This paper tries to lay bare the intertwined histories of rehabilitation of the refugees from East Pakistan and the development of the city of Calcutta in the initial decades after the partition of British India. Calcutta has attracted people from outside from its inception. Calcutta of the late eighteenth century has been described as a ‘contact zone’, where people from various fields and countries, of varied descent, came to the city with their specific knowledge practices. With the consolidation of the colonial rule, several classes of people flocked to the city—be it the quintessential salaried professionals or the keranis, the Marwari businessmen, the students from East Bengal or the upcountry labouring poor. It emerged as a cosmopolitan city par excellence. There were tensions among these varied groups, and each sought to define and create a city on its own terms. With the partition of the province in 1947, a new group of people came to the city to become its permanent residents. A new chapter commenced in the biography of the city. I will focus on the ways this new group sought to create a space for itself in the city and became a part of the everyday of the urban life.