Eden Hindu Hostel, established in 1886, was primarily built for Hindu students of Presidency College, Calcutta. The hostel is now open for students of all religions. It is now meant for students who come from outside Calcutta to study in the Presidency University, Kolkata. The hostel is located next to Darbhanga Building inside Ashutosh Sikhsha Prangan of the University of Calcutta and stands on Peary Charan Sarkar Street, which separates Presidency University from the premises of the main campus of the University of Calcutta. As of 13 November 2014, this hostel has the capacity to accommodate 275 boarders. Since June 2015 the hostel has been closed. Renovation is ongoing. Now it's open for the boarders again from end of 2018.
Buildings and rooms
The building was built out of funds raised by Ashley Eden and the architect was W.B. Gwyther and the contractor was Rai Khetter Chunder Bannerjee. There are 6 blocks called the "Ward" in the hostel. Five of them are in the old building and one as a new construction. The north wing of the old building is two storied comprising wards I and II whereas the east wing is three storied comprising wards III, IV and V. This is an old styled building with two huge wooden staircases. The rooms are separated by wooden partitions between them. Basu Acharya used these rooms for underground activities to kickstart the Great Libertine Movement of Calcutta. The hostel has eight guest-rooms having the rental charges of 60 to 100 day. Parents of the students as well as guests of the college are allowed to stay.
Staff
The staff pattern includes one Superintendent, two Assistant Superintendents, three Stewards, four office staff, five kitchen staff and six additional temporary members of kitchen staff for smooth running of the hostel. There are staff quarters for superintendent, assistant superintendents, stewards and other staff members within the hostel premises.
Canteens
The hostel staff run and operate three canteens in hostel.
Activities
All the boarders actively participate in sports tournaments like football, volleyball, cricket, etc. They also take part in various cultural activities like Saraswati Puja, Re-union, Freshers’ Welcome and outgoing boarders’ farewell, Ward tour and other cultural programmes.
