Jadavpur

Jadavpur is a southern neighbourhood of Kolkata, India. Several of India's major learning institutes are located in Jadavpur, around the Raja SC Mullick Road, including the Jadavpur University, the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology and the Regional Computer Centre. Dr. C. V. Raman (1888–1970) discovered the Raman effect while working in the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science(IACS); he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930. It is to be noted that IACS was not located in Jadavpur but in North Kolkata when Raman worked at the Institute.

In Jadavpur, there are a number of known "paras"(aka neighborhood) and people not familiar with the area may need to know which specific para they are looking for. The entire Jadavpur area is often casually referred to as the "8B" area, due to the sprawling 8B bus terminus that dominates the major crossing of the area. It is the centre of Jadavpur downtown, right across from Jadavpur University and a few hundred yards from K. S. Roy T.B. Hospital.

History

Right after the independence, West Bengal recorded an enormous influx of people from East Bengal, now Bangladesh, a migration so large that the "displaced persons" made up nearly 18 per cent of Kolkata's population. To accommodate the sudden increase in population, a large number of colonies emerged within the Calcutta Corporation area itself. One of the areas of concentration of the refugee colonies was the southeast portion of the CMD in the Jadavpur, Tollygunj, Kasba, Santoshpur areas. The refugees were interested in building their huts of "darma and bamboo" in the low-lying and marshy areas near Calcutta and many of them, belonging to middle classes, wanted to be near the metropolis for occupational interests. This is how Jadavpur started.

Quality of life

Jadavpur is considered to be a residential area close to the shopping districts of Golpark and Gariahat, and adjacent to the upscale residential district of Tollygunge, and the middle class residential districts of Golf Green and Dhakuria. The far side of Jadavpur is connected to Santoshpur by the Santoshpur Flyover Bridge. Jadavpur is one of the busiest local train stations on the Sealdah line. Jadavpur also has a large number of buses servicing the area, some of which utilize the near proximity of the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass and the large 8B bus stand.

The Jadavpur market, across from Jadavpur University, is also one of the busiest markets in South Kolkata, besides Gariahat Market and Lake Market. Since Bengali cuisine is almost synonymous with fish, the Jadavpur market is a major place where you will get a wide variety of fishes, specially, the lake water fishes like Ilish mach (Hilsa fish), Pabda and the everpresent Rui. Also available are sea water fishes like Pomfret and Makarel. Vendors also offer chickens and geese; those chosen are slaughtered on the spot and usually carried home on rickshaws. It boasts of a large farmer's market, serviced by the rail line.

This area now also has a few air-conditioned restaurants and pastry outlets that cater to the local residents as well as to the students of Jadavpur University. Jadavpur is also green by Kolkata's standards, and boasts quite a few playgrounds. About five minutes walk from the Jadavpur market is Pal Bazaar, another market on the north-east side of Jadavpur.

Recently, South City mall, said to be the biggest shopping parlor of its type in eastern India, has been opened at Prince Anwar Shah Road. It has definitely added some more value to the residents of this region.

Javapur is generally considered to be a quite desirable place to live in. However, two major problems are high traffic and congestion. Narrow, pre-urban roads lead to traffic congestion, compounded by cycle rickshaws and a high population cause some of the worst traffic snarls in South Kolkata. Previously the marshy surrounds and uncovered drains gave Jadavpur a high mosquito population, a few times more than in other parts of South Kolkata; however malaria is pretty low or non-existent now.

Culture

On the cultural front, Jadavpur hosts one of the major Kali Pujas in Kolkata, called "Nava-Kali" (nine different forms of Goddess Kali).

People in this area are extremely crazy about important international sporting events - specially in soccer and cricket. Although the advent of cable TV has diminished the importance of local sports in Kolkata, the Ghoti-Bangal rivalry still perhaps go up a few notches of a barometer on the days of soccer matches between East Bengal and Mohan Bagan. East Bengalis – hence Jadavpur – support their club of that name while Ghotis support Mohunbagan. Even if one did not follow football, one knew which team had won by the price of Hilsa fishes in Jadavpur market.

Academic institutions

The ward of Jadavpur is distinguished by the presence of one of India's top universities – Jadavpur University, and the leading research institutes of Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI), National Instrument (Jadavpur University undertakes this in last year) and the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB). Jadavpur is also home to Jadavpur Vidyapith and Jadavpur High School, some of the leading South Kolkata schools and Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray Polytechnic, the leading premier polytechnic college in West Bengal.

Restaurants

Most of the eateries are concentrated in the 8B bus stand area. Perhaps most prominent among them is one of Kolkata's two original coffee shops, the Jadavpur Coffee House, while the other one, College Street Coffee House (an institution unto itself) is in the College Street area. Generations of South Calcuttans have visited the Coffee House daily for romance, adda, and food for thought. The Coffee House "infusion" has been popular with generations of students, political rebels and localites. There are also formal sit-in restaurants such as Blue Lagoon in the Jadavpur Market building, Bawarchi and Banzara. Pastry shops in Jadavpur include Monginis Cake Shop and Bake Club.

However, this section cannot be considered complete without mentioning the roadside tea stalls, Phuchka stalls, the Roll stalls and the Bengali sweet stores ("Mistir Dokan") in the bustling Jadavpur market area.

As in all tea stalls in Kolkata, the specialty of the tea is the container in which it is served. The tea is served in clay cups called "Bhar". The hot steaming tea ("Garam Cha") mixed with the clay cup has its own unique essence. And of course, the companion to Cha would most probably be Duto Shingara - two samosas.

In the afternoon, people can be seen around the Phuckha stall with a container made of stitched dry leaves waiting for the phuchks to me delivered in the container. Then there are quite a few roadside stalls very popular for Egg-Mutton or Egg-Chicken rolls. After a day’s work, the Phuchka and Roll stalls are regular haunts for many local residents.

It would be a non-bailable offence if Bengali sweets are not mentioned in this section! Sandesh, Mishti Doi, Malai Cham Cham, Rasmalai and the evergreen Rosogulla -- these are the "JAAN" of the bhadralok. There are some famous sweet stores like Ganguram, Hindusthan Sweets on the Central Road to cater to their taste.

On the northeast part of Jadavpur, in Pal Bazaar area on the other side of the train lines, there is a restaurant called Shyamlal's Hotel.

Politics

Jadavpur is part of Jadavpur (Lok Sabha constituency). [cite web
url = http://archive.eci.gov.in/se2001/background/S25/WB_Dist_PC_AC.pdf
title = Assembly Constituencies - Corresponding Districts and Parliamentary Constituencies
accessdate = 2008-10-02
work = West Bengal
publisher = Election Commission of India ]

ee also

* Jadavpur (Lok Sabha constituency)
* East Bengali Refugees