Walter Granville's Incredibly Gothic High Court

“Close to the eastern bank of the Hooghly river…near Fairlie Place, stands the majestic sandstone and red brick structure of the Calcutta High Court…” – from The High Court at Calcutta, 150 Years: An Overview

Front view of the Calcutta High Court. Standing tall is the statue of Surya Sen

3, Esplanade Row (West), was once the location of the Supreme Court of Bengal. The adjoining apartments were home to Sir ElijahImpey, it’s first Chief Justice, and his family. The stucco buildings were demolished in 1862, and in it’s place came up the present main building of The Calcutta High Court.

Designed by the then government architect, Walter L. B. Granville, The Calcutta High Court is the oldest high court in India. Granville was also responsible for the G.P.O. Building, which came up in place of the old Fort William, The Imperial Museum, which is now the Indian Museum, and the Calcutta University’s erstwhile Senate Hall. Although the court was established as the High Court of Judicature at Fort William on 1 July 1862, the neo-gothic style building was constructed in 1872. The Calcutta High Court is said to be based on the famous Cloth Hall of Ypres, Belgium. When the Cloth Hall was destroyed by German artillery in World War I, the plans of the High Court were sent for, to aid in it’s reconstruction. The impressive pillars on the front of the building contain some extremely beautiful capitals, carved out of Caenstone. Biblical figures of Truth, Benevolence, Charity and others appear surrounded by foliage. 

The capitals on the pillars, carved out of Caen stone.

There is a provision for visitors to enter the High Court, after obtaining a special pass, but photography inside the building is not allowed. A painting of Sir Elijah Impey hangs in Court Room No. 1, painted by the celebrated Johann Zoffany, who’s Indian take on Da Vinci’s Last Supper may be seen on the walls of St. John’s Church.

The Calcutta High Court presently has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the islands of Andaman and Nicobar. The statue of Masterda Surya Sen, mastermind of the Chittagong Armoury Raid, infront of the court was placed there post independence. Thacker's Guide to Calcutta confirms that "in the plot of ground before the High Court is the full length statue of Lord Northbrook (Viceroy 1872-1876) and beyond is that of Lord Auckland (Governor General, 1836-1842) looking towards the gardens which bear his family name". The bit about Auckland is probably a reference to the Eden Gardens, conceived in the late 1840's by him, and initially named Auckland Circus Gardens. It was rechristened Eden Gardens in 1854, after Emily and Fanny Eden, the sisters of Lord Auckland.

Temple Chambers, Old Post Office Street

When I chanced upon Temple Chambers for the first time on my walk through Esplanade Row West in Calcutta (Kolkata), I didn’t even realize I was looking at a heritage building, leave alone a heritage building designed by Vincent J. Esch, who went on to work on the Victoria Memorial. For all its history, Temple Chambers is a rather shabby looking building, at least on the outside. It is clear that it was once quite something to look at, but now the signs of neglect are everywhere. Parts of the exterior of the building have been appropriated by squatters and pavement dwellers. The exterior has received a coat of cement but is devoid of any paint. And yet, Temple Chambers continues to serve some of the most powerful people in the city of Calcutta.

 

St. Andrew's Church, Dalhousie Square

St. Andrews Church, located at the North Eastern corner of Dalhousie Square, has two other names; The Scotch Kirk and Lat Sahib Ka Girja. The second name it probably acquired from the fact that the foundation stone was laid by the Countess of Loudon and Moira, wife of the then Governor General, The Marquess of Hastings. The former nickname stemmed from that fact that it was built to serve the Scottish Presbyterian community of Calcutta (Kolkata).

St. Andrew's Church. The tram seen here is entering the B.B.D. Bag Depot

The place where St. Andrews Church now stands was once occupied by the Old Court House. It may have originally been a charity school, which then became the Mayor’s Court, and finally the Supreme Court, before the magnificent Gothic pile on Esplanade Row West came up. The road leading from the Church to the Maidan is still known as Old Court House Street. This was the same court house where Maharaja Nandakumar was tried and sentenced to death in 1775. The Old Court House eventually fell into disrepair, and was pulled down in 1792. The Anglo-Indian Presbytery was created by the Charter of 1813 along with the Anglo India Episcopate. The Court of Directors in a public general letter dated 12th November 1813 informed the Governor General of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal of the appointment of “one Minister of the Church of Scotland with the same Salary as is granted to the Junior Chaplain at each of the Presidencies, and we direct that a suitable place of Worship be provided or erected”. The Rev. Dr. James Bryce arrived in Calcutta on 28th November 1814 to fill the position of Chaplain on the Bengal Ecclesiastical Establishment. It seems that right from the beginning a bitter rivalry existed between Rev. Bryce, and the first Bishop of the Indian Episcopate, Bishop Fanshawe Middleton, who headed the Anglican St. John’s Church located at the North Eastern corner of Government House (Raj Bhavan).

