Tag Archives: rabindranath

MULLICK GHAT AND THE JAGANNATH STEAMER GHAT

 

 

Bathing ghat immediately downstream from Howrah Bridge, 1944. by Glenn S. Hensley. Courtesy: Lib.U.Penn

 

মল্লিক ঘাট তথা জগন্নাথ স্টিমার ঘাট

The river ghats on Hooghly, being intimately connected with almost all events of their life and death, reflect the ethnicities of the people of Calcutta, comprehensive of socio-economic and cultural dimensions. Most of these ghats were created by zealous men and women, natives and foreigners, out of goodwill. Harisadhan listed names of 39 Ghats that existed between Bagbazar and Chandpal Ghat in 1793 [See: Harisadhan]. Since then many have been destroyed, and many more added. Cones’ Calcutta Directory listed as many as 58 ghats existed in 1874 between Bagbazar and Tolly’s Nullah. [ See: CONES ]

Study of Calcutta ghats proves to be challanging. The different names a ghat often called by require tracking and linking one another to tell its story of  ups and downs meaningfully. Mullick Ghat is one of its kind and of great historical significance.

 

Calcutta. The River Hooghly. Photograph by Johnston & Hoffman. c1885. Courtesy: BL

MULLICK GHAT AND ITS IDENTITY

Down the river, next to the Jagannath Ghat of Sobharam Basak stands Nemai Mullick Ghat. Rammohan Mullick built it in 1855 in memory of his father Late Nimaicharan Mullick on the ground of the old ‘Noyaner Ghat’ that their forefather Noyanchand Mullick made before 1793. The in-between riverside ghats, namely নবাবের ঘাট, বৈষ্ণব দাস শেঠের ঘাট, কাশীনাথ ঘাট, কদমতলা ঘাট, কাশীনাথবাবুর ঘাট, হুজুরীমলের ঘাট ceased to exist long back. Around 1870-74 when the Howrah Pontoon Bridge, the first bridge on Hughly, was in the making, Jadunath Mullick, a great son of the Mullick family, renovated the Mullick Ghat. It needs to be noted that this first bridge on Hooghly, constructed in 1874 to connect the old Howrah Station, was positioned immediate south of Mullick Ghat, about hundred yard away from the existing Cantilever Howrah Bridge, which stands immediate north of Mullick Ghat connecting the New Howrah Station built in 1905. [See: Puronokolkata]

Mullick Ghat took part in the history of making the river water resources useful in public life. The Corporation set up a Pump Station there to distill river water for supplying to the city. A dynamo was installed there on August 19, 1879 to illuminate the Bridge 1,528 ft. long and 62 ft. wide. [ See: Grace’s] The Ghat was also famous for launching passenger and cargo steamer services.  Mullick Ghat still exists, bereaved of its stately look that once prompted Evan Cotton to speak of the ‘handsome masonry structure of Mullick Ghat, which stood ‘immediately to the north of the Howrah Bridge’. We must note that Cotton wrote it before 1907 and the Bridge he referred to was the old Pontoon Bridge. As we have come to know from a recent survey, Mullick Ghat at present has a large and ornate square pavilion while the ghat itself has a more ‘native appearance’ [ See: ETH Studio].

Calcutta. Bathing Ghat. Photograph by Johnston & Hoffman. c1885. Courtesy: BL

 The first photograph of the ghat we find was taken by P.A Johnston & Theodore Hoffman about three years after they established ‘Calcutta Studio’ in 1882. The shot must have been taken before Johnston died in 1891. The British Library (BL) does not specify the Ghat name. They provide instead a generic Title: Calcutta. Bathing Ghat. If I am not wrong, photograph titles are assigned, as convention, adhering to what the photographers or the original collectors stated. BL however takes the liberty to name it Chatulal’s Ghat in their descriptive note and subject tags, presumably on the basis of common belief and order of the day, which are apparently subject to change.

The other photograph, featured at the top, depicts the same bathing ghat, taken by the same photographers and possibly around same time. As Evan Cotton had stated, the bathing ghat, stands on the east bank of the Hooghly River immediately to the north of the bridge. The panoramic view of the Bathing Ghat, shows no bridge in view northward, since the Pontoon Bridge to its south remains downstream and out of frame.

BL provides more details of the pavilion; we are told that the pavilion was ‘crowned by a substantial structure in European classical style, topped by a drum’. As for its date, BL estimates that the ghat ‘was in position by the mid-1870s, and still standing in the mid-1940s, but has since been demolished’.  It was probably the last photograph of the  ghat taken by Glenn S. Hensley in 1944 which incited BL to guesstimate the date of demolition, if demolished at all.

By trailing the cue of the two renderings noted at hundred year interval by Evan Cotton and ETH Studio, we find half a dozen of matching photographs, but astoundingly none citing Mullick Ghat, but two other ghat names, Juggernath Ghat and Chatulal Ki Ghat.

Bathing ghat, Calcutta side of river, downstream from Howrah Bridge, Photographer:Hensley Glenn. 1944. Courtesy: Lib. U.Penn

The common features of these photographs are:

  1. Location: East bank of the Hooghly River immediately to the north of the Old Bridge/ south of the New Bridge
  2. Shape: A large and ornate square pavilion
  3. Features: A substantial structure in European classical style, topped by a drum

The descriptions best fit to the edifice presently stands on the riverbank a little high up with an added floor close by the Howrah Bridge, as shown in the photograph below. We may accept the edifice as the original pavilion of Nemai Mullick Ghat, subject to further verification.

 

Mullick Ghat : a recent photograph. Courtesy: ETH Studio Basel

CHATULAL KI GHAT FOR MULLICK GHAT

Chotelal ki Ghat. Courtesy: TOI

The Mullick Ghat we find today is still a popular site, mostly under the guise of ‘Chatulal Ghat’, hunted by movie-makers and tourists, functions nowadays as dharamsala.  The pavilion has lost its old glory. There is no ornamental dome. An additional floor at the top makes its façade unbecoming. A loud paint colour covering the sandstone wall has lifted its elegance and sobriety. The look is now changed beyond recognition and can give a miss to anyone unguarded. More so, because of its borrowed name, Chatulal Ghat, by which it is known today in lieu of Mullick Ghat.

The anomaly that troubles us in identifying the particular bathing ghat, as represented in all the photographs posted here, has become more upsetting since 2014 when the following glass plate, which looks like another Johnston & Hoffman photograph(c1885), was brought out with supplied caption: The view of Kolkata’s Chotulal Ghat, as seen from Howrah Bridge.

 

Chotelal ki Ghat. Courtesy: RCAHMS

This was found in a collection of 178 photographic glass plates on Indian scenario under the British Raj, including one more photograph of the pavilion of alleged ‘Chatulal Ghat’ held in the archives of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS). The negatives, officially estimated to be dating back to 1912, were found in a fragile condition in a shoebox and were wrapped in copies of the Statesman newspaper dating from 1914. The Chotulal’s Ghat photograph was identified most likely based on some descriptive note found on the negative itself, or some other reliable source. [See BBC]

Interestingly, it was just a year before the name Chatulal’s Ghat was inscribed for the first time in a published map:  City of Calcutta Census Map drawn in1913 by Richards [ See: Richards] and goes missing again in the City of Calcutta Map drawn by Wagner & Debes published next year in 1914.

