Saturday, December 26, 2015

SHIVA TRILOGY - Part 3: Baneshwar Shiva Temple, Kumortuli

The title might sound familiar but this post has nothing to do with the Amish Tripathi's Shiva Trilogy, the best-selling mythological fiction series in India. 

The article is about three, century old Shiva Temples of Calcutta, surviving through years of ignorance and atmospheric erosion while serving hundreds of devotees everyday. In fact though I named this post a Trilogy and planned three consecutive articles but in future it can easily and certainly be extended to form either a tetralogy or a pentalogy or even a decalogy, considering the number of significant shrines in the City !!

Hindu Temples in the City are a common sight now-a-days but an inevitable question is: How old are they? Various sources suggest that few of the City shrines dates back to Job Charnock or probably before that. Prosperity of a religious shrine always depends upon the people surrounding it and Calcutta was no exception. People used to inhabit Calcutta (or more specifically Sutanuti, Kolikata and Gobindapur) since the early seventeenth century, long before Job Charnock settled here. Lord Shiva and various forms of his consort Parvati, were the most worshipped divine entities. It was almost customary that the ancient rich and aristrocratic families of the City establish temples of Lord Shiva, either in their residences or in the locality or on the bank of river Ganges. In the year 1856, there were 24 Shiva temples in Calcutta compared to only 5 temples of goddess Kali, a popular form of Parvati.

This trilogy is an attempt to uncover the past of three ancient Shiva Temples of North Calcutta, situated within a radius of 1 km but almost unknown beyond its daily visitors.

Saturday, December 19, 2015

SHIVA TRILOGY - Part 2: Rameswar Shiva Temple, Shovabazar

The title might sound familiar but this post has nothing to do with the Amish Tripathi's Shiva Trilogy, the best-selling mythological fiction series in India. 

The article is about three, century old Shiva Temples of Calcutta, surviving through years of ignorance and atmospheric erosion while serving hundreds of devotees everyday. In fact though I named this post a Trilogy and planned three consecutive articles but in future it can easily and certainly be extended to form either a tetralogy or a pentalogy or even a decalogy, considering the number of significant shrines in the City !!

Hindu Temples in the City are a common sight now-a-days but an inevitable question is: How old are they? Various sources suggest that few of the City shrines dates back to Job Charnock or probably before that. Prosperity of a religious shrine always depends upon the people surrounding it and Calcutta was no exception. People used to inhabit Calcutta (or more specifically Sutanuti, Kolikata and Gobindapur) since the early seventeenth century, long before Job Charnock settled here. Lord Shiva and various forms of his consort Parvati, were the most worshipped divine entities. It was almost customary that the ancient rich and aristrocratic families of the City establish temples of Lord Shiva, either in their residences or in the locality or on the bank of river Ganges. In the year 1856, there were 24 Shiva temples in Calcutta compared to only 5 temples of goddess Kali, a popular form of Parvati.

This trilogy is an attempt to uncover the past of three ancient Shiva Temples of North Calcutta, situated within a radius of 1 km but almost unknown beyond its daily visitors.

Saturday, December 12, 2015

SHIVA TRILOGY - Part 1: Durgeshwar Shiva Temple, Nimtalla

The title might sound familiar but this post has nothing to do with the Amish Tripathi's Shiva Trilogy, the best-selling mythological fiction series in India. 

The article is about three, century old Shiva Temples of Calcutta, surviving through years of ignorance and atmospheric erosion while serving hundreds of devotees everyday. In fact though I named this post a Trilogy and planned three consecutive articles but in future it can easily and certainly be extended to form either a tetralogy or a pentalogy or even a decalogy, considering the number of significant shrines in the City !!


Hindu Temples in the City are a common sight now-a-days but an inevitable question is: How old are they? Various sources suggest that few of the City shrines dates back to Job Charnock or probably before that. Prosperity of a religious shrine always depends upon the people surrounding it and Calcutta was no exception. People used to inhabit Calcutta (or more specifically Sutanuti, Kolikata and Gobindapur) since the early seventeenth century, long before Job Charnock settled here. Lord Shiva and various forms of his consort Parvati, were the most worshipped divine entities. It was almost customary that the ancient rich and aristrocratic families of the City establish temples of Lord Shiva, either in their residences or in the locality or on the bank of river Ganges. In the year 1856, there were 24 Shiva temples in Calcutta compared to only 5 temples of goddess Kali, a popular form of Parvati.

