Places we love: Park Street, The Street, The Legend

When in Kolkata, can a trip to Park Street be far behind? Loyalists will tell you how it is more than a stretch of asphalt. Rather, it is that forever friend who has watched the city grow. A rite of passage to many. The city may have changed around it, but generations have consistently gathered here to mark life’s small and big milestones. Here’s raising a toast to the legend that’s held its ground and stayed nimble. Retaining that infectious, unmissable energy. Park Street & Flurys are inseperable as can be seen in this archival pic from the 1930s. Talking about the 99-year-long presence, Rajesh Singh, national head of the brand, says it’s a huge responsibility to carry the legacy forward. But one they cherish. “(It) has grown alongside Park Street as part of Kolkata’s cultural fabric and collective memory”I played with The Orient Express on Thursday nights at Park Street. It shaped my growing up years. It survived a pandemic and still retains its old charm. Even now, Monday nights draw a loyal crowd– Mainak ‘Bumpy’ Nag Chowdhury, fretless bass and vocals, The Orient Express ‘I got my first taste of freedom on Park Street’ For models Pinky Kenworthy and Nicola Gomes, Park Street is where youth unfolded and identity took shape. “Some places don’t just witness your life, they shape it,” says Pinky, recalling how coverage in CT gave Kolkata’s modelling scene crucial visibility “when print meant everything.” Nights began with live music and ended at sunrise, a tight-knit creative circle in tow. Nicola echoes that nostalgia. “Before playlists and social media, there were dance floors and friendships,” she says about her first night at Someplace Else. From denim-clad freedom to Tantra’s bar-top Fashion Fridays, both remember a time that felt electric and entirely their own.I met the love of my life (Chef Shaun Kenworthy) at Park Street. This place gave me memories, music, love and a strong sense of becoming– Pinky Kenworthy, model-choreographer “Mocambo was, without a doubt, India’s first nightclub,” says Nitin. “It had live music, a seven-piece orchestra, and both a male and female crooner every night.” Finding the right female voice became a story in itself. An Italian associate, Brandi, and chef Metridi scouted the city for glamour and discovered a 17-year-old with extraordinary talent, Pamela Crane. Trained and groomed for the stage, she soon became one of the country’s most celebrated crooners Christmas on Park Street is unmissable – the lights, decorations and carnival make the pulse of the city throb in December. When walking down the road, one is also bound to spot buskers performing their hearts out on the pavements – for the love of art. Raneek GILI Ganguly (left), Baul practioner and busker says, “Since I left home in my 20s, Park Street has never disappointed me, but instead, has always surprised me with more than I asked for. Locals have supported many struggling artistes and never complained” ‘Park Street was the grand stage for Kolkata’ For the Kothari family, Park Street is an inheritance & an identity. Nitin Kothari was barely five when he first came here. “I’ve been around Park Street for 74 years,” he says. It was on this boulevard that his father opened Mocambo in 1955. “My dad hired a German architect to design the space, and an Italian chef, Metridi, to curate the menu,” he shared. Siddharth Kothari, the third-gen custodian, sees Park Street as a lesson in adaptation. “Change was inevitable, and we adapted with the times,” he says, recalling how strict dinner jackets gave way to easier elegance. Yet, the essence remains intact. Dishes like Devilled crab and Chicken à la Kiev endure because, as Nitin puts it, “We operate out of pride. Park Street was once like the Champs-Élysées, today, it belongs to everyone.” With stalwarts like Usha Uthup having performed at Trincas, Anand Puri says, “By weaving its storied past with modern touches, we have reimagined the space for the new generation.” The music might’ve shifted from jazz to rock to pop, but the culture is going strong even at 99 ‘It wasn’t just about a nightclub, but an entertainment movement’Park Street’s legacy lives in the spaces that lit up its nights, says Vijay Dewan of the Park Hotels group. Looking back, he remembers Tantra as more than just a nightclub. “It wasn’t just a place you went to party,” he says. “It felt like an entertainment movement.” There were landmark DJ nights, surprise appearances by Bollywood and Tollywood stars, and a knack for constantly reinventing itself — from Bodi Bar to the Billionaire’s Club. Even the Midnight Hot Fashion Show still gets talked about as a moment of bold, ahead-of-its-time creativity. Someplace Else, he says, has always had a different energy. “It’s really a community.” With live bands playing there for over three decades, the space has quietly nurtured musicians and built a fiercely loyal audience — staying in step with the city’s ever-evolving cultural pulse.‘It has changed with the times, but never lost its soul’When third-gen restaurateur Anand Puri returned in 2019 to lead Trincas into its next chapter, he inherited more than just a business. Founded in 1927 as a Swiss confectionery, it added live entertainment in 1959 and became a cultural anchor for urban Kolkata with a special place in its heart for the LGBTQIA+ community. “At its core, it remains what it always was – warm hospitality with familiar flavours, and always a room full of stories waiting to unfold,” says Anand. ‘It’s the centre of artistic exchange’For Astrid Wege, director, Goethe Institut, being housed at Park Mansions (below) has been their strength. “As one of Kolkata’s defining cultural arteries, Park Street anchors a deep emotional & artistic legacy. Being here has made the institute more accessible, embedding it within the city’s creative flow among students, artists and residents. It has evolved into a contemporary hub, it remains a cross-generational meeting point, strengthening cultural dialogue between India and Germany.”1927 the year Kolkata got one of its most iconic tea-rooms on Park Street 1990s saw the rise of Park Street’s pub, disco & nightclub culture