And the fate of New Market's and other traders

So the fate of the New Market shop owners and others in the fraternity was sealed by the CM in the all Bengal hawkers' conference at Nazrul Mancha yesterday. Exactly as speculated in my preceding blog post on the New Market shutdown that also ended yesterday, hawkers have been given the immunity by the CM. Officially every hawker hawking till 13th March, 2015 will now have license to hawk (other than life insurance and annual medical reimbursement). Everybody will have 'registered with government' status. Those who are not registered yet, can do so by paying a fee of Rs 30. So we pedestrians will now walk on the footpath or road if and where space is left for that by the hawkers. And shop owners paying all kinds of taxes to government and corporation will be left to bleed. Wonderful! Would like to ask "Are we closer to London now?"

The protest by New Market traders

I am slightly disturbed by the Times of India report published today about the three-day shutdown by the shopkeepers of New Market starting tomorrow, which is for the first time in the history of the 141-year old market. Showing solidarity, joining them will be Sree Ram Arcade, Firpo’s and Treasure Island and the shopkeepers at Lindsay Street, Bertram Street and Humayun Place among others. So the area area around New Market during the strike will be a sight hitherto unseen and unthinkable. The increasing hawker menace in the area over the past few years, overlooked by administration indeed is the sole reason. This is inconveniencing shoppers and shopkeepers alike to no end.

Hawkers have always been around New Market, but their dominance has taken scary proportions in the last few years. And the traders are being forced to do the historic strike and their repeated calls to administration didn't yield any result.

My question is, how did KMC let the matter get completely out of hand gradually? So much so that New Market is going to be creating history for the wrong reason! It is bringing shock to us and shame to KMC, which is getting ready for election in little more than a month’s time! Is the honourable mayor not realizing that, or he is allowed to do little before the state level hawkers’ conference takes place on 13^th March and advised rather to concentrate on drawing up strategy to win the poll which will see him re-elected?

What can we expect in the conference? Will the hawkers’ get the virtual immunity like the taxi drivers got a few days back (Penalization with small money for refusing passengers)? Am so much eager to know. Chances of such a populist announcement is pretty much there as hawkers wouldn’t have been able to practically rule the city’s favourite shopping area had there not been political backing of the ruling party.

Kolkata Titbits 0002

• As Boss ended the first week on 15th August with a whooping Rs 3.2 cr (as per Reliance, the producer), it was interesting to follow an exchange on Twitter between Reliance, Rana Sarkar (its production partner for some of its Bengali productions) and Venkatesh Films- the biggest production house in Tollygunge- on whether this is the biggest first week collection in the history of Bengali cinema as claimed by the producer.The challenger claimed that it's their Challenge 2 which is the biggest so far with 3.8 cr, followed by Paglu (3.6 cr) and Dui Prithibi (3.5 cr, also from their house). The jury is still out on it.
• It was a delight to see Lake Mall opening after a painful wait of 8 years, on 14th August. At times I thought whether it would ever see the light of the day in 10 years or so. It is the first PPP venture of KMC in markets that matured (The others being the 'partially opened' Barnaparichay in place of College Street Market, Lansdowne Market and the aborted Park Circus Market). Among mentionable brands it has a Big Bazaar (so proper south Kolkata finally got one!). And a multiplex- Sun Cinema- is starting around this November (giving the close by Priya some competition). For people in the area so far the nearest quality multiplex was at South City Mall. It will be interesting to see how the big brother of single screen- Priya - takes on the competition.

Hoarding free heritage

It was pleasantly surprising to see super prompt action on the new government's decision spelt out by KMC : Pull down all the hoardings from BBD Bag to Park Street. The objective was something long-cherished by passionate Kolkatans - To be able to relish the Kolkata heritage blocked by countless hoardings of all shapes and sizes creating intense visual pollution for long. On the first day itself (that's yesterday) several hoardings were pulled down by the respective agencies on an overdrive.

Thumbs up to the new state government for the determined step towards a more beautiful Kolkata that we all can be proud of.

The rally

My office at Chandni Chowk is at the core of action of today's annual martyrs' day rally by Trinamool Congress at Esplanade. And my desk is by the large window overlooking CR Avenue. Am curious to witness this historic annual affair that is known for, among other things, throwing life in the city out of gear every year and drew over 3 lakh last year by Kolkata Police estimate.

Saw the party supremo, Mamata Banerjee, last evening at the staircase to a dais at the venue near Income Tax building, in talk with Sovan Chattopadhyay, the newly-elected mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), Madan Mitra and Mukul Deb, a central minister. That many in the crowd gathered there were busy shooting her picture with their mobile phones was evidence for her celebrity status attained by now.

Hope to update you about the development over the day. Watch this post.

10.41 am: Male voices throwing instructions through the mike for a smooth organisation of flow of people. A Trinamool anthem playing in the background and as the filler. No gathering at Chandni Chowk by now.