This trilogy is an attempt to uncover the past of three ancient Shiva Temples of North Calcutta, situated within a radius of 1 km but almost unknown beyond its daily visitors.


Saturday, December 5, 2015

GWALIOR MONUMENT ... Cenotaph from Melted Weapons !!


Let me start this post with the definition/explanation of two common English word:
  • Folly - An act of foolishness OR A costly ornamental building with no practical purpose.
  • Pepper-pot - A container for pepper (a common item in our dining table).

I know that you are confused. You are definitely wondering that whether I am conducting an English class or writing a heritage blog. Please don't get bewildered. Have patience and read on. 

Today, I'm exploring the GWALIOR MONUMENT, a solitary structure in the revamped Kolkata Riverfront, stretching from Outram Ghat to Prinsep Ghat. The above words are linked to this site only but I will explain those in the proper place. First, let us go back around 200 years to start the journey.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

MANOHAR DAS TARAG, ESPLANADE ... From a Pond for Cows to an Entertainment Park !!



'Tarag', in Bengali, means a pond or a medium scale waterbody having approximately 200 ft. of depth. The same meaning is conveyed by the Hindi word 'Talab' or 'Talao'. In 1706 there were only 17 waterbodies in Calcutta which catered the needs of native population. After the British settled down in the City they dug up or renovated numerous tanks to serve the purpose of drinking water, most of which are not in existence today. Among the existing ones, Laldighi and Wellington Square are the notable. But other tanks were later filled up to build parks like Curzon Park, Allen Park, Shraddhanand Park and many more.

But it was neither always the British who dug up the tank nor the purpose of public usage for which the tanks were dug up. In early nineteenth century, a Varanasi born businessman and philanthropist MANOHAR DAS SHAH converted an idle land into a pond to provide a drinking place for the cows. Yes, he was an animal lover and the tank is still there and known as MANOHAR DAS TARAG.


Saturday, November 21, 2015

'HINDOO' STUART's MAUSOLEUM ... Tomb or Temple ??!!

During the Bengal Renaissance of nineteenth century, many prominent names of the society chose to adopt Christianity and converted. Reverend Krishna Mohan Bandyopadhyay, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Toru Dutt, Chandramukhi Basu are only to name a few. The scenario was similar in the remaining part of Colonial India too. With the increase in European settlements in India from 17th century onwards, conversion to Christianity from Hinduism was not a rare or surprising instance. But finding a British (technically Irish) dignitary, who inspite of adhering to his religion, embraced Hindu Culture, is a rare instance indeed !

In the 25th post, WANDERLUST explores an Irish Major-General who practiced idolatry, wore dhoti, used to bath in River Ganges, advised Memsahibs to wear Sari, built a temple, criticized European missionaries and has a Mausoleum in South Park Street Cemetery which looks like a temple !!

Presenting CHARLES 'HINDOO' STUART and his exceptional Mausoleum.




Saturday, November 14, 2015

SUSANNA ANNA MARIA's TOMB, CHINSURAH ... Dutch Lady - Ruskin Bond - 7 Khoon Maaf !!!

When a guy visits the ruins of an old haveli on G T Road, Old Delhi, he was told the story of the mysterious haveli owner, Susanna and killings of her husbands...

 - Plotline of 'Susanna's Seven Husbands'
by Ruskin Bond

Bond's 5 page story was adopted by the film director Vishal Bhardwaj in 2007 and developed into a Bollywood film - '7 Khoon Maaf' (Seven Sins Forgiven), starring Priyanka Chopra as Susanna. On the request of Bhardwaj, Bond wrote a 80 page novella based on the short story and Vishal Bhardwaj made a screenplay out of it, co-written with Matthew Robins from Hollywood. The screenplay along with the novel and the original short story were later published as a full fledged book by Penguin India. 

But this post is not a film review. This article is about the principal character of the story - SUSANNA ANNA MARIA YEATS, who surprisingly (or might be intentionally!) resembles a Dutch Lady of the same name of 18th century Chinsurah, a Dutch colony then.




Read on with WANDERLUST...

Saturday, November 7, 2015

BASRI SHAH MOSQUE ... Oldest Mosque of Kolkata !!

