INTRODUCTION

Three gentlemen of different age groups have certain common interest. By virtue of their profession, all three were associated with daily Kolkata life and they have passion for this city and its colonial history. With their limited resources two of them have started reading about Kolkata from the old book-shelves of Kolkata libraries & web world of Internet, the youngest one has choose his photography skill to portray his passion.

None of them were historian but all have common wave length to hear & tell the story of bygone era. Their common study indicates the history of Kolkata is only of just over three hundred (?) years (much younger than Delhi or Varanashi) but the eastern part of the country is as ancient as the age of the world.

Which started as a historical study of the City where they live, earn & madly in love, slowly but steadily ask them to focus much beyond that period to the socio-economical history of different districts of undivided Bengal, Bihar, Orissa & portion of North Eastern states around the vast land of the eastern part of the Indian sub-continent.

Their profession is very much distant from academic world, associated with the monotony of a typical middle-class city dweller.

All on a sudden it appeared to them they can share their limited resources through Blog, share their story telling & lens-work with the world, in the process they may be enriched with more information.

The result is Astounding Bengal.

If you feel anything to comment you can reach us.

roysantanu1962@gmail.com

abhijnanbasu007@yahoo.co.in

sudipghosh78@gmail.com

THE ARMENIAN CHURCH

The Armenians travelled overland on the caravan route through Persia, Bactria and Tibet, and established themselves in all the important trading centers of the Subcontinent. On Emperor Akbar’s expressed invitation they settled in Agra in the sixteenth century. The Emperor  was interested in their religion. Their olive-complexioned women also caught his eyes : there were more than one Armenian Begum in the imperial harem. Soon after the foundation of Calcutta , intrepid Armenian merchants  arrived there. (They had already settled at Saidabad near Murshidabad and at Chunchura.) They build homes, business houses and a wharf ( Armenian Ghat to this day) within a kilometer of their wooden chapel, set up in 1707 on Old China Bazar Street.

This church has the unique distinction of being the oldest in Kolkata, having been built originally as a wooden structure in 1707 by public subscription and through the efforts of  Agha Nazar. It was designed by Levon Ghevond, an Armenian architect from Persia, who was specially brought from New Julfa near Ispahan. The entrance , from Armenian street, leads to the centre gate of the church, beyond which is a boarded footpath and a vestibule. In 1724 a building of brick and mortar replaced the original wooden one. The church was renovated and restored by Aga Petrus Aratoon in 1763. While the handsome three-dialed clock, which the steeple accommodates, was presented by Aga Arrakiel in 1792. His generosity also helped to build the surrounding wall and houses for the clergy.

Situated in the midst of a typically Indian bazaar, the original site was an Armenian cemetery. The floor of the vestibule, as well as the churchyard is a mass of ancient-tomb stones, the earliest of which at the south-western corner outside the main building bares the date 11^th July 1630- sixty years before the English founded and settled in Kolkata.  But its date, is astonishingly early, and its authenticity is widely questioned. At any rate, it must have reached its present site much later, in the nineteenth century. Most of the tomb-stones are inscribed in Armenian, and only a few in English.

The interior of the church, paved in marble has a circular staircase to the left leading to the overhead gallery and mural tablets on the walls commemorating benefactors.   The centre aisle, between massive fluted pillars and polished pews, leads to the Chancel. On the east the holy Alter, simple and yet majestic, adorned with cross, gospels and twelve candle sticks symbolizing Christ and his apostles. The altarpiece consists of three oil painting by the English artist A. E. Harris depicting “The holy Trinity”,  “ The Lords supper” and “ The Enshrouding of our Lord”.

The Armenians claim to be the first nation to have embraced Christianity as far back as 301 A.D. During a visit of King Apcar of Armenia to Persia, he contracted leprosy. Hearing the miracles of Jesus he dispatched messengers with a letter confessing his belief in  the divinity of Christ and inviting him to Armenia. One of the messengers, an artist, was instructed to paint a portrait of Christ. After repeated failures, Jesus himself called for a napkin, held it against his face and miraculously impressed his likeness upon it.  He made this over to the messengers together with a letter. This relic, it is said, was kept at Edessa, then the capital of Armenia till 944A.D., when it was removed by the Emperor Romanus of Greece to Constantinople. When the Turks captured Constantinople in 1453, it was carried away to Italy and placed in a church in Venice, When it is said to be preserved to this day.