Damzen Lane: A Street and its Story

Damzen Lane would be what in Calcutta is referred to as a “Muslim area”. What it means is that the people living in the area are primarily Muslim. The result is that such areas have an atmosphere of their own, very different from the other parts of the city. The people, understandably, look different. Women are seen clad in burqas or abayas, covered head to toe in black. The men are often seen in shalwar-kameez, with the lower garment, the shalwar, ending just a little bit above the ankle and often with a very thick hem. Beautiful handcrafted skull caps and fine flowing beards, often without the moustache also provide clues to the faith of the men sporting them. But this does not, by any means, describe all the people of the area. A large number of people of a single faith living in close proximity also give an area a certain look and feel. There is a certain rustic charm to Damzen Lane, but hiding within are stories and relics from a bygone era.

A goat pops out to say hi!

Duff College (Jorabagan Police Station), Nimtala Ghat Street

I'm standing on Calcutta’s (Kolkata) Nimtala Ghat Street taking photographs of the building known as Duff College (now Jorabagan Police Station) when suddenly I hear a voice behind me say, “I see you've found our heritage forest”. The cheeky humour and sarcasm, as well as the voice itself, make me turn around. This is the voice of a man who is used to commanding people. The only equivalent that comes to mind is Bengali actor Kamal Mitra whose portrayal of tough father-in-law characters would make people quake in their boots. The source of the voice turns out to be advocate and author Guru Biswas. “You should upload this photograph with the caption, Is this a heritage forest?”, he chuckles, and he isn't very wrong. The building is completely overgrown with weeds and trees making it impossible to get a clear shot. Mr. Biswas takes me inside the Jorabagan Police Station, which now occupies a modern building behind Duff College, and I manage to get a few shots of the northern side of the building as well. But ever since I saw photographs of this building in INTACH’s book on Calcutta’s built heritage, I have wanted to find out exactly what this massive structure was, and how it was connected to Scottish Missionary Alexander Duff. Let us begin with Duff himself.

 

The Ghosts of Garstin Place

One of the first references I read about there being a ghost in Garstin Place near Dalhousie Square in Calcutta (Kolkata) was in an article that appeared in The Telegraph. My friend and college classmate IftekharAhsan, who pioneered walking tours in the city was doing a haunted night tour. 1 Garstin Place was the location of the former studios of All India Radio and supposedly, a musician committed suicide in the studio and sometimes a piano can still be heard playing late in the night. “Buildings have many lives”, photographer Luc Peeters told me long ago, when I was just starting my journey as a photographer. The statement is also true of neighbourhoods, and especially true for Garstin Place which has seen some incredible changes and dramatic events over the last few centuries.

Garstin Building no.4 (left) and 5 (centre) - the only surviving buildings

General Post Office (GPO), Dalhousie Square

Although the General Post Office or GPO, Calcutta’s (Kolkata) central post office, is one of the city’s best known, and most often photographed heritage buildings, there are many things about it that remain unknown to the general public. Not many people are aware that the spot where the GPO stands today, once stood the Old Fort William of Calcutta, which was the centre of violent battle when the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daula laid siege to Calcutta. Even fewer people are aware that a few markers of the siege of Calcutta still remain.

 

6 Things You Don't Know About Calcutta's Victoria Memorial

The Victoria Memorial of Calcutta (Kolkata), officially The All India Victoria Memorial Hall, is the city’s number one tourist attraction. In his book “Calcutta’s Edifice: The Buildings of a Great City”, Brian Paul Bach writes, “Probably no other structure is currently called upon as often to serve as a symbol of Calcutta.” Victoria Memorial attracts tourists by the thousand every day and yet, there is much about the monument that even Calcuttans are unaware of. Here are 6 things about the Victoria Memorial that most people don’t know…

 

The McDonnell Drinking Fountain: A Forgotten Monument of Calcutta

On Esplanade Row West, opposite Calcutta’s historic Town Hall, and near the High Court, lies a forgotten monument of Calcutta. The Neo-Classical monument, located within the premises of the the West Bengal State Legislature, is a drinking fountain, with a lion’s head protruding from the front and a decorative urn on top. The marble plaque which identified the man the monument was dedicated to is long gone. This is the monument to William Fraser McDonnell.