Winter is almost here and so is the season of Calcutta's Heritage Hunts, organized every year by different clubs, motoring enthusiasts' associations and media houses. Being the defending champion of City's two most prestigious treasure hunts, we have already started to polish our Heritage IQ and gearing up for the brain storming trails in the coming months. Two weeks ago, in one of those random chit chats with my fellow hunter Abhijit and Souvik, we were discussing about the 'OLDEST's of the City. We jotted down the following :
  • Oldest Existing Building - Dum Dum Clive House
  • Oldest Temple - Kalighat or Chitteswari ??
  • Oldest Church - Armenian Church
  • Oldest Synagogue - Neveh Shalome Synagogue
  • Oldest Mosque - ???...
We were clueless and as the last resort, googled it. An online newspaper report revealed that the City's oldest existing Mosque is in Kashipur and known as BHONSRI SHAH MOSQUE but not much description was there. Further research in the topic led us to the Graded List of Heritage Buildings of Kolkata compiled by Kolkata Municipal Corporation and we indeed found an entry in the heritage list of Ward 6 (i.e. Kashipur Area) that describes an unnamed Category I Heritage Mosque as "Popularly known as 1, Lockgate Road".

And we decided to pay a visit...

Saturday, October 31, 2015

A WALK TO REMEMBER ... Heritage Literary Walk - APJ Bangla Sahitya Utsob 2015

It is not everyday that you get to know the best in class bloggers and photographers of Kolkata through a single walk. Oxford Bookstore made it possible and for me it was a golden opportunity. So I decided to board 'no 11' on 10th October from Maniktala at 7.30 am sharp. 

The objective of the journey was to explore the landmarks of Bengali literature and stalwarts, organized as the part of the APJ Bangla Sahitya Utsob 2015 in association with Oxford Bookstore, Streets of Kolkata, Kolkata Bloggers and Bengali Wikipedia. Our pilot was Mr. Amitabha Gupta (Heritage Enthusiast, Travel Writer and Photographer) who had not only chalked out the route but also lead throughout from the front. My co-walkers include some prominent names of Kolkata's blogger and photographer community - Deepanjan Ghosh, Indrajit Lahiri, Soumya Shankar Ghosal, Sammya Brata, Srotoswini Svetlana Baghawan, Indrajit Das, Sumit Surai, Subhadip Mukherjee to name a few.


Image Courtesy : Soumya Shankar Ghosal
The route was mainly centered around the Maniktala-Amherst Street area which was once the Home and Workplace of leading people of Bengali Renaissance.

Monday, October 26, 2015

TRANSGENDER DURGA IDOL - ARDHANARISWAR ... Hype, Misconception or Exceptional Interpretation ??!!

"It takes a great deal of courage and independence to design your own image instead of the one that society rewards, but it gets easier as you go along" 

- says Germaine Greer in The Female Eunuch

But in reality it is not that much easier. Imagine that you are travelling through the city streets in your car or by a local train. A group of transgender appears before you. They are demanding money. What will you do? You will give them some bucks and just want to get rid of them. But have you ever thought what force them to 'beg'? The most prominent reason could be that they are deprived of a definite and respectable social status and it is reflected every now and then in our attitude towards this community.


Saturday, October 24, 2015

MAHISASURAMARDINI ... Invoking the Mother !!

আশ্বিনের শারদ প্রাতে
বেজে উঠেছে আলোকমঞ্জীর
ধরণীর বহিরাকাশে
অন্তর্হিত মেঘমালা
প্রকৃতির অন্তরাকাশে জাগরিত
জ্যোতির্ময়ী জগন্মাতার আগমনবার্তা...

- Where the above lines are taken from?

If you are a Bengali then no reward for the correct guess. But if you are wrong then you are not a Bong!! And you certainly deserve "৩ দিনের জেল আর ৭ দিনের ফাঁসি". Yes, it's the baritone that gives you goosebumps every year, on an autumn dawn, right from your childhood. It's the gateway to the greatest celebration of Bengali community, Durga Puja. It is 'MAHISASURAMARDINI' or 'The Annihilator of Demon Mahisasur', a Bengali-Sanskrit oratorio that has become synonymous with the celebration in the last 83 years.



WANDERLUST, in the first of its two Puja Special Posts, explores the legacy of this audio montage... 

Read on...

Saturday, October 10, 2015

EDEN GARDEN'S PAGODA ... A Neglected Beauty !!

