How to Reach:Local buses and metered taxis are readily available from various parts of the city. The charming Kolkata tram cars can also be a good option

Photography / Video charges: Nil

Nearest Railway Station: Howrah

Nearest Metro Station: Esplanade

Nearest Functional Metro Station: Esplanade

Nearest International Airport: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport

Time required for sightseeing: About 2 hours

Special Event / Annual Event: Durga Puja, Diwali and other festive occasions

Nearby Tourist Attractions

College Street, New market

Nearby places to eat

The Chowringhee-Park Street-Esplanade stretch is by far the most happening place in Kolkata and a wide variety of restaurants are located here where you can truly indulge in mouthwatering Bengali, Mughlai, Chineese, Italian and continental spread. A visit to Tangra, Kolkata's version of Chinatown is especially recommended which is an exclusive Chinese bastion in Kolkata and lots of authentic Chinese restaurants are available here.The Chineese delicacies available at Tangra is lip smacking good.
As far as traditional Bengali dishes are concerned, Peerless Inn and Oh! Calcutta are great options. Aminia, Rahmania and Shiraz are fabled for their Mughlai spread. Mainland China, Marco Polo, Chung Wah and Golden Dragon offer delicious Chineese cuisine. Drop in at Domino's at Russel Street and Pizza Hut at Camac Street for Italian delicacies.
Celebrity restaurants like Indian Cricket icon Saurav Ganguly's signature restaurant-Saurav's- The Food Pavilion is a top draw.
Barista, Café Coffee Day and Flury's are irresistible as far as beverages are concerned. A visit to Flury's is highly recommended which is one of Kolkata's most enduring Raj era restaurant. The ambience is very British and the service is of a very high standard.

Nearby shopping venues

Kolkata is a shopper's delight. The Park Street-Esplanade stretch has all kinds of shops selling everything from Tibetan Thangkas to Ray Ban goggles. The stretch from The Oberoi Grand located in Esplanade to Park Street is one of the most fashionable places to shop. The flea market is especially very popular with tourists. Baluchuri sarees and Vishnupur clay idols vie for attention alongside up market brands like Nike, Addidas, Westside and Pantaloons.
For handloom and handicraft items, The Cottage Industries Emporium at Chowringhee is well worth a visit.
You could also explore New Market, Vardaan Market at Camac Street, Central Cottage Industries Emporium at 7, J. L. Nehru Road, Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan at 24, Chittaranjan Avenue, Priyadarshini at 14/C, Lindsay Street and Manjusha at 8/2 Jagamohan Mullick Lane, Barabazar. All of them offer fabulous shopping experience.

Detailed Content of Burra Bazaar

Burra Bazaar is the bastion of the Marwari business community of Kolkata. It is located to the north of Dalhousie Square.

Nathuram Saraf who originally hailed from Mandwa, was one of the first Marwari immigrants who landed in Kolkata way back in 1830. He was an enterprising young man and soon started working as a broker for the East India Company. In those days, present day Rajasthan was a desolate land of desert with nothing much to do and the news of Nathuram Saraf's success in Kolkata prompted others of his ilk to immigrate to Kolkata. For the quintessential Marwaris, Kolkata was the Mecca of business, much like present day Mumbai.

By 1840, the Marwaris from Shekhawati had truly consolidated their position in Burra Bazaar and started doing business with the British East India Company. The rich Marwari merchants built palatial mansions with distinct Shekhawati architecture in Burra Bazaar which is still visible today, albeit in a horribly dilapidated condition.

There was a time when Burra Bazaar or "Bazaar Kolkata" as it was popularly referred to in those days was synonymous with the rich and the famous of Kolkata. As far as shopping was concerned, Burra Bazaar was the ultimate place to be in for the crème-de-la-crème of Kolkata. Apart from the servants of the British East India Company, Burra Bazaar was frequented by the quintessential Bengali Bhadroloks(Babus) and wealthy merchants like Basaks and Mullicks. During the British rule, a thriving indigenous banking system was in place at Burra Bazaar along with the wholesale and retail business, all of which were dominated by the prosperous Marwari community.

Today a visit to Burra Bazaar is full of chaos. Indeed this bazaar was chaotic right from the inception. The pot holed streets and narrow alleyways coupled with tens and thousands of people who congregate to do trading under shockingly inhuman conditions is unprecedented in the whole of India. As you enter the bazaar premises, sales persons literally barge on you from all sides and compel you to buy goods and stationeries from designated shops. Today, the magnitude of anarchy has reached epic proportions. Add to this, the poor sanitary conditions and reckless building of shops and merchant establishment, what you have is a recipe for disaster.

But, it must be said that in the midst of all this mayhem that exists in Burra Bazaar, there are certain images that will forever be etched in your memory. For instance, if you are a keen observer, a visit to Burra Bazaar will teach you a lesson on traditional Indian way of doing business. The Marwaris are known the world over for their business acumen.

A typical scene at a Burra Bazaar shop will have an obese Marwari sitting on his "Gaddi"(seat) with a wooden cash box. Most Marwaris are equipped with telephone and mobile phones but it must be emphasized that the old landline phone is still the perennial favorite. Although the younger brigade are tech-savvy and use mobile phones as well as computers for E-mail.

A typical Marwari business uses (Bahe) or Accounts Book in which every day entries for cash and credits are maintained. The younger generation of Marwaris are trained meticulously in mathematics and accountancy. Most Marwari guys can calculate complex sums in heir heads without ever using calculators.

There is a popular saying in Kolkata-"Anything and everything is available at Burra Bazaar. Even the tiger's eye is available here if you pay the right price."

	Markets

Burrabazar

New Market

City Center, Salt Lake

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