The McDonnell Monument

McDonnell was born in 1829, and joined the Bengal Civil Service in 1850. On the two sides of the monument are the dates 1850 and 1886, which mark the 36 years that McDonnell spent with the service. Posted to Bhojpur (aka Shahbad), in Bihar, McDonnell was witness to the particularly savage fighting in the area on the outbreak of the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. The fight in Arrah, where he was, was led by the formidable Babu Kunwar Singh. Outmanned and outgunned, the Company’s soldiers were forced to retreat, and it is during this retreat that McDonnell showed his bravery.

Dates on both sides marking McDonnell's career. In the centre is his signature.

On 30^th July, 1857, 35 of the Company’s soldiers found themselves besieged in the boat, unable to make good their escape, as the boat’s rudder was secured to it’s side by lashings. Under heavy and constant enemy fire, McDonnell jumped out of the boat, and cut the lashings, freeing the rudder. His actions having saved 35 lives, McDonnell was awarded the Victoria Cross, becoming one of only 5 civilians to be so honored. His medal may be seen today in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery of London’s Imperial War Museum.

Wikipedia's picture of William Fraser McDonnell

The monument today is in a deplorable state. There are no markers identifying what it is. The brass troughs on both sides that once provided drinking water for horses are long gone. The Lion’s head shaped spout is broken, and the water that used to pour out of it has long since dried up. The ugly railing infront of it is used by locals to sun their laundry.

The Lion-Head spout

- by Deepanjan Ghosh

Gillander House, Clive Street

It is fairly simple business to pigeonhole a building based on its architectural style. The Writers’ Building is Greco-Roman. The High Court is Gothic. The Esplanade Mansions are Art Nouveau. But one building in Calcutta completely defies such pigeonholing, partly because it was designed by a man who was a musician, alongside being an architect. The man in question is Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel, and the building is Gillander House.

Gillander House

Akbar's Tomb, Sikandra

“Jalaluddin Mohammed Akbar, guardian of mankind” – I learnt the Kipling poem when I was in school, and its opening lines were all I could think of as we drove the 5 miles from Agra to the Emperor’s final resting place, Sikandra. Growing up in India, the history you are taught in school is somewhat one sided, but creates a lasting impression, especially about the Mughal Emperors of India. Babur was the conqueror. Jahangir was the just one. Shah Jahan was the romantic. Aurangzeb was the angry old man. But only Akbar was “The Great”. A king who was just, fair, a great warrior, a wise administrator, a man who gathered around him a court of such brilliance that stories about it are told to this day. Every child in India knows the stories of Akbar and his court wit, Birbal, about his Hindu Rajput wife, Jodha Bai, who in all fairness is more legend than fact, and about how his court musician, the Vaishnava Tansen, could make it rain by singing the raga “Malhar”. Akbar is to Indian history what Shahrukh Khan is to Bollywood cinema – a superstar you see on screen or read about, but never imagine will be able to approach. Needless to say, I was excited as I stepped into the vast funerary garden at Sikandra – this is the closest any human being could get, to Akbar the Great.

Akbar's Mausoleum, Sikandra

 

The Residency, Lucknow

“If we succeed in sweeping them all away, or absorbing them, we shall be at the mercy of our native army, and they will see it; and accidents may possibly occur to unite them, or a great portion of them, in some desperate act…the best provision against it seems to me to be the maintenance of native rulers, whose confidence and affection can be engaged, and administrations improved under judicious management” - Major-general Sir William Henry Sleeman to Lord Dalhousie from Jhansi, 24th September, 1848