Chotulal_Ghat_In Richards 1913 CalcuttaCensus Map. Courtesy: Harvard Lib.

Chatulal’s Ghat never shows up in any of the earlier maps of Calcutta, so far I could see. The list of 39 bathing ghats existing in 1793 [ See Harisadhan], or the list of 58 bathing ghats existing in 1874 had no place for Chatulal’s Ghat.   [ See: CONES]. In fact, other than some blogs and the 1913 map of Richards, there is hardly any historical and descriptive accounts of Calcutta, including directories and handbooks, that refer to Chatulal’s Ghat.

Whatever little we know of Chotulal of Chotulal’s Ghat from the recent blogs provides hardly any clue to establish that Chatulal was alive in mid 19th Century taking part in some historical events, like launching steamship to chandbali.  [See: Basu] We understand from an article, “Heritage Ghats of Calcutta – Chotulal Ghat” in Noisebreak 29 Oct 2016 [http://noisebreak.com/?s=chotelal] that it stands next to Jagannath Ghat along the Hooghly River. The ghat was named after Chhotelal Durga Prasad, an eminent practicing lawyer at the Calcutta High Court. As we know from another source, some Chotelal Durgaprasad did actually exist who appeared in Allahabad High Court on 23 August 1938. [See Indian Kanoon]. As the Noisebeak story suggests, Chatulal Durgaprasad was seemingly already a middle-aged man before the ghat constructed; and if not quite impossible, it is somewhat difficult to imagine him pleading in 1938. Furthermore, to call Chatulal’s Ghat a heritage ghat, presupposes its having an extraordinary past – a tradition that reminds us of the philanthropic contributions of its founder, like a Sobharam Basak, or a Nemaichand Mullick, for example. This is after all an issue to be considered by the INTACH Kolkata Chapter. For us it is more critical to find the exact location of Chatulal’s Ghat on the eastern bank of Hooghly. We know from the blog stories that Chatulal’s Ghat stands ‘next to Jagannath Ghat along the Hooghly River’.  According to Harisadhan (1915), and the latest river survey (2008) the next ghat to Jagannath Ghat is none but Mullick Ghat. The position of Mullick Ghat cited in historical maps of Calcutta overwhelmingly proves that Chatulal’s Ghat is an out of place notion. Fact remains that we have not yet found evidence, besides the solitary example of the 1913 map of Richards, to establish that a ghat called ‘Chatulal’s Ghat’ does independently exist and actually founded by Chatulal Durgaprasad. There remains, however, a likelihood of restyling Mullick Ghat as Chatulal’s Ghat unceremoniously.

In a recent article on ‘Mullick Ghat’, Rangan Dutta writes that the steamship ‘Sir John Lawrence’ sailed on May 25, 1887, from ‘Kolkata’s Chotulal Ghat (also called Mullick Ghat) for Chandbali.’ [See: Dutta] It is all important for me that he maintains, as I do, the idea of Chatulal Ghat as an alternative name of Mullick Ghat, although the name ‘Chatulal Ghat’ was possibly introduced long after the ominous day of 1887.

 

ARMENIAN GHAT FOR MULLICK GHAT

These two historical bathing ghats, once situated close by, are also renowned for providing regular ferry services. Though there should be no good reason to mixing up their identity, quite often the Armenian Ghat is taken mistakenly for Mullick Ghat. Yet structurally, materially and stylistically the two were entirely different.

Common people apart, there are instances of such failings on the part of celebrated writers, like Montague Massey. Massey illustrated his famous book, Recollections of Calcutta, with beautiful photographs, and one of them happened to be actually a photograph of Armenian Ghat captured by Federico Peliti, that he inadvertently picked for Mullick Ghat. [See: Massey]

Armenian Ghat illustrated as Mullick Ghat.
Armenian Ghat. Photographer: Federico Peliti

A singularly beautiful lacy cast iron canopy with arches and pillars – distinguishes Armenian Ghat from all brick and stone pavilions of those days. In the mid-18th century, the rich Armenian trader Manvel Hazaar Maliyan had shipped in an elaborate cast iron facade for the Armenian Ghat, which now only exists in a photograph by colonial era photographer Chevalier Federico Peliti. [See: Sarkar]

 

JUGGERNATH FERRY SERVICE AT MULLICK GHAT?

It was in early 20th century the English artist cum writer Alfred Hugh Fisher went over to the Howrah Bridge to see the ceremonial bathing on the festive day of Sankranti. On the stone building on his right, he looked over the bridge railing at the top of the great flight of steps; a slab dedicated to the memory of ship wreck victims was let into the wall inscribed in English and Bengali:

‘THIS STONE IS DEDICATED BY A FEW ENGLISHWOMENTO THE MEMORY OF THOSE PILGRIMS, MOSTLY WOMEN, WHO PERISHED WITH SIR JOHN LAWRENCE IN THE CYCLONE OF 25TH MAY 1887’.

২৫এ মে তারিখের ঝটিকাবত্ত স্যার জন লরেন্স বাস্পীয় জাহাজের সহিত যে সকল তীর্থযাত্রী

(অধিকাংশ স্ত্রীলোক) জলমগ্ন হইয়াছেন তাহাদিগের স্মরণার্থে  কয়েকটি ঈংরাজ রমনী কর্ত্তিক এই প্রস্তর ফলক্ষানি উৎসর্গীত হইল

The stone building where Fisher  found the memorial plaque should be in all probability the Mullick Ghat where from steamers took pilgrims to Chandbali on their way to Jagannath Temple. [ See: Fisher] Mullick Ghat bears the sad memory of the wreck of steamship ‘Sir John Lawrence’ with hundreds of women passengers on their way to Chandbali on 25 May 1887. The details of the devastating event were recorded by Buckland as follows:

The centre of a violent cyclone passed to the westward of Saugar early on the 26th; the sea was described as running high beyond all experience. .. For several days no vessels left the river except the ship Godiva, which left on the 25thin tow of the steam tug Retriever, and the steamer, Sir John Lawrence, (the Chandbally boat) with 735 passengers, chiefly pilgrims, which left on the 25th afternoon. The Retriever and the Sir John Lawrence were both lost at see with all hands except one native fireman of the tug [ See: Buckland]

On hearing the fateful news the poet, Rabindranath Tagore, gave immediate expression of his deep anguish in his poem সিন্ধুতরঙ্গ (পুরী তীর্থযাত্রী তরণীর নিমজ্জন) [মানসী] [See: Tagore]

 

Samuel Walters / THE CLIPPER SHIP SIR JOHN LAWRENCE ‘HOVE TO’ FOR TAKING THE PILOT OFF THE GREAT ORME. oil on canvas. Courtesy: mutualart.com

The Report of the Marine Court of Inquiry to the Government of Bengal found that the Sir John Lawrence was carrying more than her proper complement of passengers and that the tragedy occurred due to the shipmaster’s irresponsible navigation. The report led to an uproar and the demand for the railways to Puri became loud and clear, which had been constantly pushed aside by the Bengal Government since 1860s when two British promoters, Marshman and Stephenson, mooted a plan for rail link between Kolkata and Puri to allow pilgrims irrespective of caste and creed. Government also turned down another proposal for a direct Rail link between Calcutta and Madras via Orissa coastal plains that Baikuntha Nath De did submit in 1881 for a direct rail link between Calcutta and Madras through Orissa’s coastal plains with a branch line to Puri, which promised to provide a faster and safer means of transport for the Jagannath pilgrims.

