de-partments of Rabindra Bharati Uni-versity. For Tagorephiles, the museum here is a must-see.

We continue to Falpatti, Kolkata8217;s largest wholesale fruit market. The hay on the marketfloor forms a soft carpet underfoot. One walks over and through mountains of fruits of all shapes and hues being dumped from trucks. Trading is brisk; impromptu auctions take place at corners for ex-otic fruits. A bite of the fleshy water-melon or a glass of juice is recom-mended for parched throats.

The glorious green domes of Nakhoda Masjid are visible from Fal-patti. Built in imitation of Akbar8217;s mausoleum at Sikandra, the red build-ing houses a stupendous prayer hall with a capacity of 15,000 people. But for us, the special attraction is the hauja or the ablution pool, with its sprinkling fountain and its vibrantly coloured fish. The pool catches a bril-liant reflection of the tall minarets and casts an interplay of colourful shad-ows on the surrounding walls.

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So our walk, which started from babudom, finally ends at Little Luc-know around Nakhoda Masjid. It8217;s now time for lunch. At Aminia and Hafiz, which serve absolutely the best biryani in Kolkata.