Sleeman’s eerie prediction was to come true less than a decade later when dissatisfaction exploded into open rebellion. While Governor General Dalhousie’s Doctrine of Lapse had been used by the company to gobble up states where the king lacked a biological son, such as Satara in 1848, Jhansi in 1853 and Nagpur in 1854, “Awadh was an acquisition on a far different scale”, writes William Dalrymple, “and was practiced on a ‘faithful and unresisting ally’ without even the nominal justification of the absence of a recognized heir”. The annexation of Awadh or Oudh happened purely because the King, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, had run into vast debts with the Company, and seemed unable to, or disinterested in paying them. With this annexation, centuries of established tradition, when it came to land, revenue collection, and even governance, was trampled under the Englishman’s boot. It is no coincidence that the largest number of recruits in the Bengal Army, which rebelled against its masters in 1857, was from the Awadh area. The igniting spark for the mutiny was supplied by the infamous Enfield rifle and its greased cartridges, which Hindu and Muslim sepoys feared contained the fat of cows and pigs. While in Meerut and Cawnpore (Kanpur), the massacre of Europeans was near total, Lucknow, the capital of Awadh, presents a different picture. Here, thanks to the foresight and preparation of Sir Henry Lawrence, 1700 Europeans were able to hold out for 87 days, against overwhelming odds. The place where they chose to make their stand was a compound of roughly 33 acres, containing a number of buildings inhabited by Company servants, European traders, and their families. Chief among the buildings was that of the British “Resident”, Chief Commissioner Sir Henry Lawrence, and the compound thus came to be known as “The Residency”.

Mackinnon Mackenzie & Co., Strand Road

Inchcape House, known to most as the Mackinnon Mackenzie Building and today as Diamond Heritage, is one of the most prominent buildings on Strand Road and part of Calcutta’s skyline visible from across the river. While the building is not as remarkable architecturally as some of the other buildings in the Dalhousie area, it is magnificent because of its staggering proportions and its history. Mackinnon Mackenzie’s story is another of the great Scottish success stories in Calcutta (Kolkata). It is also one of the rare buildings in the city that has been saved from complete oblivion.

Chetla Baro Ras Bari, 78, Tollygunge Road

One of the four temple complexes in the Chetla area of South Calcutta (Kolkata), the Baro Ras Bari (also spelt Bado Rash Bari, Bado Rashbari or Bado Rashbadi) on Tollygunge Road is probably the most neglected, in spite of being declared a Grade A Heritage Building. The story of Baro Ras Bari begins in the village of Bawali, 30 kilometers to the South West of the city of Calcutta, where the Mondals had reigned since the Mughal era. Raja Ram Mondal had been granted full control of 15 villages by the Mughal Emperor. His descendants, Ramnath and Manick Mondal settled in Chetla on the invitation of Robert Clive. Their name is associated with three of the four temples in the Chetla area.

The ruined temples of Chetla Baro Ras Bari

Bhot Bagan Math, Ghusuri, Howrah

There aren’t many in Calcutta (Kolkata) who have heard of the Tibetan Buddhist Temple or Monastery known as Bhot Bagan Math in the Ghusuri area of Howrah District. Fewer still will be able to locate the dilapidated complex on 5, Gossain Ghat Street. The extremely narrow approach roads through dense slums populated by mostly Bihari migrant workers make it inaccessible for most cars. And yet, Bhot Bagan Math was the first Tibetan Buddhist Temple in the plains of India; in fact, it was the only pre-Twentieth Century Tibetan religious institution in all of South Asia. The word “Bhot”, used in ancient India to refer to Tibetans probably comes from the Tibetan word “Bod”, meaning Tibet. “Bagan” in Bengali means garden, and “Math” is Bengali for monastery. Bhot Bagan therefore, would mean Tibetan Garden, and that is what this was originally meant to be.

Bhot Bagan Math (in the distance)

The origins of Bhot Bagan Math maybe found in the conflict between Bhutan and princely state of Cooch Behar of 1771. The Bhutanese had long claimed the right to appoint the ruler of Cooch Behar, and when a succession dispute erupted, the King of Bhutan, known as the Druk Desi, Zhidar, invaded Cooch Behar, ousted the Raja, and installed his own candidate. The deposed king, Maharaja Dharendranarayan appealed to the East India Company for help. Warren Hastings readily agreed for the small consideration of Cooch Behar’s sovereignty, half her annual revenues and the cost of the military campaign. Zhidar’s army lost three border forts to the East India Company’s force led by Captain John Jones, and it is at this point that Lobsang Palden Yeshe, the 3rd Panchen Lama, chose to intervene. Jamphel Gyatso, the 8^th Dalai Lama was then only a boy, and the Panchen Lama was the de facto ruler of Tibet. In a letter to Warren Hastings, the Panchen Lama made the grossly inflated claim that the Bhutanese were Tibetan subjects, and offered to broker a peace settlement. As his envoy to Calcutta (Kolkata), the Panchen Lama sent a Hindu monk by the name of Puran Giri Gosain.