During 1870s, around 6,00,000 pilgrims visit Puri every year, which would guarantee a lot of profit. Taking advantage of the numbers and government ignorance, some foreign companies started steamer services from Kolkata to Chandbali in Orissa, now Odisha. As the fares were high, it was mostly children and women who would take the steamers, while the men take the unpromising journey by Jagannath Sadak. Tarinikanta Lahiri Choudhury penned his own appalling experience of the journey to Puri by Jagannath Sadak.

কলিকাতা হইতে কতকাদূর জাহাজে, কতকাদূর নৌকায় এবং কতকাদূর স্থলপথে যাইতে হইত। সমুদ্র পথে গমন করিতে হইলে কলিকাতা হইতে জাহাজে চাদবালি হইয়া সেখান হইতে খালের মধ্য দিয়া কটক গমন করিতে হইত কিংবা বঙ্গোপসাগরের মধ্য দিয়া জাহাজে একেবারে পুরী যাওয়া য়াইত। যাহারা কটক সহর হইতে পুরী যাইত তাহারা বিখ্যাত “জগন্নাথ সড়ক” দিয়া গরুর গাড়ীতে, পাল্কিতে কিংবা পদব্রজে গমন করিত । [See more ভারত ভ্রমণ – তারিনীকান্ত লাহিড়ী চৌধুরী  {See: Lahiri Choudhury]

To compete with the steamers of the Indian government on the Ganges, the India General Steam Navigation Company was established in India in 1844. From 1870s onwards, the Company faced hard competition from Rivers Steam Navigation Company Limited, and ultimately had agreed to work together as the Joint steamer companies. India General, who had already undertaken construction of an extension of a railway to the banks of the Brahmaputra at Jaganathganj, went to liquidation in 1899. The new company was named India General Navigation and Railway Company Limited. (1885-1904) [See: FIBIS]

There were other smaller steam navigation companies in operation for different destinations, like:

  • Calcutta Steam Navigation Co., Bengal (1882)
  • Calcutta Lading & Shipping Co., Calcutta (1883)
  • Bengal Assam Steamship Co., Calcutta (1895)
  • East Bengal River Steam Service, Bengal (1906)
  • Port Shipping Co., Calcutta (1906)

In the latter half of the 19th century when the railways came into existence, the significance of waterways as inland trade routes declined, as the railways were faster and safer. [See: Goyal] It has been found, however, that the steamer navigation was being continued as an auxiliary service to Rail Companies for transporting passengers and cargoes, and for river excursions as well (vide পথে বিপথে / অবনীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর। বিস্বভারতী and নদীপথে / অতুল গুপ্ত, জিঙ্গাসা ). As shown in the following two documents, (1) Bradshaw’s Condensed Schedule Assam-Sunderbuns Despatch Service, and (2) a Cargo Delivery notice from Rivers Steam Navigation Company Limited & India General Navigation and Railway Company Limited dated 2.10, 1912, steamer services were being provided till 1912 from several ferry ghats on Hooghly, including ‘Juggernath Ghat’.

The steamer ghat, printed on the delivery notice and in Bradshaw as Juggernath Ghat, makes us curious about its possible location, or more precisely, if this is the same historic bathing ghat, the ‘Jaganath Ghat’ of Shobharam Basak, now reduced to a homely embankment with a long shade to the north of the existing Howrah Bridge.

Cargo Arrival Notice from Jagannath Ghat
Assam Sunderbund vessels work from Juggernath Ghat
Pleasure trip by steamer from Juggernath Ghat

[Steamers of the Assam Sunderbuns Despatch Service leaves Juggernath ghat, which is situated “on the Calcutta side of the River Hooghly above Howrah Bridge” (Pontoon Bridge). Steamer Pleasure Trip from Calcutta; Advertisement 1934 Macneill & Co Advertisement]

The other possibility remains for us to consider if the ghat pavilion, hugely adored and popularized as ‘Jagannath Ghat’, or ‘Juggernath Ghat’ mainly as publicity materials, had functioned as the Juggernath Steamer Ghat as well.

 

Gustav Boehm’s Voyage Around the World advertisement for Toilet Soaps and Perfumeries with photograph of ‘Public Bath’. No Mention of Chatulal Ghat or Jagannath Ghat. Before looking into it, we may need to review the status of the old Sobharam Basak’s ‘Jagannath Ghat’ of Barabazar.

The ghat built by Sobharam Basak, ‘one of the wealthiest native inhabitants of Calcutta in the eighteenth century’ [Cotton], was initially called ‘Sobharam Basak’s Ghat, শোভারাম বসাকের ঘাট, and shortly after changed into Jagannath Ghat as shown in the published maps.

Mark Wood’s Plan of Calcutta 1784-85, 1792

The Ghat has been an important landmark seen from the river and land. A long stretch of Hooghly up to Jagannath Ghat came in view from the faraway rooftops of Shimulia houses in North Calcutta as there were no tall buildings in between. There was neither any large steamship in view, but plenty of wooden sailing vessels whose tall masts looked like a forest of dead woods from distance. [See: Datta]

Sobharam built the Ghat around 1760s by the side of the Jagannath Temple he had erected at 1, Nabab Lane. Sobharam’s Jagannath Ghat was present in all the historical maps of Calcutta since Mark Wood’s Plan. The Ghat originally built by Sobharam, might have been washed away into the river and replaced by a shaded structure with stepped embankment for public bathing of no particular significance from the view of public interest.

Basak’s Jagannath Ghat as of now
Cose up

Jagannath Ghat, Barabazar

Since the pavilion, represented in all the photographs displayed here, has already been identified beyond doubt as of Mullick Ghat, from where steamboats set off to near and far places to Assam and Orissa with freights and passengers and pilgrimage to Jagannath, it’s not unimaginable to have the ghat/ jetty called a ‘Juggernath Ghat’ too.

I am still not sure what is right, but this last proposition to my perception should be a key solution for clearing up the manifold complications we created through centuries by dubbing the ghats by conflicting names unintelligently, as I did myself earlier [See: Puronokolkata. Jagannath Ghat]

 

REFERENCE

Alfred Hugh Fisher. (1911). Through India and Burmah with pen and brush. London: Laurie. Retrieved from http://seasiavisions.library.cornell.edu/catalog/seapage:299_173

Basu, U. (1980). Etched in stone? TOI 21 July 2018, p. 1961. Retrieved from https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/etched-in-stone/articleshow/65076457.cms

BBC. (2012). Raj Pictures. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-17973614#story_continues_2

Buckland, C. E. (1902). Bengal Under the Lieutenant Governors; vo.2. Calcutta: Bose. Retrieved from https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.104181/2015.104181.Bengal-Under-The-Lieutenant-governors-Vol2#page/n291/search/john+lawrence

Cones. (1874). Calcutta Directory, 1874. Calcutta: Cones. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.94126

Cotton, E. (1907). Calcutta old and new: a historical and descriptive handbook of the city. Calcutta: Newman. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/calcuttaoldandn00cottgoog

Datta, Mahendranath. (1973). Kalikatar puratan kahini o pratha. Calcutta: Mhendra Pub. Retrieved from https://www.bdeboi.com/2016/02/blog-post_27.html

Datta, Ranjan. (2018). Mallick-Ghat. https://doi.org/10.15713/ins.mmj.3

ETH Studio Basel, C. (2008). River Edges of Kolkata. Retrieved from http://www.studio-basel.com/assets/files/05_River_web.pdf.

