Bhowanipore

Sitting between grander Kalighat and Alipore, Bhowanipore is one of South Kolkata’s most historically layered neighbourhoods, despite being overshadowed by its neighbours. It developed as a solidly middle-class Bengali Hindu residential area in the 19th century and produced, or attracted, a remarkable density of significant lives.
Its main spine, Lala Lajpat Rai Sarani (formerly Elgin Road), holds the neighbourhood’s key site: the Bose family home, now the Netaji Bhawan museum (see Top Sights). The surrounding streets, Harish Mukherjee Road, Russa Road, the lanes off Rashbehari Avenue, retain a quiet, lived-in continuity.
Bhowanipore is also the neighbourhood most associated with Bengali Hindu middle-class cultural life at an everyday rather than monumental level: serious sweet shops, well-attended neighbourhood pujas, small temples, libraries and morning markets. It rewards unhurried time rather than a single-sight visit.