College Street Heritage Walk
Beyond Books – A College Street Heritage Walk to Trace Kolkata’s Literary and Academic Legacy
College Street, often referred to as Kolkata’s Boi Para, has long been associated with the city’s intellectual and academic life. Stretching through central Kolkata, the area is lined with rows of book stalls selling everything from rare and second-hand titles to academic textbooks and contemporary works.
Over the decades, it has emerged as more than a marketplace for books - becoming a meeting point for students, scholars, writers, and readers.
The area’s academic environment, shaped by generations of publishers, booksellers, and students, has made College Street a space closely tied to ideas, debate, and learning.
Against this backdrop, Gatha – Tales of India will organise “Beyond Books (College Street Walk)”, a heritage walk centred on College Street and its surrounding institutions. The walk seeks to explore the area not only as a marketplace for books but as a space shaped by memory, education, and intellectual exchange.
Book stalls line the pavements of College Street’s Boi Para. Photo: Avishek Mitra
Event Details:
Date: 16th May (Saturday)
Time: 5:30pm
Meeting point: Indian Coffee House (College Street)
Nearest Metro station: Central
Registration Amount: 300 /- INR
You can get the registration form and all other details in this link
Beginning at College Street, the walk will move through the familiar lanes, tracing its connection with some of Kolkata’s historic educational institutions. The route will weave through Presidency University, University of Calcutta, Sanskrit College and University, and the Bengal Philosophical Society, highlighting the ideas and histories associated with them.
Participants will also move through the book-lined pavements that continue to define College Street’s character. The walk will observe the everyday atmosphere of the area, where students bargain for affordable study material, shopkeepers arrange books across narrow lanes, and conversations unfold amid the bustle of the market.
Photo: Avishek Mitra
A visit here is incomplete without a stop at the iconic Indian Coffee House, long known for discussions and debates over cups of coffee around literature, politics, and culture.
Positioned as more than a walk through a book market, the event aims to present College Street as a space where history, learning, and experiences continue to intersect, offering a closer look at a place that has long shaped Kolkata’s intellectual identity.
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