The Business Towns

Barsi Town, Barshi, gives its name to one of the most influential railway lines in Indian history. In 1897 a narrow-gauge line opened from this Solapur district town, designed by…

Benson Town, Bengaluru, is named after a doctor rather than a general or tax collector. Dr P.H. Benson was a Durbar Surgeon in the princely state of Mysore, one of…

Ansal Town, Meerut, is a harder place to pin down than most township names suggest. Property portals list more than one “Ansal Town” in the city, built by two different…

Frazer Town, Bengaluru, was designed in response to a plague epidemic. Around the turn of the twentieth century, bubonic plague spread through the crowded parts of the old Cantonment, and…

Ramapuram Town, Kerala, is one of the few places where you can pray at the temples of Rama and all three of his brothers before lunch. The shrines to Rama,…

Silghat Town, Assam, is home to a jute mill unlike any other in India. The Assam Co-operative Jute Mills Ltd., registered in 1959 and opened in 1970, is described as…

Pathanamthitta Town, Kerala, is the headquarters of the first district in India to be declared polio-free. It’s also known as the “Pilgrim Capital of Kerala,” because it’s the main transport…

Parrys George Town, Chennai, has an art deco office building on land where a French general once aimed his cannons at the British. During his 1758–59 siege of Fort St.…

Nayagarh Town, Odisha, has only had a railway station since June 2017. Nayagarh Town (NYGT) opened on 20 June 2017 on the Khurda Road–Bolangir line, one of Odisha’s longest-running rail…

Ernakulam Town, Kochi, is a place most locals never call by its official name. Say “Ernakulam Town” to an autorickshaw driver and you may get a puzzled look. Say “North”…