NEW MARKET- The heart of Kolkata….

New Market

“New market” despite the appearance of new air-conditioned, Western-style, shopping malls all over Kolkata, New Market, which has survived devastating fires and regular flooding, remains at the core of the shopping experience in the city. Over 500 stalls under its roof sell everything from clothing to wheeled luggage to electronics to a special cheese found nowhere else. Under its apparent chaos lie extraordinary finds as well as remarkable bargains and never to forget even we get to see different kind of people too.   

The giant shopping arcade was thrown open to the English populace with some fanfare on January 1, 1874. News of Calcutta’s first municipal market spread rapidly. Affluent colonials from all over India shopped at exclusive retailers like Rankin and Company (dressmakers), Cuthbert son and Harper (shoe-merchants) and R.W. Newman or Thacker Spink, the famous stationers and book-dealers.

A fire burned down large portions of the original building on December 13, 1985. It has since been rebuilt, and provided with a new wing, which houses a famous Kashmiri handicraft shop "PUMPOSH" and other storied retailers.

Another fire broke out on July 20, 2011 but was confined to a small area in the Flower Range near the Lindsay St. entrance.     

New Market’s growth kept pace with the city until World War II. The northern portion of the market came up in 1909 at an expense of 6 lakh rupees. Despite the gathering storm of World War II, an extension was engineered on the south flank, and the historic clock tower on the eastern end of the market was shipped over from Huddersfield and installed in the 1930s. Florists were located near the front entrance, and stalls selling fresh and preserved foods were placed towards the rear of the market. Beyond the vegetable stalls, fishmongers and slaughterhouse butchers plied their trade, and, until the mid-1960s, at the very back of the market, exotic animals from all over the British Empire could be bought as pets.

No better place than the "NEW MARKET" in Kolkata for a firsthand experience in all kind of shopping's .Say it clothes or households stuffs or gifts to give away or ornaments for occasions one can find almost everything here in the "NEW MARKET" and if you happened to get hungry and crave for a bite then there are lots of food outlets too, ranging from cut fruits to lemon tea, sandwiches to south Indian to Chinese foods everything is just a way step forward

Hawkers at New market

We can’t even beat the eye catching stuffs which we get in “NEW MARKET” and yes shopkeepers even claim that “ pura Kolkata   ghum lijiye aisa saman dusri jagah nahin milega apko” confidence within them is another strategy for the sellers to sell their products.

If not with the product then may be the way they repeat the line “100 100 100  kuch bhi lijiye sirf 100” will no doubt for a while will attract the people at least to have a look over the products, this is the actual magic of the place. No doubt the street sellers in new market are great communicators.

 New market is for every kind of people, you can enjoy with just Rs.50 in your pocket and even you can buy worth products of thousands of rupees too. The beauty of “new market” is enhanced with the beautiful ornaments displayed in such a way that tempts every woman to stop for a while. The rickshaw pullers in the area earn their livelihood through new market streets and serves as the best transportation when you want to cover up the entire market viewing the entire area.

The busy streets of New Market

New Market has its own charm and a hidden beauty with in which some way or the other makes a person even an impulsive buyer. This is one place which gives employment to thousands and help them earns his/her daily meal.

One line we can state for this magical place “variety is the spices of life and every individual has the right to taste it, be rich or poor”.

Waindrilla Saha

PGPMC

2nd sem