FIBIS. (2015). Indian General Navigation Company. Retrieved from https://wiki.fibis.org/w/Indian_General_Navigation_and_Railway_Company

Goyal, P. (2003). Sea and Inland Navigation. History of Indian Science and Technology. Retrieved from http://www.indianscience.org/essays/seaandinlandnavigation-EdtedbyPankaj-edit.shtml

Grace’s Guide. (n.d.). Howrah Potoon Bridge. Retrieved from https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Howrah_Pontoon_Bridge

Indian Kanoon. (1938). JUDGMENTs Bennet, Ag. C.J. Indian Kanoon. Retrieved from https://indiankanoon.org/doc/141456/

Lahiri Choudhury, Tarinikanta. (2015). Bharat-bhraman. Retrieved from https://bn.wikisource.org/wiki/পাতা:ভারতভ্রমণ–তারিনীকান্তলাহিড়ীচৌধুরী.pdf/৫৫১ %0A

Mark Wood. (1792). Plan of Calcutta. Calcutta: William Baillie. Retrieved from https://www.bdeboi.com/2016/02/blog-post_27.html

Massey, M. (1918). Recollections of Calcutta for Over Half a Century. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12617/12617-h/12617-h.htm

Monovisions. (2015). Photographer Federico Peliti. Monovisions, (March 7). Retrieved from http://monovisions.com/federico-peliti/

Mukhopadhyay, Harisadhan. (1915). Kalikata: Sekaler O Ekaler –. Calcutta: Bagchi. Retrieved from https://archive.org/stream/Kalikata-Sekaler-O-Ekaler-Harisadhan-Mukhopadhyay/Kalikata Sekaler O Ekaler – Harisadhan Mukhopadhyay#page/n0/mode/2up

Puronokolkata. (2015). Jagannath Ghat. Retrieved from https://puronokolkata.com/2015/06/16/jagannath-ghat-calcutta-c1760s/

Puronokolkata (2). (2015). Howrah Railway Junction Station. Retrieved from https://puronokolkata.com/2015/11/18/howrah-railway-junction-station-howrah-1854/

Richrds. (1913). City of Calcutta Census Map. Retrieved from http://ids.lib.harvard.edu/ids/view/11076152?buttons=y

Sarkar, S. (2017). Tudor roses at the Ghoses. Hindu. Retrieved from https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/tudor-roses-at-the-ghoshes/article19819052.ece

Tagore, Rabindranath. (2016). Manasi (Poem: Sindhu-taranga). Calcutta: Bichitra. Retrieved from http://bichitra.jdvu.ac.in/search/bengali_search.php

 

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CALCUTTA MAIDAN in 18th and 19th Centuries

Pavilion at edge of Monohur Doss’s Tank, Maidan. Photographer: Unknown. Dated c1900-1914. Courtesey: RCAHMS

 

কলকাতা ময়দানঃ অষ্টাদশ/ ঊনবিংশ শতাব্দী

 

The Beginning

After winning back Calcutta, finally defeating Siraj at Plassey, the English East India Company decided upon two things: (1) Replacement of the their old fort with a new one – mightier and better-planned, and (2) Expansion of Calcutta southward.

The onslaught of Nabob’s army wrecked the already overcrowded settlement. The situation called for immediate renovation and expansion of the town toward pastoral Govindpore where the new Fort William was to be erected. ‘Govindpore village, surrounded as it was by waste lands formed a natural esplanade.’ [4] The old Fort had no esplanade for guns, which happened to be one of the reasons for its fall. [10] About a mile away from the old Fort the construction of the second Fort William set off in 1758. The new Fort, essentially a military establishment, and not a fortified factory of English traders as the old Fort was styled, costed the EEIC some two million sterling [5]. The chosen site of the Fort was on the river-bank of village Govindpore, considerably south of the old Mint.

 

Calcutta from the Old Course. Artist : Chartles D’Oyly. c1838

Formerly, the village was the primary seat of the Sheths and the Bysaks. In early 16th century, four families of Bysaks and one of Sheths founded the village of Govindpore, after the name of their tutelary deity, Govindaji. They built a shrine of the Vaisnav deity on the site where the New Fort William now stands, not far from the old Kalighat temple. [17].   Govindpore had only 57 bighas of inhabited land out of 1,178 bighas. The entire population of the flourishing village was removed to make room for the new Fort with its unobstructed field of gun fire that completed in 1773. The inhabitants were  compensated by providing lands elsewhere, expending restitution-money – the fund Siraj-ud-Dowlah recompensed for the damage he did. The Sheths moved to Cotton Bale Market, (Bengali: সুতানটি হাট ), in Burrabazar. The jungle that cut off the village of Chowringhee from the river was cleared giving way to the wide grassy stretch of ‘Maidan of which Calcutta is so proud’.

Expansion of Town Calcutta

The denizens of town Calcutta never before felt like going further than  Respondentia Walk, lying beyond Chandpal Ghat, or the fish-pond near Lal Dighi as ‘there was too wholesome a dread of thieves and tigers, to induce them to wander into the grounds of the neighboring zemindars who were the Robin Hoods of those days.’[13] In 1756, when Seraj-o-dowlah took the place, only seventy houses were inhabited by Englishmen.  The sudden development activities at Govindpore encouraged them to look forward for a change in lifestyle. The prospect of living lavishly in countryside bungalows in the neighborhood of the New Fort site attracted the white population. Gradually they moved out to settle in village Chowringhee adjacent to Govindpore separated only by the ancient pathway from Chitreswari temple at extreme North to Kalighat at South. As already we noticed, Esplanade and Maidan both are being used indiscriminately for the sprawling green square around the New Fort William.

Maidan looking beyond Esplanade Row. Dhurrumtollah Tank at right corner, criss-cross pathways, and tents are visible. No details available. Courtesy: Alamy

Maria Graham in her, Journal of a residence in India, penned a picturesque description of Maidan as she found in 1810.  The road which leads past Fort William, con­necting Garden Reach with Calcutta, is called the Esplanade. It is shaded, by umbrageous trees, and forms a very pleasant drive in the evening. The light air coming off the water is cool and grateful to the multitudes in search of air, change, or exercise. This esplanade is terminated by a very handsome colonnade ghat, which forms a most classical and pleasing object to the eye, as well as a most con­venient and useful accommodation to the natives for the performance of ablutions in the river, to which the bathers descend by a flight of steps. It was built solely for this object by a pious and opulent Hindoo. [9]

The snow-white paddy bird, with elegant and outstretched neck and stork-like dignity, walks care­lessly, unheeded, undisturbed, unscared he pursues his watchful employment of fishing in the shallows, with an almost domestic familiarity and fearlessness of the presence of man. [12]

Topography

Maidan, the chief open space in Calcutta between Government House and Garden Reach, is also called the Esplanade (Bengali: গড়ের মাঠ), that is, plain ground in front of a fort, in which attackers are exposed to the defenders’ fire. Calcutta Maidan, or the Esplanade of the New Fort, never had an occasion to partake defense task but acts as a fulfilling centre of entertainment and refreshment ever since its formation.

