MANOHAR DAS TARAG, ESPLANADE ... From a Pond for Cows to an Entertainment Park !!

'Tarag', in Bengali, means a pond or a medium scale waterbody having approximately 200 ft. of depth. The same meaning is conveyed by the Hindi word 'Talab' or 'Talao'. In 1706 there were only 17 waterbodies in Calcutta which catered the needs of native population. After the British settled down in the City they dug up or renovated numerous tanks to serve the purpose of drinking water, most of which are not in existence today. Among the existing ones, Laldighi and Wellington Square are the notable. But other tanks were later filled up to build parks like Curzon Park, Allen Park, Shraddhanand Park and many more.

But it was neither always the British who dug up the tank nor the purpose of public usage for which the tanks were dug up. In early nineteenth century, a Varanasi born businessman and philanthropist MANOHAR DAS SHAH converted an idle land into a pond to provide a drinking place for the cows. Yes, he was an animal lover and the tank is still there and known as MANOHAR DAS TARAG.

On J L Nehru Road, just opposite of Firpo's market, situated the Manohar Das Tarag, partly hidden behind the roadside hawkers and partly out of sight due to the Park St. flyover. Surrounded by tall iron railings, one could enjoy the view from outside only. On its eastern bank a large stone plaque is there, declaring the history of the tank in English, Hindi and in Bengali as well. The almost deserted J L Nehru road footpath alongside the tank is the best place to enjoy the beauty, atleast as of now.

Manohar Das Shah was born in Varanasi, UP in 1727. Born to Gopal Das Shah, he was from the aristrocratic Shah family of Varanasi. He came to Calcutta in 1780 for business purpose and settled here. In around 1800, under his patronage the tank was dug up to provide drinking water for cows and he also purchased 100 bighas of land, around the tank, from the then Municipality, to provide for pasturage.

He had erected four small temples at the four corners of the pond and placed a Shiva-Linga, a Durga image, a Vishnu image and a Surya image, for the people to worship according to their favourites. Today, the octagonal dome-shaped structures are still there though there are neither the doors or windows nor the images and idols, probably missing since the British period.

Calcutta, originally grew out of marshes and swamps, had hundreds of tanks and ponds abundant in the region. The influx of population in the town ultimately resulted in people using the unclean water of such stagnant tanks with the result that water-borne diseases broke out. In the year 1876 there was an outbreak of cholera in the city. This forced Dr. Payne, the then Health Officer of Calcutta, to compel the owner of such tanks to cleanse and fill it up. The municipality filled up 162 tanks between 1883 and 1884. Manohar Das Tank was handed over to the perpetual trust of the municipal authorities.

The marble plaque on the eastern bank was set up by the sons and grandsons of Manohar Das Shah's fifth descendant Madhav Das and was unveiled on 12th October, 1948 by the then Governor of WB, Dr. Kailash Nath Katju, on the auspicious day of Bijoya Dashami.

Since the removal of tram tracks along Chowringhee Road in the 80's to introduce Metro service, the Manohar Das Tarag had fallen into neglect. The entire place was full of filth until very recently the tank was renovated and converted into an entertainment park. The area is under the jurisdiction of Defense ministry and maintained by PWD. The temples in the corners are restored and five floating fountains were installed in the tank which start from 4pm in the afternoon. One could get a splendid view of Esplanade from this well lit up park. Though at present the public access is restricted but it will be soon opened for all after its planned inauguration in early 2016, as informed by the security guards.

But the story doesn't end here. Manohar Das Shah's name is associated with another very famous property of Kolkata - 'MANOHAR DAS KATRA' of Burrabazar. If you proceed towards Howrah bridge through M G Road, the last crossing before Strand Road is the crossing of Manohar Das Street. On the right side of M G Road, the portion of Manohar Das Street are mainly occupied by the jewellery merchants whereas on the left it is the business of ready made garments that used to take place. 

Before this article, I have always thought that 'Manohar Das Katra' is a specific area in Burrabazar. But it's actually not. The word 'KATRA' might have originated from the Arabic/Persian word 'KATARA' meaning 'a roadside inn' or 'a colonnaded building' or 'a building with great arches'. So, basically Katra means a building and yes, in this case too it's not an exception. In fact there are many such Katras like this in Burrabazar, e.g. Sadasukh Katra, Laxmi Katra, Raja Katra (originally belonged to Maharaja of Burdwan) etc. Turning left from M G Road, where Manohar Das Street meets Jamunalal Bajaj Street, the massive light blue building on your right is the Manohar Das Katra. The five-storeyed structure is a huge marketplace, mainly dealing in hardware and textiles and probably once Burrabazar means this building only. Currently run by a co-operative of 20 prominent businessmen of the area, the top floor of the house has a residential quarter cum office reserved for the descendants of Manohar Das Shah, who used to come from Varanasi, once in a month to collect the rent. Devastated by a major blaze in 2001, the building was later reconstructed leaving no clue of a heritage structure. 

Special thanks: 

• my friend Ranjini Paul who induced me to do a story on Manohar Das Tarag.
• my friend Abhijit Das who has not only accompanied me on this trip but also convinced the guards to enter the restricted park area.

Acknowledgement:

• Hidden Calcutta by Rathin Mitra.