THE MARBLE PALACE

The entrance gate to this beautiful palace is set amidst the almost  filthy surroundings of Muktaram Babu Street, off Chittaranjan Avenue. The spacious grounds, artistically laid out, are glittering with bronze and marble statues of, among others, Venus, Sophocles, Psyche and Demosthenes. The sudden transition from the unbeautiful exterior to the pleasant lawns within is enchanting and awakens memories of the ancient glory of Greece and Macedonia.

In the mid-nineteenth century the philanthropist Raja Rajendralal Mallick of the Subarnabanik community pledged his wealth to the people of Kolkata. Rajendralal Mallik’s (1819-87) dedication to arts and his urge to feed the hungry has left a lasting legacy. The Trust he set up is still ably managed by his descendants. His art gallery is open to the public free of charge , and 500 poor people are fed every day. Rajendralal was the adopted son of  Nilmoni Mallick of Pathuriaghata. The  family of Mallick dates back to the earliest days of Kolkata when it was one of the few that chose to settle at Gobindapur, one of the three villages on the east bank of the river Hooghly, in preference to the then prosperous Portuguese settlement on Hooghly on the west. They continued to reside at Gobindapur until it was selected as the site for the present Fort William that was built in 1757.  Joyram Mallick thereafter, took up his residence at Pathuriaghata. The Mallicks  were an established family of bullion merchants whose wealth lay in the maritime trade in silver, gold and sugar. Nilmoni died when Rajendralal was only three. His widowed mother moved with him from Pathuriaghata to Chorbagan, where his philanthropic father had his Thakurbari or a place of worship and a permanent kitchen for feeding the poor.

A student of Hindoo College. Rajendralal had chief interests in natural history and arts, both Western and Oriental. He was also musically inclined. He continued and enlarged the paternal tradition of philanthropy. His relief efforts  during the famine of 1865-66 earned him the title Rai Bahadur, and in 1878, Lord Lytton endowed him with the title of Raja, along with the ceremonial gift of a large diamond ring.

Rajendralal  Mallick’s distinction lay in  building a lasting edifice to embody all his interests and ideals. His palace dedicated to arts at Chorbagan  was commenced when he was sixteen. It was completed in about five years, and was named the Marble Palace by the Viceroy Lord Minto when he visited it early last century. Rajendralal is said to have personally directed the 500 artesans, both Indian and foreign, who executed the plan. The architecture is a mixture of exuberant Roccoco and the three European classical styles, imposed on the oriental quadrangle pattern of introverted space. This became the model for many contemporary mansions. But Rajendralal’s mansion is the only well-maintained edifice of its kind, one of the last true palaces left  in the erstwhile CITY OF PALACES.

 

In the centre of the garden near a fountain of murmuring, cascading water, stands a statue of the famous founder of the palace Raja Rajendralal Mallick.  Part of the extensive Baroque garden was devoted to the menagerie of rare birds and animals, Kolkata’s first  zoo. The Raja also sent animals and birds to various zoos in Europe: the Zoological Society of London awarded him a medal for introducing the Himalayan Pheasant to England. The tradition carries on. A black buck, spotted deer, monkeys and birds still occupy the cages.  The menagerie spills over into the palace itself. From a corner of the wide verandah around the open courtyard, an aviary of cuckatoos, hyacinthine macaws, mynahs and an albino crow send sounds of life to the art galleries within, while a wayward pelican waddles in form the tank outside.

The entrance of the palace through a long colonnaded carriage-porch leads into the billiard room. This is the visitor’s introduction to a kaleidoscope of marbles on floors, walls and tabletops throughout the museum. Rajendra Mallick himself designed the floor of the reception hall, a combination of multi-colored marbles patterned to render carpeting redundant. The etched Venetian glass panes on the doors afford a view of the green lawn where sarus, cranes and white peacocks strut between marble lions and statues. On either side, the gilt-framed Belgian mirrors from floor to ceiling created a million parallaxes. The floor has been reset with green and white marble tiles, laid by the present generation of Mallicks.