Maidan virtually covers, besides small portions of Birjee and of Chowringhee, the entire area of Govindpore, which began at the Northern boundary of Dhee Calcutta and ended at Baboo Ghat, and then went up to the Govindpore Creek, or Tolly’s Nullah at the extreme end of the English zamindari. It was ‘immediately to the South of Surman’s Gardens, next to the General Hospital building.  At West, Maidan includes King’s Bench Walk with a row of trees separating it from the riverbank between Chandpaul Ghaut  and  Colvin’s Ghaut, or Cucha-goody Ghaut, as it was called then.  At North, Esplanade Row, from Chandpaul Ghaut, runs into Dhurumtollah in a straight line past the Council House and the old Government House standing side by side.

The borings made in the Fort, in 1836-40, under the superintendence of Dr. Strong and James Prinsep, have shown that the ocean rolled its waves 500 feet beneath the surface of the present fort, and in 1682 an ancient forest existed in that locality. [1] Early 1789, Government resolved on filling up the excavations and leveling its ground. The plan was prepared for the benefit of Calcutta in general, and of the houses fronting the Esplanade in particular. The plan extended to drain the marsh land, in expectation that the digging a few tanks will furnish sufficient earth and thus save the project cost and time. A new tank was made in 1791 at the corner of Chowringhee and Esplanade, which existed till the dawn of the twentieth century.

Calcutta: David Rumsey Historical Map (cropped). London: Chapman & Hall. 1842 Courtesy: Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (GB)

 

Talaos or Tanks

The City of Calcutta is supplied with good drinking water, from a considerable number of large ponds mostly situated towards the Chowringhee quarter. Those facing Chowringhee Road were construct­ed by Monohur Dass, the chief member of the Shah Nowputee Muhajun of Benares in Lord Cornwallis’s time. [2]

A series of artificial lakes (tanks) stretched down the length of Chowringhee Road: the Dhurrumtolah Tank at the northern limit; the Manohardoss or Colinga Tank with its corner pavilions opposite Lindsay Street; the General’s tank opposite Park Street; Elliott’s Tank facing Harington Street previously ‘Graham Street’; and at south-end the Birjee Tank.

Dhurrumtollah Tank

 

Photograph of Dhurrumtollah Tank on Maidan from Chowringhee Road. Creator: Samuel Bourne. 1865. Courtesy: British Library

This is a view from the north end of Chowringhee Road, beside the carriage stand, looking north-west across the Dhurrumtollah Tank, towards the façades of the houses along Esplanade Row, with Government House at the extreme left. The flat-fronted, verandahed building behind the premises of William Coish & Co is the Adjutant-General’s offices. Among the commercial premises on Esplanade Row are Mountain’s Hotel, Madame Nielly (French milliner), Payne & Co’s Belatee Bungalow and Thomson & Company.

The view looks south along Chowringhee Road with impressive array of private and public buildings on the far side of Maidan.

Monohurdass’ Tank

Monohur Dass Tank. Creator: Samuel Bourne. 1868 Courtesy: British LibraryThe view looks south along Chowringhee Road, with the Monohurdass Tank in the foreground and General’s Tank beyond. The spire of St Paul’s Cathedral can by seen on the skyline at the extreme right.

 

General’s Tank on Maidan. Creator William Wood. 1833. Courtesy: British Library

 

The General’s Tank

 The General’s Tank was one of the three large artificial reservoirs in the Chowringhee district of Calcutta. It was just south of the junction with Park Street. This print also shows the house of Thomas Babington Macauley, who was a Law Member of the Supreme Council of India, and worked on the reorganisation of the Indian legal system necessitated by the New India Act of 1834. He lived at number 33, Chowringhee Road, from 1834 to 1838. Thereafter the building became the headquarters of the Bengal Club.This lithograph is taken from plate 21 from ‘Views of Calcutta’ an album of paintings by William Wood.

Elliott’s Tank

 

Elliott’s Tank. Creator: William Wood. 1833. Courtesy: British Library

 Elliott’s Tank facing Harington Street, previously ‘Graham Street’, situated between the General Tank and Birjee Talao. The tank was named after Sir Charles Elliott, Lieutenant-Governor, 1890-1893.

 

FORT-GATES and ROADS

The Fort occupied a large chunk of Maidan around the centre with as many as seven gates, each having its own approach road across Maidan, namely, the Calcutta Gate leading out to the Eden Gardens, the Plassey Gate facing south of Government House; the Chowringhee Entrance Gate leading out of the road entering Park Street; the Chowringhee Exit Gate leading out of the road entering Park Street; The Hospital Gate leading out of the Race Course; the St. George’s Gate facing north of Hastings; and the Water Gate facing the river near the Gwalior Monument. It is only in recent years we have had any road outside the fort. Pathways thread their way across the Maidan which has been cleared of the jungle. The oldest among them is the ‘Course’ made to take the air in’. The road was, however, full of dust, yet considered one of the airiest and pleasantest drives in Calcutta, extending from the Cocked Hat on the north to the Kidderpore Bridge. The Course, so called as being a coss or two miles in length, is described in 1768, as being ‘out of town’ in a sort of angle. [13]

 

The broad gravelled walk on the west side of that portion, known as the Red Road, then called Secretary’s Walk, constructed in 1820. To the south of the Fort ran the Ellenborough Course. The Vice-Roy Lord Northbrook led the grand procession this way taking the Prince of Wales from the Prinsep’s Ghaut to the Government House. It was a fine raised and turfed ride for horse exercise; and towards the cast, the Race Course, commenced in 1819.[6]

Strand Road with Indians with bullock carts and horse-drawn carriages and sailing ships and other boats on river in Calcutta. Creator: Samuel Bourne. c1860s Photograph by Bourne and Shephard

 

RIVER GHAUTS

Another avenue of trees was planted, about the time of the Lottery Committee, on the river-bank from Chandpal Ghaut to the New Fort. Its position was indicated by the row of fine trees which stood south of Baboo Ghat.  This was known as Respondentia Walk – the resort of those fond of moonlight rambles, and of children, with their train of servants. ‘Calcutta society, alighting from carriages and palanquins, promenaded in the cool of the evening’. Dogs and horses were not allowed to disturb the harmony of polite conversation, by an order of the Governor-General in Council forbidding persons accompanied by dogs to enter Respondentia Walk.  [4] The Esplanade on the banks of the Hooghly, thus provided the fashionable promenade of Calcutta a Hygeian Walk, as William Jones called. [1] Where the Bank of Bengal stands on the bank of the old Creek, at Cutcha- goody Ghaut, an avenue of trees ran along the river-bank to the Supreme Court, as King’s Bench Walk. The Walk was exclusively reserved for the English inhabitants from 5 to 8 o’clock every evening, sentries being posted **near the sluice-bridge” to prevent the entrance of natives.

 

 

[6] In 1823 the Strand road was formed, which led to a great sanitary improvement. This road has been widened at the expense of the river, so that where the western railing of the Metcalfe Hall stands, there were, in 1820s, nine fathoms of water. [13]

 

EDEN GARDENS

 

View of Eden Gardens Calcutta. Creator: Samuel Bourne. 1865. Courtesy: British Library

 

The site was initially named Auckland Circus Gardens, which stands at the northern-end of Maidan toward Calcutta Gate. The Gardens came into being when the Governor General, Lord Auckland, desired to create a circus and a garden. A pleasure ground with an oblong tank in center was laid out on this site generally resorted to for riding and recreation. The in­habitants are indebted to the liberality and taste of the Misses Eden, sisters of Lord Auckland. There was a Band-stand, where the Town Band or the Band of the European Regiment stationed in the Port, discourses sweet music every evening. Of late years the Gardens have been greatly enlarged, and laid out with winding paths and artificial water, interspersed with a profusion of beautiful flowering trees, and shrubs —a pleasant place for a morning or evening stroll. In the Gardens is a Burmese Pagoda, removed after the last war in 1851. and re-erected there in 1856.

