Ghosts of the British Raj – a walking tour of Kolkata

Following in the true British tradition of foolhardy, stiff upper lipiness, the Curry Life team went on a walking tour, braving torrential rains, lightning bolts, and murky floods, to immerse ourselves (figuratively speaking) in the history of Kolkata and some of the less well-known buildings of the British Raj.

As we set off in one of Kolkata’s ubiquitous yellow taxis, Ritwik, our excellent guide (or explorer) from Calcutta Walks explained a little about the history of Kolkata in times of the British Raj, and the spirit of Bengal. (Unfortunately, shortly after we disembarked my notebook became a soggy mess, so if my following summary isn’t wholly accurate I apologise – I can only blame my poor memory … and Google!).

Over 200 years ago when Calcutta was the capital of British India, the British attempted to superimpose some kind of order, perhaps not fully appreciating the wonderfully chaotic spirit of the city. They settled mainly in the central area around Dalhousie Square (now BBD Bagh), and began to build on an impressive scale. The result is an intermingling of styles that includes European, classical Greek, Gothic, and Mughal architecture. Today, many of the structures of the British Raj are decaying, crumbling ruins on streets haunted by the ghosts of a bygone age, now defunct as a handlebar moustache or a pith helmet.  

But the city is far from decaying along with its buildings. Heading into town Ritwik explained about the character of Bengal. “Bengalis have a reputation for thinking “out of the box”, he told us; “As the Indian leader Gokhale once famously remarked: ‘What Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow’”. Kolkata, as the main city of West Bengal, epitomises that free spirit. Culture plays an important part in the life of inhabitants and it is the home of artists, writers, movie makers, and Nobel Laureates. This was the first city on the subcontinent to have an underground metro. It has the world’s longest-serving democratically elected communist government. It was the place where the first girls’ college was founded in India; also the first newspaper. The Kolkatan-born director Satyajit Ray ranks as one of the world’s foremost filmmakers. Poets and celebrated writers – Tagore, Shankar, Ramakrishna, Vivekananda - are known and read by rich and poor alike, equally proud of their heritage.

 

The High Court of Kolkata

Kolkata also has a vibrant social life. The area around Park Street is a thriving melee of bars, restaurants and neon lights. Life pulsates from every corner. The city and its suburbs are home to around 14.4 million people made up from a melting pot of different cultures and communities including Chinese, Armenian, Jewish, Tibetans, Dutch, European, Marwari and Anglo Indian. Ritwik told us that it is often said that in Kolkata the Orient and the Occident got married. From a casual interloper’s point of view, they seem to live - if not in complete wedded bliss – at least in symbiotic harmony.

Before the onset of relentless crowds and traffic we left the sanctuary of the yellow ambassador taxi to commence the walking part of the tour and sheltered from the monsoon rain under umbrellas on the corner of Raj Bhavan and Curzon Park. Across the road we gazed on Esplanade Mansions, literally a shining beacon of what restoration can achieve. The building is also known as Ezra Mansion after the Jewish family that owned it, until it was taken over by the LIC (Life Insurance Corporation). Built in art nouveau style with semi circular balconies the building resembles a cluster of light houses with dazzling white masonry and turrets.

Splashing through monsoon floods we paused under the wrought iron portico of the currency building (formerly the Reserve Bank of India), where British coins and money were once produced. The ornate iron gates hold the name of the foundry where they were made – a reminder of the 18^th century heritage of British wrought iron production. Apparently when ships left India for Britain laden with spices and other exports some sort of ballast was needed for the return journey so the iron was used to weight the ships down, as well as being used in construction. Across the road was the old Telegraph Office, an Italianate building – or more commonly known as the Dead Letters Office. In 1870 when the first telegraph connected Britain to Kolkata, the building served as the central sorting office for incoming mail. If a letter could not be forwarded due to a wrong address or addressee could not be found, it was kept in the office. Many letters still lie there amongst mouldering piles of yellowing papers; their stories of family events, of births and deaths remain, sadly, unread.

