the tricolour fluttered atop writers buildings and the union jack was lowered but the gariahat market was easily the biggest to the south of esplanade along with jadubabur bazar in bhawanipur but bengalis had started moving into new alipore said nair college street was less crowded and the pavements were devoid of the book stalls the spirits were high though at central avenue zakaria street chitpore road harrison road bowbazar street and dharamtolla street which had witnessed a bloody riot in august 1946 in many ways it symbolized the slow but steady spirit of kolkata nair said a few kilometres up north at beliaghata the mood was sombre the father of the nation mahatma gandhi spent the day fasting and praying for the thousands who were killed in the prepartition riots the city woke up to jubilant celebrations and fireworks with hindus and muslims dancing together on the same streets on which they had fought a pitched battle exactly a year ago north kolkata was home to affluent bengalis but the various communities did bury their differences and come together a trait that the city hasnt lost said kolkata chronicler p t nair trams offered free rides till two in the afternoon there were private and state buses it didnt miss out on its trademark protest either on august 15 1947 kolkata soaked in the spirit of independence very few bengalis lived in the britishdominated central parts of the city lights glowed at the posh firpos restaurant on chowringhee as the citys rich and famous partied on its iconic balcony overlooking the maidan angloindians worked as clerks there were few bengalis they had built 24 mosques in bhawanipur that still exist the shyambazarbagbazarpaikpara area still represented the citys babu culture that hadnt yet been challenged by the fastmoving south kolkata was a much smaller city then extending from shyambazar in the north to rashbehari avenue in the south the rest preferred the municipal markets trams chugged through the length and breadth of the city covering almost every area within the municipal limits there were a few eating joints though at the free school street crossing frequented by angloindians park street was not yet the bustling dining destination it became in the fifties postindependence it turned into a bengalidominated area till the gujaratis and punjabis moved in later said nair but perhaps few remember that it was mostly inhabited by bengali muslims who left for east pakistan soon but trams were still the most reliable and widely used mode of transport the buildings were the same in esplanade and dalhousie the citys population was a mere 3 lakh with bengalis numbering less than a third angloindians joined the revelry at bowbazar and park street even as the city got into a festive mood the celebrations in kolkata were not free of trepidation for the memory of the terrible riots was still fresh the fares collected thereafter went to charity hogg market was expensive so only the british and the