 

STATUES OF RAJ PERSONAGES

In the green of Maidan there had been several installations of statues of Governor-Generals, and Heroes of the British Raj. While each statue was a perfect specimen of Western art, not all the personalities were found equally adorable; few were hated by the native subjects. The statues remained scattered all over Maidan till the end of colonial era, and thereafter replaced by figures of Indian national leaders. The old ones are now archived at the Flagstaff House in Barrackpore. Some nice photographs of the statues curated by DBH Ker in recent time can be seen in Flickr.[12] The details of the statues are available in Raj Bhavan(WB) Occasional Paper-4.[15]

Unveiling of Statue of Outram on Horseback, modelled by John Foley. Bourne and Shephard. 1874

 

The statue of Outram on horseback set in Calcutta Maidan was one the finest sculptural specimens modeled by John Foley in 1874. The statue inspired Barbara Groseclose, the art historian, to remark that ‘doubts and anxieties, as well as assumptions about their own place in Indian life, bear strongly on the roles and achievements for which the British sought or received commemoration ..’ See Outram Institute Puronokolkata

 

EDIFICES IN MAIDAN

The Maidan has come into existence when the Company built the second Fort William in Govindpore in 1773. The General Hospital was already constructed at the outskirt in 1770 near the old Jail, which was demolished to make room for construction of the Cathedral in 1839. The Race Corse Stadium and Ochterlony Monument followed in 1809 and 1863 respectively. Victoria Memorial and the Curzon Park – the two integral constituents of Maidan created in 20th century – are outside the scope of the present discussion.

 

FORT WILLIAM, GOVINDPORE

The works of the Fort were planned by an engineer named Boyer. Undoubtedly it is the 2nd Fort William, the regular architecture and commanding position of which are equally conspicuous.  This fortress completely commands the town. Evidently, it was designed to hold the inhabitants of Calcutta, in case of another siege, as permission was originally given to every inhabitant of the settlement to build a house within the fort. But entertaining views of the comfort of living in garden houses discouraged the people to accept this privilege. They preferred living in developing Chowringhee neighbourhood. In 1756 the plain were occupied by native huts, and by salt marshes, which afforded fine sport to buffalo hunters. [1]

 

Fort William, Govindpore. Chowringhee Gate. Creator: Unidentified. 1880’s Source: eBay,

HOSPITAL

The first hospital was erected in 1707 for soldiers and sailors, was located in the present Gerstein’s Place, near St. John’s Church, and lasted for nearly half a
century until the sack of Calcutta in 1756. The Company’s second hospital was a make-shift structure in the Old Fort, and was used for about thirteen or fourteen years till 1770. The project was mooted at a Consultation of the Board over which he presided on the 29th September, 1766. The hospital that stood in 1707 beside the old graveyard in a most insanitary site at Gerstein Place was removed ‘into the country’ at the far end of Maidan. The house was initially purchased in 1768 from a native gentleman for the purpose.

 

 

The East India Company (Calcutta Council) purchased the plot of land with a garden house from Rev. John Zacharias Kiernander at a cost of Rs. 98900.00 along with an adjoining plot belonging to a Bengali Gentleman. Gourchurn Tarsor (Tagore?) was the only Bengali among those who offered their property on sale, the others being James Dollas and Domingo de Rosario. After various alterations and additions including two other buildings erected in 1770 on the-then Lower Circular Road. The hospital renamed as the Presidency General Hospital was open for admission of general public. In 1795 two new wings and some other additions and alterations were made to equip the hospital with latest medical technology. [14]

 

ST PAUL’S CATHEDRAL

 

View of Eden Gardens Calcutta. Creator: Samuel Bourne. Sig.date:1902.

 

The St Paul’s Cathedral was designed in the Indo-Gothic style by William F Forbes. Forbes, a military engineer who was later promoted to Major General, was also responsible for the design of the old Calcutta Mint where he held the post of Mint Master for a time. It was through a long course of discussions the site for its construction was decided. In favor of the site finally selected, a plebiscite of the most representative bodies and organizations in Calcutta voted overwhelmingly. The Cathedral has been erected on the site of the hideous and obsolete structure of the old Jail that was demolished by the Government at its own cost. [7] Construction of the cathedral began in 1839, when the foundation stone was laid by Daniel Wilson, Bishop of Calcutta, and completed in 1847. The tall central spire and square tower beneath were inspired by a similar feature at the twelfth century cathedral in Canterbury, England. The upper portion of the tower, which originally reached a height of sixty-one meters, was destroyed in an earthquake in 1934.
Source: ‘Photographs of India and Overland Route’ by Oscar Mallitte in 1865.

 

RACE COURSE

The Race Course, which originated as the Course or promenade of Calcutta is one of the finest in the country. Racing was started at the Akra farm at the foot of Garden Reach from 1780, if not earlier. There at that time, the Nabob of Oudh, deposed by the British, and his descendents lived in their palatial garden houses. In 1812, the new course was laid out in Calcutta roughly where it is located today.

 

Racecourse Calcutta. Viceroy’s Cup Day. Creator: Johnston & Hoffmann in 1845

Lord Wellesley, during his administration, set his face decidedly against horse-racing and every other species of gambling. His influence threw a damp on it for many years, though last century a high value was attached to English jockeys, and the races were favorite subjects of expectation with the ladies. With the amusement of the turf came the spirit of betting. [13] One of the most significant events in the history of Calcutta racing took place in 1847 when the Calcutta Turf Club was officially born. [See: Royal Calcutta Turf Club  https://puronokolkata.com/2014/01/06/royal-calcutta-turf-club-calcutta-1845/%5D

 

OCHTERLONY MONUMENT

 

The Ochterlony Monument is an iconic landmark of Calcutta. It was designed by J. P. Parker and erected by Burn & Company in 1828, on the north-eastern side of Calcutta Maidan. The Monument was dedicated to the memory of Major-general Sir David Ochterlony, a commander of the British East India Company. He was commemorated for his successful defense of Delhi against the attack of the Maratha Yaswantrao Holkar in 1804, and also for the victory of the East India Company in the Anglo- Nepalese War of 1814 to 1816. The expenditure regarding the construction and the foundation of the monument was paid from the public fund. The ‘Cloud kissing Monument’ as Mark Twain called it, is 48 metres (157 ft) high.

It has a foundation based on the Egyptian style.  The column is a combination of styles with a classical fluted column, a Syrian upper portion, and a Turkish dome. It has two balconies at the top. The top floor is accessible by a serpentine staircase of 223 steps.

 

 

LIFE IN MAIDAN

Maidan is so many things to so many people. Apart from army parades, and drills of mounting police, there are washermen who wash clothes and themselves in its ponds (see Dhopa Pukur in Mark Wood’s map), shepherds who tend their flocks, citizens taking their morning walks, and the last vestiges of the horse-drawn hackney carriages plying its fringes entertaining merrymakers and businessmen to make money. When Jamshedji Framji Madan entered the ‘bioscope’ scene in 1902, he began to screen films in tents, one of which was set up on the Maidan.

