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Calcutta: as she was – a visual documentation of socio-cultural ethos spanning over three centuries
Calcutta: as she was – a visual documentation of socio-cultural ethos spanning over three centuries
PURONOKOLKATA 
I own a large collection of amateur cine films from the 1930s that were shot in India, and a number of them in Calcutta. I am slowly restoring them, and have a sample of one at https://youtu.be/tg7N8FLpuSE If any one here offer information to the film in the comments section it would be wonderful.
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Dear Andrew,
I am sure many of my readers join me in congratulating you for finding the film 1930s Calcutta. It is a priceless piece of visual documentation that reveals the ways of life in the ‘30s. Interestingly, I had posted on YouTube a series of photos of Calcutta in 1945-46 that Clyde Waddell, an American military photographer zealously captured [ https://youtu.be/mcIOiAwgVKo ]. We are eager to know more about your project. Warm wishes
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Respected Sir/Ma’am, can you give me information on Shri Hiralal Sen ( who is considered the first film maker of India) and also the present location of his theater where his films ( or bioscopes) were shown.
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Dear Nirmalya,
I hope, the following sources will provide you with adequate information about Hiralal.
বাংলা চলচ্চিত্রের প্রাণপুরুষ হীরালাল সেন / আলেকজান্ডার বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়
Bangadarshan 24 October 2017
https://www.bongodorshon.com/home/story_detail/hiralal-sen-the-pioneer-of-bengali-cinema
Hiralal Sen: Bengali Filmmaker. In: Who’s Who of Victorian Cinema
https://www.victorian-cinema.net
Kind regards
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Respected Sir/ Ma’am, kindly tell me what is the official birth date of Kolkata?
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Dear Nirmalya,
Thanks for your interest in puronokolkata. Historically speaking, there is hardly any scope for marking a date as the date of birth of Kolkata, which has never been conceived and delivered on a particular day but still being emerged through an ongoing process of socio-cultural political and economic interactions. There may be a need to choose a working b’day of the city for political and administrative convenience, in the style of a city biography, which I feel falls outside historical considerations.
My wishes
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Sir Are you back in Kolkata. Need to talk to you. Warm regards Ashish Sanyal
>
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Your website is very helpful in my family history research. Do you have any information or photographs of St Joseph College in Calcutta in the 1920s ?
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Hello Sue,
In my childhood, I lived in the vicinity of St Joseph’s School, now a college. You may find about its founder, Edmund Rice (1762-1844) at https://sjckolkata.com/about-sjc/our-founder/, and for its history may visit the wiki at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Joseph%27s_College,_Calcutta. My Wishes
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All information is truly correct, i love purono kolkata, i serching the family tree of Ram Dulal Dey, if possable please help me
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Excuse me Arup for the delay and also for my inability to find the family tree you are looking for. Did you try the family source? Wish you luck
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Hi
Greeting from Auckland New Zealand. I am looking for some assistance to locate a name of a lane namely Lall Pooker or Sall Pooker Lane ( As spelled in his will and probate document ) in vicinity of Calcutta. I am researching my family ancestry and my GGGG Grandfather live in around the North Calcutta area around 1845. Any assistance will be appreciated.
Thanks – Steve McLuskie.
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Hello Steve,
Sorry for the delay. Just now I had a look into your query details. You provide two names, I suppose, of the same place. Am I right? Both the name sound unfamilier, which may be due to variant spellings. I suggest you send me a photocopy of the particular section where the words appear and the full name of your GGGG-Grandfather with the date of his stay in Calcutta. Best wishes
Asok
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It could be the Dalhousie area of Calcutta (there was a certain pond named ‘laldighi’, of historic importance) which is still Bengal’s power centre since the British period. I think your gggg grandfather mentioned that place only. ‘Lal pooker is called লালপুকুর (Lal poker) in the Bengali language. ‘Lal’ means red and ‘pooker’ (actually ‘pookur’) should be a pond. And also as ‘dighi’ (of ‘laldighi’) means big pond in Bengali. So in my opinion, you are talking about the Dalhousie area (currently known as BBD Bagh or Binoy Badal Dinesh Bagh) of Calcutta.
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Hello,
The flow of information is wonderful I was just wandering, if you could help me or refer any relevance for a work that I am supporting in identifying animal shelters. I have seen some mention on CSPCA in your pages, however, I would like to know in detail about the present condition and governance of CSPCA, Kolkata. Our objective is to ensure that all such animal shelter house is recognised and given the attention for better facility and care. As I stay in Delhi, It is getting difficult for me to access any information. Also, there are hardly any published documents available. Any guidance shall be highly appreciated.
Best regards
Madhumita
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Thank you Madhumita for your kind words. As for your inquiry, I am afraid my knowledge is too limited to answer you. I suggest you try google to start with. My search for ‘animal welfare society Calcutta’ offered some clues for you to proceed:
1. Pashupati animal welfare society
2. Animal rescue Kolkata
3. Chhaya animal centre Kolkata
4. Cat rescue centres
5. Dog hepline
6. Street dog care
7. Street dog helpline, Howrah
Your ultimate source should be Kolkata Corporation, I believe. May get some relevant documents online.
Wish you luck
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Your response is greatly acknowledged.
With my best wishes and thanks
Madhumita
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Hi,
First of all, thanks for making such a wonderful website, which is actually creates a visual symphony.
But I think, you have to more cautious while choosing historical pictures as your subject. I have found one of your photos misfit in this galler, which is named as ‘Gauhar Jaan with Gramophone’. This is not Gauhar Jaan’s photograph at all! She looked completely different!
And the picture you have chosen, is actually from the photographs of the famous play ‘MY NAME IS GAUHAR JAAN’, directed by Lillette Dubey, based on Vikram Sampath’s book with same name.
Please verify the photograph before selecting for your gallery to avoid such mistake as you are dealing with precious historical contents.
Thank you!
Regards
Prof. Arundhati Das
St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata
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Yes, Arundhati, you said it. I should have been much more watchful about the images before using any. The blunder I did is inexcusable to my mind. Believe me, your few words of caution have given me some deep consolation – a feeling that I am not walking alone. My love and sincere thanks to all of you who read puronokolkata and care of its worthiness
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Hello! I would like to know if you have any pictures or images of ship building in old Kolkata?
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Hello Jonaki,
Sent some links to your mailbox. Hope, you find them useful. Wishes
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