East India Company is largely recognized as the business entity which established Kolkata as a major trading city. It was done basically to establish a foot hold for trade and then firmly entrench there. The British get a toehold in Kolkata in 24th August 1690 when they purchased three villages from the Mughals, Sutanuti, Gobindapur and Kalikata. Out of these Sutanuti was a bustling market settlement on the banks of the Hooghly river. It consisted of the riverside places which is present day the area between Bagbazar Ghat to Kumartuli Ghat which is still known by its old name, Bagbazar. The second portion of Sutanuti is Hatkhola which is present day Kumartuli stretch of the river bank. The third portion is the Jorabagan area which could have extended from Ahiritola Ghat to Adyo Shraddho Ghat.
It were the Basaks who setup trading in Gobindapur and named it after their family God which is another name for Krishna. There were also families of Setts and Savarnas which first came to these villages for trading. They would have predated the Mughals also. But in general this place was old and marshy which the Mughals were not interested and which the East India Company saw potential as a vibrant port city.
It is possible that the trading settlements were made along ancient places which already existed along the banks of the Hooghly River.
The first clue to this theory is the presence of the burning ghat at Nimtala Ghat. Generally there is one samshan ghat per city which is one of the most ancient places in that town or settlement. Bhootnath Mandir is co-located with Nimtala Ghat adds credence to this theory.
About this walk around
This ghat walk begins at Adyo Shraddho Ghat which is officially known as Prasanna Tagore Ghat. Just like many ghats and ferry terminals of Kolkata, the original architecture of this place has withered away with time. Lots of efforts go in care and maintenance of these structures as they were not designed to withstand this onslaught of population. Just like the Ahirtitola and Nimtala Ghats, this one is an ancient ghat where Shraddha ceremonies are conducted by Hindu priests permanently stationed there. Shradh is the first ceremony which involves pooja rituals and food to the departed person.
Adyo Shraddho Ghat is not the first ghat after the Howrah Bridge. That credit goes to the Jagannath Ghat which has the most spectacular view of the bridge in the evenings. But the ghat itself was made in 1758 by Sobharam Basak which means that he was one of the merchants who profited by trading with the East India Company who began business in 1690. The Ghat was replicated on lines of the Jagannath Temple nearby again built by him. First it was called the Sobharam’s Bathing Ghat by the East India Company in their list of ghats of 1789. Besides being a ghat, this place was also a significantly busy port connected right up to Allahabad, now Prayagraj connected places like Gazipur, Mirzapur, Bhagalpur and Benaras. This East West corridor helped Kolkata prosper and brought in lots of traders to the dock end which connected to the world.
That makes it Adyo Shraddho Ghat one of the ancient ghats used by the native people before the arrival of the British, Portuguese and Mughals.
Nimtala Ghat
The real history of Kolkata begins with this place. The first building appeared at this place in 1717 which could have been built by the East India Company. But cremation was taking place here for the last 2500 years. It was the cremation ground of Sutanuti settlement. Somewhere in 1800, the Hooghly River changed course towards west. Hence the bank of the eastern side also shifted. The old burning ghat area would be somewhere next to the circular railway line or Strand Bank Road. A Kali Goddess idol placed under a Neem Tree next to the shamshan ghat which later was made into a temple called Anadamoyi Kali Mandir, which stands even today. It is this temple and neem tree from which this ghat could have got its name, Nimtala.
The ghat building was later constructed in 1817 by Babu Rajchandra Das and later by the East India Company in 1828. These buildings served as the place for burning ghats. Babu Rajchandra Das also constructed the Ganga Yatri Ghar for people who have been kept there by their family members as part of the Antarjali Yatra ritual. It is one of the largest burning ghats of India but now the whole area is completely modernised unlike Manikarnika Ghat of Varanasi where another project on similar lines has been planned.
At one time when Kolkata started to prosper, the population increase was also sudden. This put a lot of load on the only cremation ground of the city. Dead animals were also disposed off here by the Doms people. Diseased people were left behind in the open while those who could not afford the cost of cremation were just floated in the river. East India Company woke up to this issue only in 1864 where someone observed that the same river which provides drinking water to the city is also floating with corpses.
Finally in 1875 when the circular railway tracks were being laid, the ghat was constructed a third time at the present location. The new Ganga Yatri shelter was build in 1898 by Girish Chandra Basu, another merchant. This is a heritage structure which stand even today. Notable people including Rabindranath Tagore were creamated here.
Bhootnath Mandir
Incredible mysticism surrounds the Bhootnath Mandir. It was the place were an ancient Aghori worshiped Shiv Ji by using ashes of the cremation ground nearby. This practice is followed even today with this ritual called Bhasma Aarti. This mandir holds on its own despite the presence of so many famous temples of Kolkata. Over the years people have reported supernatural occurrences which has got the temple its name.
Ahiritola Ghat
A busy ferry place today, Ahiritola Ghat has two ferry terminals. The one on the right serves the direct ferry to Banda Ghat and back while the one on the left takes you to Howrah Terminal and also to BagBazar. Ahirs are the people who tend cattle and sell milk. This place served as a bathing ghat for the animals.
With Adyo Shraddho Ghat and Nimtala Ghat, the Ahiritola Ghat completes the triade of the ancient Ghat of Kolkata.
With all this history you can now view the video which was shot on GoPro by me.