 Chowringhee, the new township next to Maidan, is a place of modern creation. In 1768 there were a few European families enjoyed ‘out of town’ living. They always looked for opportunities of entertainment and recreation – including the out-door varieties held at Maidan, like Ballooning, Circus, Bicycle Race, Horse Race, Polo, Cricket and such exciting sports of the day. A large stretch of the Maidan is dotted with small greenish tents belonging to sports clubs.

 

Charak Puja procession in Maidan – coloured lithograph. Creator: Charles D’Oyly. 1848.

 

BALLOONING

Balloon ascent was indeed a novelty in India. On 30th July, 1785, a balloon, measuring six feet in diameter, and filled with rarefied air was let off from the Maidan. Mr. M’intle. the young gentleman who constructed the balloon, favoured the settlement with another exhibition next evening. The first ascent of a large balloon from the plains of Bengal took place on the 21st March, 1836.

CIRCUS

“Every now and then some adventurous ‘entertainer’ makes a tour of the country; but seldom, I fancy, with satisfactory results; and travelling circuses appear to meet with no better success”. An Opera Company which has been lately enlivening Calcutta, seems to be an exception to the general rule, being the best thing of the kind that has ever been seen in India. [3]. Chiarini’s Italian Circus performed in Calcutta in August 1880.

Around 1880, the cited playbill advertised Wilson’s Circus in Calcutta, featuring Edwin Moxon, who appeared with his Magic Tom-Tom act, and with the Moxon Brothers in their ‘wonderful balancing act’ with a pyramid of chairs. Around that time Royal Italian Circus where Chiarini, an Italian director performed in Calcutta. Professor Bose’s great Bengal Circus exhibited its shows at the Maidan in January 1900 in which Bir Badal Chand wrestled with a Royal Bengal Tiger.

POLO & GOLF

Polo has been played in the Maidan since 1861. The modern game of polo, though formalised and popularised by the British, is derived from Manipur where the game is known as  ‘Pulu’. In 1862 the Calcutta Polo Club was established by two British soldiers, Captain Robert Stewart and (later Major General) Joe Sherer. They were inspired by the game in Manipur and later they spread the game to their peers in England. The club runs the oldest and first ever Polo Trophy, the Ezra Cup (1880).

 

Cricket & Football

 

 

Ground of the Calcutta Cricket Club, 15th July 1861. Creator: Percy Carpentier. 1861. Courtesy: MCC Museum at Lords

 

Calcutta Cricket & Football Club, founded in 1792, is one of the oldest sports clubs in the world. The first formal cricket match played between the Etonians and the rest of the Civil Servants of the Company was played for two consecutive days on the green before the Government House in January 1804.

In the absence of a permanent venue, the Calcutta Cricket Club played its games on the esplanade between Fort William and Government House. By the 1820s, the members felt the need for a permanent ground. In 1825, the Calcutta Cricket Club managed to obtain the use of a plot of land on the Maidan. In 1841 the Club was relocated to the eastern boundary of the Auckland Circus Gardens. [See: Calcutta Cricket https://puronokolkata.com/2014/06/18/calcutta-cricket-maidan-calcutta-1792/%5D

 

Endnotes

 

The Maidan is deeply embedded in the Bengali psyche as well. It was fashionable for the Babus of old Calcutta to go for fresh air in the esplanade, or গড়ের মাঠ. Carey described the great show of fashionables in evenings at the Eaden Gardens out for the purpose of enjoying a drive—“eating the air (howa-khana) as the Indians express it.” [5] Rabindranath , in his reminiscences  mentioned about the sports-loving public rushing to playground in Maidan riding on crowded tramcar footboards; how his elder brother, Jyotirindranath took his wife, Kadambari, on horse-back to Maidan for a promenade defying social taboos. Maidan has stood a mute witness to the unfolding history of the city until the beginning of the 20th century, when the Maidan spread out its huge stage to voice against British rule, supporting national agenda for freedom movements. In connection with the founding of Victoria Memorial Hall upon the Maidan, some anxiously felt that “…it needs but the smallest acquaintance with that great city to know that its inhabitants regard the Maidan as a virtuous woman regards her honour, any assault upon which must be repelled as the deadliest form of insult.” [7]

 

REFERENCES

    1. Anonymous. 1816. “Sketches of India ; Or,observations Descriptive of the Scenery, &c. in Bengal; Chapter 13.” London: Black, Purbury and Allen. Retrieved (https://books.google.co.in/books?id=tEcVAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA197&lpg=PA197&dq=“+Setting+aside+the+pleasure+one+natu-+“+rally+feels+at+the+termination+of+a+long+“+voyage,+and&source=bl&ots=RMNhJRJxhm&sig=woJs5KFQwm85BUFHXzP199w35-k&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi3gfnAqtv).
    2. The Bengal and Agra annual guide and gazetteer. 1841. Calcutta: Rushton. (https://archive.org/stream/bengalandagraan00unkngoog#page/n10/mode/2up)
    3. Blanchard, Sidney Laman. 1867. Yesterday and Today in India. London: Allen. Retrieved (https://archive.org/stream/yesterdaytodayin00blan#page/n3/mode/2up).
    4. Blechynden, Kathleen. 1905. Calcutta Past and Present. London: Thacker. Retrieved (https://archive.org/details/calcuttapastand02blecgoog).
    5. Carey, William H. 1907. The Good Old Days of Honorable John Company, Being Curious Reminiscences … during the Rules of the East India Company, from 1800 to 1858; vol.2. Calcutta: Cambray. Retrieved (https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.116087).
    6. Cotton, Evan. 1907. Calcutta Old and New: A Historical and Descriptive Handbook of the City. Calcutta: Newman. Retrieved (https://archive.org/details/calcuttaoldandn00cottgoog).
    7. Curzon, Murquis of Keddleston. 1905. British Government in India: The Story of the Viceroys and Government Houses; Vol. 1. Retrieved (https://dl.wdl.org/16800/service/16800_1.pdf).
    8. Kerr, D B. n.d. Forgotten Statuary of the British Raj; A gallery curated by DBHKer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/galleries/72157631880613097/?rb=1#photo_169640291
    9. Firminger, W. K. 1906. Thacker’s Guide to Calcutta. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink. Retrieved (https://archive.org/stream/thackersguidetoc00firm#page/n7/mode/2up/search/’socially+but+not+geographically).
    10. Graham, Maria. 1813. Journal of a Resdence in India. 2nd ed. Edinburgh: Costable. Retrieved (https://archive.org/stream/journalaresiden00callgoog#page/n6/mode/2up).
    11. Hill, S.Charles. 1902. List of Europeans and Others in the English Factories in Bengal at the Time of the Siege of Calcutta in the Year 1756 .pdf. Calcutta: GOI, Printing Press. Retrieved (https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=13&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiuieCx3qbXAhVCLI8KHUvTBGcQFghbMAw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fasi.nic.in%2Fasi_books%2F9381.pdf&usg=AOvVaw2tZ5JJ8tHBx8o1QTmBzYWI%0A%0A).
    12. Hutchison, W. H. Florio. 1883. Pen and pencil sketches: reminiscences during 18 years’ residence in Bengal, ed. by J. Wilson. London: Marston. (https://archive.org/stream/penandpencilske00hutcgoog#page/n4/mode/2up)
    13. Long, Rev.James. n.d. “Calcutta in the Olden Time – Its Localities. Art.2 – Map of Calcutta.” (https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.98350/2015.98350.Calcutta-And-Its-Neighbourhood_djvu.txt)
    14. Moir, D M. 1903. “Notes on the origin of the Presidency General Hospital, Calcutta” In: The Indian Medical Gazette; Feb, 1903)
    15. Raj Bhavan. Kolkata. 2007 [Barrackpore Flagstaff House] (Occasional Paper – 4)(https://www.google.co.in/search?q=Occasional+Paper+%E2%80%93+4%3A+Barrackpore&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b&gfe_rd=cr&dcr=0&ei=hluIWpXuDrCcX-T_lsAD)
    16. Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Great Britain). 1842. Calcutta: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection. London: Chapman & Hall. (https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~21006~530098:Calcutta-)
    17. Wilson, Charles R. 1895. The Early Annals of the English in Bangal, Being the Bengal Public Consultations for the First Half of the Eighteenth Century … Vol. 1. London: Thacker. Retrieved (https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.63176).

