Dharmatala

Dharmatala is a neighbourhood in central Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal. Dharmatala Street has been renamed Lenin Sarani but the neighbourhood continues to be referred to as Dharmatala. It is a busy commercial area that had come up with the growth of Calcutta during the British Raj and is thus one of the repositories of history in the city.EtymologyDharmatala means Holy Street. It is commonly held to derive its name from a large mosque which stood at the site of Cook and Company’s livery stables. Some discern the name as a reference to dharma, one of the units of the Buddhist Trinity. There was a Buddhist temple at Janbazar, nearby. Tipu Sultan Mosque at the corner of Chowringhee Road and Dharmatala, was built in 1842, by Prince Gholam Mohammad, a son of Tipu Sultan. Bioy Ghosh feels that the name Dharmatala is because of the preeminence of Dharmathakur in olden days. Haris and Doms, who are worshippers of Dharmathakur, predominated the area even in the memorable past.GeographyDharmatala extends from Chowringhee Road (renamed Jawaharlal Nehru Road) to Lower Circular Road (renamed Jagadish Chandra Bose Street). It is bounded to the north by Bowbazar and the south by Janbazar.