Friday, August 22, 2008

Park Street Kolkata















Park Street, recently renamed as Mother Teresa Sarani, is probably the most prestigious thoroughfare of the city of Kolkata, India. The street derives its name from a deer park of Sir Elijah Impey , Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in Calcutta, 1773-1789, that was located on this street. Park Street has now been renamed Mother Teresa Sarani but the old name is still in common use.


Location and importance

This road runs from Chowringhee Avenue in the west to Park Circus in the east. The portion of Park Street between Chowringhee Avenue and Mullick Bazar has been the one of the city's main attractions for years. It connects directly to Park Circus on the east from where other major roads such as Gariahat Road starts and connects to important areas such as Ballygunge of south Kolkata.

Park Street remains Kolkata's foremost dining district with noted restaurants and pubs such as Trinca's, Mocambo, McDonalds, KFC, Peter Cat, Flury's, Bar B Q, Oasis, Olympia, Moulin Rouge and many others. Celebrity restaurants like Indian Cricket icon Saurav Ganguly's signature restaurant-Saurav's- The Food Pavilion is a top draw. Then there is the Park Hotel, Kolkata, famous for its in-house restaurants and night club, Tantra. Kolkata's nightlife revolves around Park Street's nightclubs, pubs and coffee houses. Also there are landmark coffee shops like The Atrium and Barista's. It is often known by names like "Food Street" and "The Street that Never Sleeps".

Park Centre offers a wide variety of apparel, especially ladies’ garments, cosmetics and electronic gadgets.

Park Street has several notable buildings such as the Asiatic Society, St. Xavier's College, Calcutta, a Seventh-day Adventist Church, and the South Park Street Cemetery has cenotaphs and tombs of prominent figures from the British Raj era and Kolkata's Armenian population. Park Street remains the recreation zone for Kolkata people since the British era. A visit to Kolkata is deemed incomplete without a visit to Park Stree

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