Star.....finally in the right hands

While the last civic board led by Trinamool Congress (TMC) took over the closed Star Theatre (At Hatibagan, the heart of North Kolkata), a showcase landmark of old Kolkata, revamped with a massive outlay and re-inaugurated it amidst fanfare, the culture-conscious Kolkatans raised a toast. It was a pet project and proud achievement of Subrata Mukherjee, the then mayor. The curtains were up again and plays started being staged, thereby giving one reasonable hope that if not the golden days that were some decades back, at least happy days will be back again at Star Theatre. A board with eminent theatre personalities was formed to oversee the affairs.

Alas, soon people woke up to the reality that the going won't be that smooth. Among other things its acoustics was found to be below par, to the point that a play/ stage show at Star was largely avoidable by professionals who gave a thought about quality. I remember Sudipta Chakraborty, the well-known TV, film and theatre actress going on record in a Bengali newspaper expressing her dissatisfaction on the acoustics. But most importantly the TMC board seemed in no mood to care how such a large property was going to be run without digging holes in it's pocket every month. Such a large heritage property needed a large sum of money to remain operational and be decently maintained. The main source of revenue was the rent paid by theatre groups to stage plays. And as the reality is, the theatre audience is already an endangered specie in this city. Indeed, running a property like Star Theatre self-sufficiently based on just a single revenue source as weak as that made little sense. As a consequence the TMC board kept on meeting the huge running expenses while the place dried up with plays and stage shows. Altogether- a losing proposition.

After the left front led new civic board came in mid-2005, one of the steps the new mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya took was to find out non-development areas where Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) was spending huge sums on maintenance. Star Theatre came on radar and a roadmap for its future, that saves unproductive expenses and at the same time keep Star Theatre going in a feasible way started being worked on.

Last year KMC decided to get into a joint venture with a private company to run the property as it obviously lacked the business acumen to do the needful. The criteria for the private party was that it has to have proven experience in running auditorium/ similar properties. Post a bidding process Kolkata based Priya Entertainment owned by Arijit Dutta was selected. Arijit, who besides a well-run film distribution business owns a no. of movie theatres in Bengal incl. the popular Priya in South Kolkata and Globe in North Kolkata, looked a good choice. Even none of the celebrities in the cultural circuit of the city who frowned at KMC for handing over Star Theatre's operations to a private party had anything to say against Arijit.

Priya Entertainment had prepared a strategy which spelt a multiple-use of the property, including renting out commercial space for food, art exhibition, book launch etc and most importantly turn the auditorium into a place where regular film screening can go hand in hand with occasional plays. While 'Turning a prestige auditorium like Star' drew flak from celebrities and TMC, who staged a protest in front of it the day it was re-inaugurated after a restructure over a couple of months, the reality was clear. Running such a place profitably demands certain contemporary changes. Arijit maintained, he didn't have any plan to stop theatre, but film screening is a necessity from a business point of view. Strangely, as Anandabazar Patrika pointed out, film screening had a history in Star Theatre, and wasn't something 'radically' new being attempted.

Currently Star is running films regularly and has emerged at the best movie destination in North Kolkata. My own experience supports this view. A couple of months back it started a rooftop food court with a range from coffee shop to momo to Chinese and Mughlai cuisine to fast food (Rolls, fries). The idea was to create a hangout zone for the local youth, which this side of the city was lacking so far. For the record it is the first food court in proper North Kolkata. The forthcoming attractions are an art gallery, an indoor cafeteria, an AC banquet, an open-air theatre and a branch of Bhajahari Manna, the popular Bengali cuisine restaurant with two branches in South Kolkata. There are plans to organise various shows on rooftop to energise the food court crowd.

Arijit indeed has a mature and contemporary vision and he knows how to execute it. Looks like finally Star Theatre is on way to its lost days of glory. Here's wishing it all the best in the journey.

Jadubabu's Bazar makes way for modern retail

Just now came to know in the office that Jadubabu's Bazar, one of the oldest and best-known markets and a landmark in Bhowanipore, is sold out to Reliance who will build a mall there.

Jadubabu's Bazar just a couple of years ago was a thriving market and its regular customers came from Bhowanipore and surrounding areas stretched to Shakespeare Sarani (Theatre Rd), Elgin Rd and Sarat Bose Rd. It is one of Kolkata's two food markets (The other is New Market) which stocks exotic food products that the foreign tourists often look for. Only in these two markets (Except the new economy markets like Big Bazaar) one would find the widest varieties of cheeese and canned foods in the city.

The place suffered a body blow when Food Bazaar opened atop Pantaloons in Shakespeare Sarani and C3 (Supermarket) opened in Elgin Rd. Soon many of its customers switched loyalties to these new, swanky stores high on customer service.

The sell-out will erase one of the landmarks of old Kolkata and change the texture and essence of Bhowanipore permanently. It would be better if Jadu Bazaar (As popularly known) was reconstructed like Lake Mall is being built in place of Lake Market, another old market of the city. Such a development, initiated by Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), would ensure a status quo of the old and the new faces of business. But I guess, replicating the Lake Mall model to all old markets would be an arduous task for KMC. And when Reliance's retail arm, who won't like to lose time to set foot in the city, vies for a place like that, it would possibly not have made sense for KMC to resist. What the place is going to be like is still not clear, hence watch this space.