A walk down Calcutta’s very own “New Market”

For as long as I can remember, I have been a regular at the City of Joy’s popular shopping haven, “New Market.” Situated in Esplanade in Central Calcutta, this market breathes life into the city. From hair clips to baking essentials, you name it and this market has it all.

Anyone who is from Calcutta or knows the city will be able to tell you how this market is an integral part of the city and how the people of the city of joy love the cakes, clothes, bags, and thousands of other things available in this market.

Calcutta, as everyone is aware, knows how to celebrate every other festival. So before any festival, this market, just like every other part of the city, is decked up and it is a sight worth not missing. As someone who has been born and brought up in Calcutta, visiting the “New Market” once in a while was like a family tradition, especially before Durga Pujo and Christmas.

But did you know that there is an interesting history behind building this market?

The place where the “New Market” exists now, was originally the old Fenwick’s Bazar. This Bazar was built by Edward Fenwick who held important offices under the East India Company. Mohona Kanjilal in her book, “A Taste of Time- A Food History of Calcutta” narrates how this bazar was razed to build the “New Market.”

Legends have it that the British weren’t particularly fond of coming in contact with the natives, to be specific, they didn’t like to be brushed against by the locals in bazars and markets. This led them to demand a market of their own where only they could shop. Thus, came into existence Sir Stuart Hogg Market, which we so fondly refer to as the “New Market.”

After razing the Fenwick Bazar, Calcutta’s first municipal market was erected which later on became the largest market that the City of Joy housed. The market which was built in a Victorian Gothic style was opened in 1874 which the Europeans with much excitement started calling the “New Market.”

This market was later formally named Sir Stuart Hogg Market after Sir Stuart Hogg, who was the chairman of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation when this market was built. In 1909, the market’s northern section was built, and soon before the First World War, the south flank was expanded. The 1930s saw the installation of the old clock tower on the southern end of the market, which was shipped from Huddersfield.

This newly constructed market became a hub for the servants and cooks of the British who used to flock to this market to buy the essentials for their employers. The market had everything that they could ask for — Groceries, fish, vegetables, books, flowers, and so on. You name it and the market had it all. And that probably is still being carried on. Even to date, the “New Market” has everything you can ever ask for.

While you read this newsletter, the umteenth skyscraper or shopping mall might be being constructed in your City of Joy. But despite the changing face of our very own Calcutta, “New Market” still stands with all its glory as one of the last bastions of Calcutta’s legacy.