The College Street is a landmark place in the history of Bengal. Located in the heart of Kolkata, it’s the nerve centre of the city’s literary crowd.
Situated between Bowbazar and Mahatma Gandhi Road, the College Street is the world’s largest second hand or pre-owned book market and the country’s largest book market.
The credit for establishing the ‘College Street’ goes to David Hare, who founded the Hindu College in 1817. His mission was to form an institution for providing liberal education and studies to the family of the members of the Hindu community. But it was only under Lord Wellesley, the then governor of Bengal, under whose auspices the street on which the Hindu college is situated was named the College Street.
Also dubbed as the ‘Boi Para’ meaning ‘book mart’, it is the melting pot of intellectuals, students, academicians, book lovers and scholars of the city.
It also houses some of Bengal’s most prestigious and acclaimed academic institutions such as the Calcutta Medical College, Sanskrit College, Presidency College, University Of Calcutta, Hindu School and Hare School.
This place lends a distinct charm that’s very endearing. Most stalls sport a makeshift arrangement with wood, bamboo, canvas and tin sheet on either sides of the road.
A haven for bookworms as well as bibliophiles, it is a unique book market place that draws both locals as well as tourists who come here just to enjoy the charm of the place.
If you’re a book lover, you can’t go disappointed if you come here searching for a specific book. Now, what if you don’t get the book you were looking for? Shopkeepers here would ensure you get it at a later date.
The College Street is the home to popular Indian publishers including Abhijan Publishers, Ananda Publishers and Dey’s publishing.
It’s also the site of the famous Coffee House part of a chain of the Indian Coffee House restaurant that is run by a group of worker co-operative societies.