Pandua (Malda): Ruins of a Former Capital

Located in the Malda district, in the North of the Indian state of West Bengal, Pandua is also known as Hazrat Pandua or Boro-Pendo (larger Pendo). The prefix “Hazrat” is thanks to several prominent Muslim saints and preachers who made the city their home. Chief among them are Jalaluddin Tabrizi and Nur Qutb Alam, whose tombs have made Pandua a Muslim pilgrimage site. Boro-Pendo is to distinguish Malda’s Pandua from the town in the Hooghly district which bears the same name and is consequently called Chhoto-Pendo, meaning smaller or lesser Pandua. From the mid-fourteenth to the mid-fifteenth century, Pandua served as the capital of Bengal under the Ilyas Shahi Dynasty and would continue to serve as a mint town until the time of Sher Shah, aka Sher Shah Suri. Pandua today, apart from being a centre of pilgrimage, is a tourist attraction thanks to the many ruins from Bengal’s Sultanate period.

Adina Masjid - view from the East

The Ruins of Gauda: Bengal's Ancient Capital

Gauda (also spelt Gaur or Gour), located in the Malda district in the North of the Indian state of West Bengal, is a ruined city that served as the capital of Bengal between the 12^th and 16^th centuries. Over a period of four centuries, Gauda has seen more than a dozen ruling dynasties come and go and today is home to some spectacular ruins mostly from Bengal’s Islamic period. Historically and architecturally there is much in Gauda that is of interest, especially its spectacular mosques.

Inside Gunamanta Masjid, Gauda

Maghen David Synagogue, Canning Street

“Are you sure that’s a Synagogue”? Jewish Israeli tourist Or Tovi sounded skeptical as we crossed the road. “It has a clock tower; I think it’s a Church. I have never seen a Synagogue which looks like this”. But once he set foot inside, his skepticism changed to open-mouthed awe. “I have never seen a Synagogue so beautiful. There is nothing like this in Israel”. Such is the magic of Calcutta’s Maghen David, the grandest Synagogue in the East.

Basu Bati, Bagbazar

Basu Bati on Bagbazar Street in North Calcutta (Kolkata) deserves to be known as one of the most unique heritage buildings in the entire city. Its architecture is in a style that is not seen anywhere else and its history is rich and eventful. But while few have stepped into its hallowed portals, fewer still know its full story.

 

St. John’s Church

Entrance to Church

At the North-Western corner of Government House (Raj Bhavan) may be found Kolkata’s oldest surviving Anglican Church, St. John’s Church. The oldest Anglican Church of Calcutta was St. Anne’s, which was located roughly where the principal rotunda of the Writers’ Building stands today. This was completely destroyed in the Seige of Calcutta, in 1756. St. John’s was built 1787, and with the advent of Bishop Middleton, Bishop of Calcutta, became the principal Anglican Cathedral of Calcutta. It remained so till the consecration of St. Paul’s Cathedral in 1847. The land on which St. John's is built was originally a burial ground, known as the "old burial ground", in use ever since Charnock's party set up base in Calcutta. The old burial ground had been closed since 1767. The land was the property of Maharaja Nabo Krishna Deb, founder of the Shovabazaar Raj family. It was "presented" by him to Warren Hastings, in 1783. All the graves were dug up and the remains removed. The only graves to have been left undisturbed were those of Job Charnock and Admiral Watson. Some of the gravestones were laid around Charnock’s mausoleum.  More than Rs. 70,000.00 was raised for the Church’s construction through donations and lottery. The Church was designed by Lieutenant Agg of the Bengal Engineers, on the lines of St. Martin in Fields in London, but with design modifications to accommodate for the soft ground. Sandstone from Chunar was used for the steeple, while blue marble from the ruins of Gaur was used for the flooring. The use of stone is what gave St. John’s it’s native nickname, “Pathure Girja” or Stone Church.  The Church was consecrated on the 24^th of June, 1787, the date being that of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. The church was used for baptisms and weddings of the who’s who of Bengal’s British folk at one time. In 1798, merchant and Calcutta Sheriff William Fairlie, from whom Fairlie Place got its name, married Miss Margaret Ogilvie here.