These days there are more than dozen parks in Kolkata that serve as the favourite strolling area of the City's residents. Elliot Park, Citizen's Park, Eco Park are only to name a few of the biggies. There are also hundreds of smaller ones scattered around different neighbourhoods. But like many other things we owe the concept of parks too, to the Britishers. In those days, it was the height of gentility for the British East India Company's covenanted servants to take their spouses for an evening stroll or moonlight fete. Almost 300 years ago, the first of its kind Park in the then Calcutta was Captain Perin's Garden in Sutanuti area which was later developed into Bagbazar neighbourhood. The Garden was sold in around 1752 and post Plassey Battle, Laldighi or the Dalhousie Square was advanced and used as the public garden. Later on, two more parks were developed on the surrounding grounds of Fort William commonly known as 'Green before the Court'. Those are Eden Garden and Curzon Park.

When we talk about Eden Garden, in 99% cases we refer to the internationally famous Cricket Stadium but what we ignore is the fact that the Stadium owes its name to the adjacent park, the brainchild of Lord Auckland, Governor General of India during 1836-42.


WANDERLUST brings before you the story of a 150 years old BURMESE PAGODA, situated in the Eden Garden, unfortunately obscured from the public memory due to the never-ending renovation process.


Read on...



(Image Courtesy & Copyright : Indiamike Website)


Saturday, October 3, 2015

GANDHI BHAWAN ... HYDERI MANZIL

AUGUST 1947. 
India awaiting Independence 
More precisely Undivided India awaiting Partition 
Millions of refugees are trekking across the newly drawn Borders 
The Price of Freedom has been paid by Massive Bloodshed

Bengal was no exception. The memory of Direct action Day or Great Calcutta Killings of August, 1946 had not yet been faded. Tension were once again surging up in Bengal, between the two communities, Hindus & Muslims. It was the time when Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi arrived in Calcutta (Kolkata).  His month long stay helped to brought down the violence and peace was restored in the City. HYDERI MANZIL in Beliaghata was his address during the mission. Later on it was converted to a museum and rechristened as GANDHI BHAWAN.

In the context of Gandhi Birthday, WANDERLUST presents to you GANDHI BHAWAN or HYDERI MANZIL, where Mahatma Gandhi spent the moment of Independence on 15th August, 1947.

  

Saturday, September 26, 2015

HOOGHLY IMAMBARA ... From a Businessman's Abode To the Divine Shrine !!

With roughly a month to go for the observation of Mourning of Muharram, WANDERLUST explores in its 17th post, a splendid Islamic Architecture of fading grandeur - HOOGHLY IMAMBARA, a holy Muslim shrine on the western bank of Bhagirathi-Hooghly river.

Read on...



Saturday, September 19, 2015

ALIPORE BOMB CASE ... Part 3: Alipore Court Trial

ALIPORE BOMB CASE or ALIPORE BOMB CONSPIRACY or ALIPORE BOMB TRIAL was a landmark court trial in the history of Indian Independence Movement. Involving Rishi Aurobindo and his associates, identified as the extremists by the British and defended by Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, the Alipore Case had a fascinating background to research about.

WANDERLUST presents before you the entire story in 3 weekly installments. Here goes the Final Part...

Saturday, September 12, 2015

ALIPORE BOMB CASE ... Part 2: Bomb Testings & Kingsford Killing

ALIPORE BOMB CASE or ALIPORE BOMB CONSPIRACY or ALIPORE BOMB TRIAL was a landmark court trial in the history of Indian Independence Movement. Involving Rishi Aurobindo and his associates, identified as the extremists by the British and defended by Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, the Alipore Case had a fascinating background to research about.

WANDERLUST presents before you the entire story in 3 weekly installments. Here goes the Part 2...

Saturday, September 5, 2015

ALIPORE BOMB CASE ... Part 1: Muraripukur Garden House

ALIPORE BOMB CASE or ALIPORE BOMB CONSPIRACY or ALIPORE BOMB TRIAL was a landmark court trial in the history of Indian Independence Movement. Involving Rishi Aurobindo and his associates, identified as the extremists by the British and defended by Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, the Alipore Case had a fascinating background to research about.

WANDERLUST presents before you the entire story in 3 weekly installments, starting from today.

Saturday, August 29, 2015

GARH PANCHKOT ... Where STORY meets 'HI'STORY !!

This week WANDERLUST takes you to the Kingdom in Creepers - GARH PANCHKOT, an ancient East Indian Kingdom, through the words of my long-term buddy Abhijit who explored the same in August, 2014 and now presents it before you.


GARH PANCHKOT DIARY


Last year  August, managed to take out a 3 day leave from my busy corporate life and set out for a  weekend trip to Garh Panchkot. Though discovered only a few decades back, but this place carries a very interesting story about itself. As I believe, the 'STORY's which you can actually live by visiting those places are termed as (HI)STORY.

