There are so many big Bazaars/markets in Calcutta that it is almost impossible to list and talk about all of them. They vary in size and numbers of shops. Here we will list some of the main Bazaars in Calcutta (now called Kolkata).

Bazaar at Maidan: Form the north-east corner of the Calcutta Maidan in Bentinck Street, there is a succession od Chinese shoestalls, tailors and tea shops. Tiretta Market is also located nearby famous for dry fish, meat and vegetables. The famous Chinatown in Calcutta is situated in Tiretta Market. This is the place where the Chinese people settled during the end of eighteen century. The whole area use to be known as “:antonese Town” but after the clash between Chinese and Indian militants, the Cantosense Town was much reduced in size. There are still about 30,000 Chinese people live in Calcutta fluent in Bengali after couple of generations in touch with Bengali cluture. Other than Nanking Restaurant on Blackburn Lane, the Sea Ip Temple on Chatawala Gully and the Kuomintang Press on Metcalfe street almost all other Chinese buildings are disappeared. Kuomintang Press still publishes two daily newspapers in Chinese in Calcutta.

Old China Bazaar: The Old China Bazaar is situated to the west of Brabourne Road. This area is also famous for the agiary (fire temple) built by Parsis, the mosque built by the muslims, and the Jain temple by Gujrati people.

Burra Bazaar:
Burrabazar  is a Hindi word meaning big market. In Bengali, it is called Barobazar, (Bengali: ??? ?????), the meaning remaining same. However, there is another theory. The neighbourhood was earlier named after ‘Buro’, the popular name of Shiva. The Hindi-speaking merchants who ousted the earlier local merchants, made it ‘Bara’.Burrabazar expanded from a yarn and textile market into the commercial nucleus of Kolkata and one of the largest wholesale markets in India.Burrabzar is bounded by Posta and Jorabagan on the north, Jorasanko and Kolutola on the east, B. B. D. Bagh on the south and Hooghly River on the west. Lalbazar and Bowbazar are at the south-west corner of Burrabazar.[4]The neighbourhood is adjacent to Howrah Bridge (renamed Rabindra Setu). One description of its boundaries puts it as follows: from Posta in the north to Canning Street in the south, and from Strand Road in the west to Chitpur Road in the east. Within this rough boundary it is a world in itself.
Cutting right across Burrabazar is Harrison Road, which runs straight from Howrah Bridge to Sealdah railway station. It was constructed between December 1889 and 1892, sweeping away many an overcrowded tenement and festering lane. It is of the uniform breadth of 75 feet and named after Sir Henry Harrison, chairman of the corporation, by whom the scheme was inaugurated and matured. It has been renamed after Mahatma Gandhi.Burrabazar is served by the Mahatma Gandhi Road station of Kolkata Metro.

New Market

New Market is a market in Kolkata. New Market, is situated on Lindsay Street. Technically, it referred to an enclosed market but today in local parlance the entire Lindsay Street shopping area is often known as New Market.Some of the earliest English quarters were in an area known then as Dalhousie Square. Terretti and Lal Bazar nearby were customary marketing haunts of the British gentry. Later settlements were in Kashaitola, Dharmatala and Chowringhee.New Market was thrown open with fanfare to the English populace on January 1, 1874. New Market was formally christened Sir Stuart Hogg Market on December 2, 1903. Sir Stuart then Calcutta Corporation’s chairman, had tenaciously supported the plans for building New Market. To this day, a painting of Sir Stuart Hogg adorns Calcutta Corporation’s portrait gallery.This name was later shortened to Hogg Market. Bengali society, in the British Raj era, called it as Hogg Saheber Bazaar. After the fire that burnt down the whole market, it was rebuilt and renamed as New Market.

With a fresh coat of paint, the market complex was looking nice from outside (its still ramshackle inside). An automated underground parking lot (Simpark) and an underground airconditioned market are new additions to this old market complex.

Gariahat Market
Gariahat is a Retail Market for saris (not only from typical Bengal but from all across India), electronics, good restaurants & all together provide a very long stretch for window shopping too. It is the hub and shopping capital of South Kolkata. It is the main road of South Kolkata that starts from Hazra Road and from there travels southwards towards the Gariahat market. The Ballygunge AC market and the Dakshinapan shopping center are two of the main attractions that one will find on the Gariahat Road. Many handicraft and textiles emporium of government can also be seen here. A huge number of jewellery shops are also located here. Gariahat is also famous for its fish market. It connects to some of the most important roads of the city namely Ballygunge Circular Road, Gurusaday Dutta Road, Hazra Road, Rashbehari Avenue and Prince Anwar Shah Road. The entire stretch starts from Park Circus Crossing (where it is known as Syed Amir Ali Avenue, and heads south through Ashutosh Chowdhury Avenue (known as Old Ballygunge Road)with Birla Mandir, Birla Industrial and Technological Museum on its sides, then bears the name Gariahat Road from Ballygunge Phari and passes by Gol Park, and moves on to Dhakuria Bridge after which it is known as Gariahat Road (South), having Jodhpur Park to its right and Dhakuria/Selimpur to its left (East). The road assumes different names along the way becoming Raja SC Mullick Road after the intersection of Prince Anwar Shah Road and Jadavpur Police station, down south up to Garia. Jadavpur University happens to be one of the major landmarks as it winds it’s way down from Park Circus, Ballygunge, Gariahat Crossing, Gol Park [Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Kankulia/Keyatala], Dhakuria, Jadavpur, Bagha Jatin and finally through the inner areas of south Kolkata on to Garia.The stretch from the Gariahat crossing to the Park Circus crossing, passing through Old Ballygunge area, is among the busiest and probably the most important artery in south Kolkata.

NOTE: Though Bazar means market, do not confuse yourself whenever you see a Bazar/Bazaar with the name of a place such as Shovabazar, Boubazar, Shyambazar.

Fire Hazard in Calcutta Markets
Most of the Bazaars/Markets is Calcutta are overloaded with shops and there are always too many visitors. Most of the markets do not have proper fire extinguishers and for last few years “Fire in Calcutta Markets” making headlines in big newspapers too many times. We also had old incidents of huge fire damage in Calcutta. Many times property woth millions of dollars are lost along with vital human lives. Better fire management plans are entirely necessary for all Kolkata Markets.

Shreeram Arcade, Humayun Place Kolkata- First Proper Airconditioned Mall in Calcutta.

This is probably Kolkata’s first proper airconditioned ‘mall’. It’s been more than a decade since it opened its doors to the Kolkata shopper

References:
1. Wiki
2. Insights Guide India, APA Publications.
3. Interesting Calcutta Photogallery from Flicker User