ABSTRACT
The neighbourhood of Park Circus, presents an eclectic mix of some of the most expensive enclaves in Kolkata, while housing a number of its poorest slums. Because of this wide variety in population, the physical and social space of Park Circus is often seen to be sharply fractured in terms of class and community, at both macro- and micro-levels. This chapter traces the historical transformation of the neighborhood over the course of the last century, from an affluent Muslim residential enclave to its present status of an expensive, albeit, a dilapidated and deteriorating, inner-city area inhabited by lower-class migrant Muslims. One aspect immediately apparent to a visitor is the hugely dissimilar character of its public spaces, especially its streets. The historical transformation can be viewed as part of the larger movement towards the continuing socio-spatial segregation of Muslim groups in Kolkata. Park Circus remains a negatively defined space set at a distance from the mainstream of the city's social life.
