Kolkata: Bow Barracks, the Anglo-Indian enclave nestled between CR Avenue and Bentinck Street, has emerged as a favoured destination for Christmas and New Year with several new attractions. It has also been made a part of the Kolkata Christmas Festival this year.
This year, apart from Bow Barracks, which comprises over 130 flats, several adjoining neighbourhoods like Bow Street, Metcalfe Street, Robert Street and other areas were also decorated to accommodate the steady stream of visitors which have been highest this year, according to organisers and local residents.
This year, Bow Barracks has been included in the Kolkata Christmas Festival for the first time along with Park Street which has led to scaling up of the festivities. As a result, local cops cordoned off several streets leading to Bow Barracks to provide smooth passage to revellers.
The place, which was originally built to accommodate World War I soldiers, has been receiving very high footfalls for the past one week since the Kolkata Christmas festival was inaugurated by chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
“Hundreds of people started coming to Bow Barracks much before the festival started. We knew there will be big crowds on Christmas eve and on December 25. We stopped vehicular movement in adjoining streets so that people can celebrate in comfort,” said an officer of Bowbazar police station.
The place will remain decorated during the first week of 2024 and several programmes have been scheduled to usher in the New Year.
The number of food stalls, including Chinese, Tibetan and Mughlai and Kolkata’s street food, has also doubled this year.
Social media is flooded with reels, videos and pictures from people who have visited the enclave this year as a part of Christmas celebrations.
“Several local eateries have taken up space in Bow Barracks this year as they were expecting good business after it became a part of Kolkata Christmas Festival,” said Shane Rosario, a resident of Bow Barracks.
Bow Barracks — home to several Anglo-Indian families in Kolkata — has always attracted people during Christmas. “Bow Barracks is like a mini India where people from several faiths reside and celebrate all festivals. The Kolkata Christmas Festival has given everybody an opportunity to witness this camaraderie first-hand,” said Naina Bandyopadhyay, MLA of Chowringhee assembly segment, of which Bow Barracks is a part. The new attractions also attracted several first-timers. “From our interactions with visitors we could figure that many of them visited Bow Barracks for the first time,” said Ian Lobo, a resident of Bow Barracks.
Bow Barracks has 132 flats. The layout is influenced by or has similarity with old historic Spanish Colonial town plan, with a compact layout having a main square and a city grid layout forming the basic aspects of physical planning.
“We wanted to avoid the crowd on Park Street and Bow Barracks became a great substitute,” said Anuradha Jalan, who came with her family from Bangur Avenue.
This year, apart from Bow Barracks, which comprises over 130 flats, several adjoining neighbourhoods like Bow Street, Metcalfe Street, Robert Street and other areas were also decorated to accommodate the steady stream of visitors which have been highest this year, according to organisers and local residents.
This year, Bow Barracks has been included in the Kolkata Christmas Festival for the first time along with Park Street which has led to scaling up of the festivities. As a result, local cops cordoned off several streets leading to Bow Barracks to provide smooth passage to revellers.
The place, which was originally built to accommodate World War I soldiers, has been receiving very high footfalls for the past one week since the Kolkata Christmas festival was inaugurated by chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
“Hundreds of people started coming to Bow Barracks much before the festival started. We knew there will be big crowds on Christmas eve and on December 25. We stopped vehicular movement in adjoining streets so that people can celebrate in comfort,” said an officer of Bowbazar police station.
The place will remain decorated during the first week of 2024 and several programmes have been scheduled to usher in the New Year.
The number of food stalls, including Chinese, Tibetan and Mughlai and Kolkata’s street food, has also doubled this year.
Social media is flooded with reels, videos and pictures from people who have visited the enclave this year as a part of Christmas celebrations.
“Several local eateries have taken up space in Bow Barracks this year as they were expecting good business after it became a part of Kolkata Christmas Festival,” said Shane Rosario, a resident of Bow Barracks.
Bow Barracks — home to several Anglo-Indian families in Kolkata — has always attracted people during Christmas. “Bow Barracks is like a mini India where people from several faiths reside and celebrate all festivals. The Kolkata Christmas Festival has given everybody an opportunity to witness this camaraderie first-hand,” said Naina Bandyopadhyay, MLA of Chowringhee assembly segment, of which Bow Barracks is a part. The new attractions also attracted several first-timers. “From our interactions with visitors we could figure that many of them visited Bow Barracks for the first time,” said Ian Lobo, a resident of Bow Barracks.
Bow Barracks has 132 flats. The layout is influenced by or has similarity with old historic Spanish Colonial town plan, with a compact layout having a main square and a city grid layout forming the basic aspects of physical planning.
“We wanted to avoid the crowd on Park Street and Bow Barracks became a great substitute,” said Anuradha Jalan, who came with her family from Bangur Avenue.