For the most Kolkatans, the palace affords their only chance to view the art forms of Europe. A rosewood Queen Victotoria stands larger than life beneath a Florentine ceiling in the red-veined marble room named after her. The largest Chinese vase in India sits on the floor. In the face of criticism, Rajendralal placed figures from the Greek and Roman pantheon in the thakurdalan  or house of worship. In the niches on the wall behind, figures from the Ramayana and Mahabharata stand in happy harmony. Paintings of the Italian, Dutch, Flemish and English schools cover every  inch of walls behind and sculptures are arranged on floors. The paintings of two Indian painters in particular, Shashi Hesh and Bijay Chandra, have also been prominently displayed.

The Rubens Room is the only one to present the modern concept of uncluttered exhibition. Connoisseurs, scholars and students come to see the enormous “Marriage of St. Catherine”, “Martyrdom of the St. Sebastian”, “Minerva giving the Love cup to Appollo” and “The return of Ulysses” by Rubens and Murillo respectively.  The art of Sir Joshua Reynolds is also present in “Child Hercules and the Serpents” and “Venus and Cupid”.

This gallery has been renovated a few years back. The mosaic inlay on the walls has been refurbished, original frames repaired and re-touched, and the paintings cleaned and preserved according to family formulae.

 

The norms of modern museums do not apply to the Marble Palace. Air-conditioning would not only be out of question but, the family feels unnecessary. Ventilation and lighting in each room have been planned according to the exhibits housed there. There is a careless profusion in the display, at times almost heedless and undiscriminating bounty. 

Everything in this amazing collection, hidden down a narrow street in old Kolkata, calls for awe and not flippant criticism.

Sources :  a)  Guide to calcutta - by Firminger.
                  b)  Recolletions of Calcutta - by M. Massey
                  c)  Handbook to Calcutta - Edired by Eardley Latimer (Calcutta Historical Society)
                  d) The Living Calcutta - by Edited by Sukanta Chowdhury.


  Research  -Santanu Roy.

        

METCALFE HALL

One of the beautiful colonial buildings in Kolkata that perpetuates the memory of Lord Charles Metcalfe located on the junction of Strand Road and Hare Street is majestic Metcalfe Hall. Charles Metcalfe (1785-1846) was the Governor General of India from March 1835 to March 1836, the intervening period between the departure of Lord William Bentinck and arrival of Lord Auckland, and is remembered most for his noble public deed – the emancipation of Indian Press. The brick building was built through public subscription on a land granted by the Government as a tribute to Charles Metcalfe by his admirers.

The foundation stone of the hall was laid with ceremonial function in Masonic honour on 19^th  December 1840  by Dr. James Grant, Grandmaster of Bengal and assisted by Dr. James Burness, Grandmaster of Western India and 350 Master Masons. The building was completed in 1844 to accommodate the Agri-Horticulture Society in the ground floor and the Culcutta Public Library on the floor above it. These two institutions were favoured and supported by Charles Metcalfe. The design of the building was taken from the portico of the Temple of Athens by architect Mr. C. K. Rabison.

A broad flight of steps leads to the portico on the western side and there is a portico on its opposite side to the east with similar flight of steps leading to the Central Hall. The building is constructed over a solid 10 ft. high ornamental basement. Thirty beautiful Corinthian columns each of 36 ft. height which rise from the solid basement support the general entablature of the building. The sole appearance of the building externally gives an impression to that of an old Greek temple because of the arrangement of the columns and colonnades which almost surround the whole building enhancing its grandeur and beauty. Internally there are two stories connected by a grand staircase with each other.

The management of public library was not so good as well as Agri-Horticultural Society also could not draw much attention from the public. The building suffered from disrepair till the beginning of viceroyalty of Lord Curzon, who paid a visit to it and took the decision to house Imperial Library in it which was opened in 1903 in a renovated and refurbished Metcalfe Hall. In spite of Curzon’s patronage Imperial library in Metcalf Hall could not be continued for a long time and shifted to 5, Esplanade East. Since then Metcalf Hall  remained occupied by different Government  Departments till its final handing over to Archaeological Survey of India by the Forms and Stationary Department, Govt. of India in 1992.

After its taking over constant efforts  were being made to repair the building and to  maintain its pristine grandeur and glory. The ground floor of the building has been given to The Asiatic Society to house their own books and journals and in the first floor there is a publication sales counter of Archeological Survey of India and brick museum displaying bricks of different periods in showcases in a room drawing enthusiastic attention from the public.

Source :  a)  ASI (Kolkata Circle)
               b) Custodians of the past. – 150 years of ASI.


  Research  -Santanu Roy.