Description
One of the three villages Calcutta grew out of, and now the northern part of Black Town. Cotton and cloth were traded here before the Company existed. It sits on the river and the river is what it does.
Going north from Lal Dighi the streets narrow, the whitewash stops, the language changes, and within twenty minutes there is not another European face. Calcutta 1814 calls this the two-world transition and asks for it to be played as a sensory event rather than a journey.
Notable Features
- The palanquin stops working as a conveyance well before the lane ends. The bearers set it down without being asked, because they know where it stops fitting.
- Sarala Dasi, Malati and Nikhil Dasi live here. The Dasi family have run cargo on the Hooghly for generations and are load-bearing for the climax.
- Anyone in European dress is watched the whole way in, and remarked on afterwards.
- Bengali only. Elizabeth Ashby is fluent. No investigator follows a word.
The Senses
- Smell. Cooking oil, woodsmoke, open drain and river, layered together and not unpleasant.
- Sound. A woman calling the same two words over and over somewhere close, goats, children keeping pace at a distance.
- Colour. Ochre and unfired brick, cooking smoke going blue at first-floor height, cloth in colours White Town does not wear, and the flat brown river at the end of it.
Connections
- Chitpur Road runs up to it
- The Hooghly River
- Sarala Dasi, Malati, Nikhil Dasi
In Play
Chapter 4, Session 11 (11 October 1814) — the homecoming. The long-planned reunion finally played out here: Elizabeth Ashby returned to her family’s home near the riverbank, escorted by Adrien de Montferrand and Havildar Pratap Singh, with Bennie Hanna and a group of local youths hired to clear the lanes ahead of them. Her mother met her with stony, conflicted anger that softened into hospitality — bowls of lentils and spiced vegetables served to the guests. Malati and Nikhil Dasi arrived afterward and were unmoved by tales of vengeance after years of hard labour on the river. See Sutanuti Homecoming.
Appearances
What Happened Here
Connections
People
Location of
- Elizabeth Ashby NPC neutralHer mother's household and her homecoming2 sessions, The Magistrate's Table to By Command of His Excellency
- Nikhil Dasi NPC warmThe Hooghly boat family1 session: By Command of His Excellency
Visited by
- Adrien de Montferrand Player character neutralEscorted Elizabeth Ashby to her family's home (Chapter 4, Session 11)2 sessions, The Magistrate's Table to By Command of His Excellency
- Havildar Pratap Singh Player character neutralEscorted Elizabeth Ashby to her family's home (Chapter 4, Session 11)2 sessions, The Magistrate's Table to By Command of His Excellency
- Bennie Hanna NPC1 session: By Command of His Excellency
- Malati NPC1 session: By Command of His Excellency
- Sarala Dasi NPC1 session: By Command of His Excellency
Places
Part of
- Blacktown Location neutralIts northern part, the old fishing village on the riverbank1 session: By Command of His Excellency
- Calcutta 1814 Location neutralThe northern Indian quarter
Events
Location of
- Sutanuti Homecoming Event hostileThe Dasi family's home near the riverbank