Strange History Behind Names Of Kolkata Lanes || Heritage Walk || Kolkata History ||Down Memory Lane скачать в хорошем качестве

Strange History Behind Names Of Kolkata Lanes || Heritage Walk || Kolkata History ||Down Memory Lane

There's a saying, "What's in a name?". But when it comes to the names of localities in Kolkata, there are some interesting tales behind it. Recently, I was in Ultadanga for some errand when I decided to get a bird's eye view of the area from the foot overbridge. Everything seemed quite straight, but then why, I thought, the name of the place was "Ulta" meaning "opposite" or "crooked" and "danga" meaning "land" in Bengali. I did some digging and found out some facts, which I wanted to share with you today. In search of the truth, I went through Dharmatala, Beltala, Nimtala, Lebutala, Battala, Bashtala, to reach Sealdah. There's an interesting history behind the name Sealdah. About 300 years back, the entire Salt Lake area was full of marshlands and lakes. And what is known as Sealdah today, was a desolate island. This area was heavily forested and was full of foxes, or "Seal" in Bengali, from which the name "Sealdah" came. Still others believe that there was a forest here known as "Sealkata" where there were Royal Bengal tigers. From "Sealkata" came "Sealdah" they say. Near to Sealdah is Beleghata. The area was marshland in the past. There was a small colony of fishermen, whose main catch was "Bele" fish, from which the present name "Beleghata" has been derived. Now let's go to Entally. Although the name seems of British origin, it has actually come from "Hintal" trees, widely found in the area. Likewise, the name Mirzapur has not come from any Mirza, but has been derived from "Mrith" or soil. Local gods and goddesses also play a huge part in the naming of places. Kalighat, Chowronghee, Dharmatala, Shitalatala, Radhabazaar, and Olaichanditala all owe their names to divine figures. Just as goddess Shitala protected her devotees from pox, goddess Olaichandi shielded her followers from cholera. Similarly, the name "Burrabazaar" didn't come from "Big Market", but from "Burra" meaning "old" Shiva. Names have also come from famous personalities of the past or their estates. Examples are Babubagan, Bibibagan, Keranibagan, Bamunbagan, Chorabagan and Hatibagan. Nabab Sirajdaulla's elephant, "Hati", stable was situated at what is now known as "Hatibagan". While speaking about the history of place names, I found an interesting anecdote from the past. The year is 1697. Captain Strafford has just landed in Kolkata. As he didn't know Bengali, he approached some noblemen in the city to ask for a translator, or "Dobhasi". But the Bengali noblemen could not understand the Captain's accent and mistook "Dobhasi" for "Dhopa" or "washerman". So they hired the most famous washerman in the area, Rotu or Rotonlal, to serve the Englishman. Ironically, Rotonlal slowly learned English from the Captain and became a very good translator. He eventually became so influential and famous in the area, that an entire lane was named after him. It's now known as "Ratanlal Sarkar Lane". Now, let's go back to the mystery behind the name of Ultadanga. In the distant past, Ultadanga was a desolate lake area. As small boats traversed the area, it was then known as "Dingi Danga", "Dingi" meaning small boat, and "Danga" meaning land. On a stormy evening, a "Dingi" overturned in the water. From that the name "Ultdanga" was derived, "Ulta" here means overturned. Music: Dhaka by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-... Artist: http://incompetech.com/ #kolkata #kolkatahistory #kolkatastreet #kolkatavlog