Park Street

Park Street is a main thoroughfare in central Kolkata, known for its restaurants, bars and lively evenings, and for its long history. The road was first called Badamtala after the almond trees that grew along it, badam being the Hindi word for almond.

By the late 18th century it had become Burial Ground Road, as several cemeteries lay along it, among them the South Park Street Cemetery and a northern cemetery whose site is now a school. The Supreme Court's Chief Justice, Sir Elijah Impey, had the only house in the area, set in a deer park, and that park gave the street its present name.

In the middle of the 20th century Park Street was the heart of the city's night scene. Diners in formal dress ate prawn cocktail and lobster thermidor at European-style restaurants such as Mocambo and Moulin Rouge, and young people danced to Motown. The street still draws crowds, now with a more contemporary mix.