Dead Letters Office

Walking past the bus station we came across a one-armed elderly man squatting on the pavement with towers of coins before him. His job was to give out the change to tram conductors. Apparently he has been doing this for fifteen years and, despite the obvious temptation, has miraculously, never once been robbed.

At the crossroads of the Old Courthouse Street and British India Street was the former Great Eastern Hotel, otherwise known as the Auckland Hotel. A building of opulence and luxury, it was founded by a confectioner, David Wilson and described as the “best hotel east of Suez” by Mark Twain on his voyage along the equator. Designed in the art deco style the hotel was the hub of Calcutta’s social life. “The saying about the clientele was that they were “single and ready to mingle,” Ritwick told us. It was the venue for the Maharajah’s New Year parties until the 1950s. Queen Elizabeth 11 stayed there, also Khrushchev. Allegedly the hotel kitchens manned by the legendary Baruas who had migrated from Chittagong (now Bangladesh), to Kolkata, were the talk of the town. Labour union problems caused hotel to go bankrupt and it was taken over by the government in 1975. In November 2005 it was privatised and re-named The LaLit Great Eastern Kolkata. Slow and extensive restoration is now taking place and there are hopes that it will re-open soon.

The former Great Eastern Hotel

A short trip in the taxi took us to BBD Bagh, formerly Dalhousie Square, the heart of the old so-called ‘white town’, and still full of important banks and businesses. The Writers Building originally served as the office for writers of the British East India Company. Designed by Thomas Lyon in 1777 it has a Greco-Roman look and is now used as Chief Minister’s office and Secretariat of West Bengal. Across the square, the grand Old Post Office is one of the most striking buildings of Calcutta with its high dome and Ionic-Corinthian pillars.

Back into the taxi and on the western corner of Raj Bhavan was a familiar, if incongruous, sight: St John’s Church, originally cathedral, was erected by the East India Company in 1784 and was modelled on St Martin-in-the-Fields in London. It’s quite strange to see this quintessentially English landmark uprooted and planted in the steamy environs of Kolkata. Built with a combination of brick and stone, stone was a rare material and came from the ruined city of Gaur in West Bengal and shipped down the Hooghly River.

We paddled through the graveyard (now drenched to the skin), to see the tomb of Job Charnock, the founder of Calcuttta and memorial to the Black Hole of Calcutta. This controversial episode in Indian history took place during the siege of Calcutta when the nawab ruler took 146 prisoners and confined them to a small room. In the morning only 26 were still alive, the others having perished overnight of suffocation and heat stroke. The story goes that one man saved his wife’s life by taking the weight of the press of people himself, thus forming a shield around her. The memorial was erected by John Holwell who was Governor of Bengal originally on the site of the disaster, but it is now widely accepted that the number of people killed in the so-called “hole” was greatly exaggerated and that the deaths that did occur were unintentional; more down to the idiocy of the guards than any murderous intent.

After a short walk, we saw one of the most beautiful buildings in Kolkata, the High Court – the oldest high court building in India. The design is modelled on the Cloth Hall at Ypres, Belgium constructed in 1872 by architect Walter Granville.  Made of red brick with stucco dressings and Barakur sandstone, the structure stands out because of its Gothic style and red colour.

Flury's

Our tour finished at Flury’s, a fashionable art-deco style teahouse where we took tea in a sodden huddle as rain dripped from us and formed puddles on the floor. The tearoom, founded in 1927 was originally owned by Mr Flury and Mr Trinca. It was known and loved by Indians and Europeans alike for its confections and exotic pastries, until unfortunately one day Mr Flury ran away with Mrs Trinca and the partnership came to an abrupt end. But the name lives on. Like Kolkata in its love-hate relationship with the British Raj – one party has left the building, but the other is very much alive - and flourishing.

Our tour was with Calcutta Walks who organise tailor-made tours of Kolkata and beyond.  For further information please visit www.calcuttawalks.com/