Saturday, August 22, 2015

BRAHMO SAMAJ OF INDIA ... Tabernacle of New Dispensation !!

If you enter into Keshab Chandra Sen street from Amherst street, you will find a simple yellow Church like structure on your right, partially obscured by electric transformers, cables and the large trees. But an inquisitive mind followed by a close look into the marble plaques in the entrance wall will soon reveal that the structure is BHARATVARSHIYA BRAHMO MANDIR founded in 1869 by Shri Keshab Chandra Sen.

Saturday, August 15, 2015

CALCUTTA FLAG ... Unfurling the First Unofficial Flag of India !!

Another INDEPENDENCE DAY is here. Enjoying 69 years of Freedom, spirit of patriotism now runs on a different course. Independent India is now accustomed to tri-coloured profile pictures, 'Vande Matram' status quotes, 'Happy Independence Day' messages and obviously the 'Salute' selfies. But these are after all trends, not the tradition. Still few people are there in our society, according to whom an Independence day remains incomplete if the National Flag is not hoisted and the National Anthem is not sung. So accepting the very fact that the National Tri-Colour is the inseparable part of Independence Day, let us have a glance at the Tri-Colour facts and figures.

Saturday, August 8, 2015

METCALFE HALL ... An Architecture to Celebrate Press Freedom !!

"D.E.M O'Cracy beloved husband of T.Ruth, father of L.I.Bertie, brother of Faith, Hope and Justice expired on 26 June" 
.
On 26th June, 1975, the day after the censorship of press was imposed by the Indira Gandhi Government during emergency, the Bombay edition of the Times of India carried this entry in their obituary column !!!

Freedom of Press was always been a headache for the different State machineries throughout the world from time to time. History vouch for those instances. Colonial India, too was not an exception. But few wise men were also there who, in spite of being a part of the bureaucracy, ensured the liberty of press. One of them was Governor General Charles Metcalfe. This week, WANDERLUST explores Metcalfe, his actions towards freedom of press and specially the architecture, METCALFE HALL, which was built to commemorate his landmark initiative.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

HOUSE OF THE FIRST WIDOW REMARRIAGE ... Breaking the Social Anathema !!

"Benche Thak Vidyasagar Chirojibi Hoye 
Sodore Koreche Report, Bidhobar Hobe Biye"
(Long Live Vidyasagar for the Initiative taken, 
Now the Widow can get married again)

This mid-nineteenth century Bengali couplet refers to the historic episode that we all read about in school level history. The Widow Remarriage Act, 1856, passed at the initiative of Pandit Iswarchandra Vidyasagar, permitted the Hindu widows to get remarried, legally.


29th July, 2015 was the 125th death anniversary of Iswarchandra Vidyasagar. This article is WANDERLUST's little homage to the Lionhearted Man of Steel.

Saturday, July 25, 2015

CHAITANYA LIBRARY ... The Intellectual Hub in the midst of Theatre District !

The area is Chitpore, Mecca of Jatra Culture, the quintessential Bengali Folk Theatre form. The street is named after Utpal Dutt, the stalwart Bengali theatre personality. Next to the adjacent building situated the century old Minerva Theatre. But in the midst of this theatrical aroma, exists a literary society, serving the intellectual minds for over 125 years now. Chaitanya Library is among the earliest public libraries of Calcutta. Closely associated with Rabindranath Tagore, the organization was founded in 1889 under the name of CHAITANYA LIBRARY & BEADON SQUARE LITERARY CLUB.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

WHO WAS THE FIRST INDIAN TO DISSECT A HUMAN BODY?... A Historical Controversy or Controversial History?...

A glimpse of the title would certainly raise some eyebrows. Reply from the majority should be Sushruta, as expected. But NO...WAIT...HOLD ON... I am not among those campaigners who claim that every element of modern science, from nuclear weaponry to aircraft, were invented in Ancient India. Though Sushruta, the Father of Surgery and a famous practitioner of ancient Indian medicine was a historical figure indeed. His literary work Sushruta Samhita is identified as a well documented outstanding commentary on Medical Science of Surgery. But my research's spotlight is on modern science only.

Saturday, July 11, 2015

FLURY'S & TRINCA'S ... Friendships That Defined Park Street !!

