Leather & Bags in Kolkata

Kolkata was India’s leather capital, and the tanneries at Tangra were run largely by the Hakka Chinese community from the 1930s. Environmental orders moved most of the tanning to the Calcutta Leather Complex at Bantala after 2000, but the finished-goods trade, the exporters and the shoe manufacture stayed.

Name	Where	What they carry
Tangra leather trade1930s	Tangra	The old tannery district; finished goods, exporters and workshops remain.
Calcutta Leather Complex2000s	Bantala	Where the tanning moved under environmental orders.
Topsia and Tiljala units	Topsia, Tiljala	Leather goods manufacture.

Name	Where	What they carry
Bentinck Street shoe shops	Bentinck Street	The shoe and leather retail street.
New Market leather stalls1874	New Market	Bags, belts and shoes.
Chandni Chowk bag market	Chandni Chowk	Bags and luggage.

Name	Where	What they carry
Gariahat leather and bag shops	Gariahat	Retail leather goods.
Dakshinapan Shantiniketan leather	Dhakuria	State emporia; Shantiniketan work with provenance.

Worth knowing

• Shantiniketan leather is the well-known Bengal craft product, and is widely imitated
• Tangra still holds the finished-goods and export trade even though the tanning moved
• Bentinck Street and New Market are where the city buys shoes
• Ask whether leather is genuine and full-grain; the trade is honest if you ask directly

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