PARK STREET ... officially known as Mother Teresa Sarani. Was the renaming justified? Stalwart Historian, former Chairman of the West Bengal Heritage Commission and an erstwhile Park Street Resident himself, Shri Barun De chose to disagree (read Late Barun De's article here). There is no doubt that opinion of many Calcuttans would just be an echo of what late De wrote. The 2004 rechristening certainly hampers the grandeur of this majestic pathway. But as we are not here to debate on the right or wrong, let us get back to the game, let's focus on the History now.

Saturday, July 4, 2015

TALLAH TANK ... Quenching City's Thirst for Over a Century !!

"WATER WATER EVERYWHERE, NOR ANY DROP TO DRINK", at least 100 years before this Samuel Coleridge poem, Englishmen felt in the same way when they arrived in Calcutta in the late 17th century. Various reports of English authorities of that time suggests that in 1706 there were only 17 water bodies in Calcutta, on which the native population was entirely dependent for its water supply, in addition to Hooghly river. But there were scarcity of pure drinking water due to multipurpose usage of these water bodies by the native residents. The tanks were so polluted that the British were not ready to accept them as the hygienic source to quench their thirst. Ultimately in 1709, Lal Dighi or the Great Tank was renovated. It was one of the purest fount of drinking water and catered the needs of British people for another 100 years.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

ENCYCLOPEDIA LANE ... A Mark of Respect Towards An Onerous Effort !!

In 2013, British author Neil Richard Gaiman made it to the headlines, for an unusual reason though. This bestselling author from England was honoured by the Portsmouth City Council in a distinguished manner. The Council of the city in which Gaiman's grandfather has once settled, decided to rename one of its street after Gaiman's award winning novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane, which is actually set in the landscapes in which Gaiman grew up. But it was not the first time in the world that a city street has been renamed after a famous book to appreciate its author. In fact, Kolkata took the lead in this exceptional initiative. 

From Portsmouth, South England, cut to Bagbazar, North Calcutta. In the City's oldest neighbourhood there exists a narrow lane officially known as BISWAKOSH LANE. The bengali word 'Biswakosh' means the Encyclopedia. The lane indeed has a strong connection with the first bengali encyclopedia compiled by Shri Nagendranath Basu. The author himself lived here.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

4 OVERLOOKED MEMORIALS... Prince... Nawab... Maharaja... Artist !!


On the streets of Calcutta there are innumerable relics, monuments, memorials, plaques; reminding us of our Colonial past but these have sunk in oblivion of public memory, obliterated by parked vehicles or the tarpaulin sheets of roadside vendors or simply lying forgotten behind the weeds. There is hardly any signage to indicate either their background or historical value. 

If you take a tour across Dalhousie-Esplanade area, which was once called 'Town Calcutta' and was the first developed area in the city, you will spot many such architectural marvels. 

My today's article will indeed highlight four of them, generally overlooked by the daily commuters passing by.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

PANIOTY FOUNTAIN ... British Acclaim for Greek Legacy



PANIOTY FOUNTAIN
Around 6 months ago, on a winter afternoon, I was at the Curzon Park Bus Stop, just opposite of Esplanade Mansion, waiting to meet someone. Suddenly, a dilapidated marble structure inside the park drew my attention. As there was no scope for a close examination (because in most of the time, the park remains closed), I decided to check KMC's list of Heritage Buildings. In Pg.45 of the publication, there is a mere mention of some PANIOTY FOUNTAIN as a Grade I heritage spot in the Curzon Park. When I started cultivating about it, I learned that the structure was built in the colonial time in memory of someone known as Demetrius Panioty.

Here, the question struck. Who was Demetrius Panioty and What was his contribution?...


Further research in the topic revealed details about a Greek Family which played a crucial role in the Colonial History of Calcutta as well as India, yet no elaborated accounts of them were mentioned anywhere.


So here goes the story that carries a 200 years legacy...

Saturday, June 6, 2015

CALCUTTA v/s KOLKATA ... Revisiting A Yank's Memory !!

We all have that one (may be more, if you are lucky) big, fat, old family photo album which stores the best moments from our childhood. Often in family get together or at our leisure time, we keep revisiting them, reminiscing down the memory lane. It's also a very common practice amongst us to compare our present looks with that in the photo taken years ago ("Ohh, you had curly hair like Sachin!!", "My God, you were so thin then!!" etc. etc.) and the changes are sometimes very fascinating too.

Now, have you ever tried to imagine how our City looked like 70 years ago and what are the changes that took place in its prominent places? Be the answer is affirmative or negative, I, now present before you such 11 pair of photographs of Calcutta/Kolkata which were taken 70 years apart. So let's start our journey back and forth in time.