 

 

Rajendra Dutt 1818-1889

Clay models, Peabody Museum, Salem: Seated on (from left) Rajendra Dutt, Doorgaprasad Ghose, and Raj Kissen Mitter

রাজেন্দ্র দত্ত ১৮১৮-১৮৮৯

Banias of the 19th century belonged to the top class urban society of Bengal. Rajendra Dutta, the great grandson of Akrur Dutta was born in a traditional Bania family and brought up in an environment of Cultural Revolution constantly adjusting himself with his changing society. Rajendra dedicated his life for the good of his people. The good he did for them was prodigious, but lasted for only a while, then lost in nothingness. Little we know about Rajendra to understand why he preferred pursuing his mission single-handed rather than to building institutions for quicker attainments of his purpose. He went door to door with his medicine bag to treat patients, but did not build a good hospital of standing. Whatever he did did privately, keeping no records for his future biographers to track down.

Dutta Family of Wellington

Rajender Dutt, c1850. Opaque watercolor on ivory By unknown Indian artist. Courtesy: Peabody Museum, Salem

Akrur Dutta, the illustrious great grandfather of Rajendra, was the founder of one of the most respectable Calcutta families, the family of ‘Dutts’ of Wellington Square. The ‘Dutts’, however, did never mind being called ‘Duttas’ interchangeably. Akrur was born in 1720 in Sonatikri village in Hooghly. At the age of 20 he came to Calcutta, and start a career of ‘dadni’, a contract merchant. Soon he shifted to sloop business with the support of Pritiram Marh, the father-in-law of Rani Rashmoni. Akrur turned out to be the best sloop contractor in Bengal by 1780.

After Akrur, his eldest son, Rammahan took up the rein from 1809 to speed their business competing with the British interests. He ran his sloop business profitably for a decade and then wisely decided to move out to shipping business. Rammahan Dutta became an upright flourishing ship merchant of Calcutta. The Duttas stand apart from most of their contemporaries in that they continued to thrive long after the English Company had stopped to patronize them. Ultimately he also decided to retire from business because of being continuously harassed by the British antagonism.

Rajendra, born in Calcutta in 1818, inherited the business acumen of his great grandfather, the legendary solook merchant Akrur Dutta, and of his ship merchant grandfather, Rammahan. His father Parbaticharan Dutta died prematurely leaving Rajendra to the care of their uncle Durgacharan Dutta, the eldest son of Rammahan. Rajendra and his uncle Kalidas, the two highly resourceful young men, firmly established themselves as outstanding banias of the American ships during 1850s. See Shubra Chakrabarti

The relations amongst the ‘Dutt’ family members can be readily ascertained by glancing through the family-tree headed by Okrur Dutt, (anglicized form of Akrur Dutta’):

familyTree_AkrurDutt

The family has lived together with their property in common and with no division for generations, the eldest member guiding the direction of all affairs. In 1849, there were ‘two hundred of them living together …. Most of them are free from any prejudices of caste, and, scorning the native superstition’. See: Norton’s letter

Upbringing

Parbaticharan Dutta died prematurely when his son Rajendra was a mere child. He grew under the care of Durgacharan, the eldest among his uncles. The first thing Durgacharan did was to get Rajendra admitted to the Dhuramtala Academy of David Drummond, a celebrated teacher of logical mind. Rajendra then joined Hindu College, where Vivian Derozio was one of his teachers. There he grew up among few nonconformist friends, branded ‘Young Bengal’. Completing his studies at Hindu College, Rajendra pursued study of medicine in Calcutta Medical College as an external student.
He studied medicine for equipping himself to provide his people with medical service and support gratis. Even when he was in business, Rajendra zealously maintained the desire for mitigating sufferings of his people irrespective of their class and creed. ‘Rajababu’ or ‘Rajen Dutta’ became a household name synonymous with ‘friend in need’.

Maritime Merchant

Indiaman owned by Dudley Leavitt Pickman and partners_orgnl

Friendship of Salem owned by Dudley Leavitt Pickman and partners

After the collapse of agency houses, the Calcutta banias were in the decline. A few powerful merchants like Dwarkanath Tagore, Motilal Sheal, Rustamji took up partnership business with the British. But when the Union Bank and the Car-Tagore Company collapsed at short intervals in January 1848, the banias thought it unwise for them to stick to trading business any more, and ventured into real estate.

RajenDutt_Partner_Dudley_Leavitt_PickmanRev

Dudley Leavitt Pickman Partner of Rajendra Dutt

Duttas, however, were among the few exceptions who sought commercial prosperity by alternative means. Soon they plunged into trading with American enterprises, and that helped them sustain in business for few more years. It seems likely that young Duttas received inspiration from the great achievement of Radhanath Mullick of Pataldanga, an upright ship merchant who had set up the first Indian dry dock in Calcutta after breaking away from partnership with the English. Moreover, Duttas might be tipped off by Pramathanath, the successor of Ramdulal Day, who happened to be a relative to Rajendra’s wife.
In 1842, William Bullard, came to Calcutta for trading as a partner of Bullard and Lee and continued his business for about ten years. Before Bullard and Lee wound up, Bullard and his agent ‘Rajender’ became personal friends. Rajendra also had occasions to treat Bullard with homeopathy. In 1852, another American firm, Stone, Silsbee and Pickman of Salem entered business with Duttas.  Rajendra and his uncle Kalidas proved to be highly creditable businessmen who in no time “became the banias of a number of American shipping firms such as George Auckland and Co., Atkinson Tilton and Co., Richard Lewis, Norman Brothers and B.R. Wheelnight and Co. At the same time, Duttas themselves founded a shipping company in collaboration with one Linzy (variant ‘Lintzy’), an American entrepreneur, and called it Dutts-Linzy and Company. They also invested in other concerns such as the Ganges Pilot and Co., Hooghly Tug and Co., Serampore Spinning and Weaving Co., and Rishra Yarn Co.” See: MB Rahman

The Duttas, both Kalidas and Rajendra, were entrusted with the responsibility of purchasing goods to be sent to America. Instead of silk and cotton piece goods, indigo, linseed, saltpetre, hide and jute were now in demand in America, the prices of which fluctuated a great deal according to the seasons and the availability of these goods in local markets, allowing high business gain. By August 1857 the joint venture of Kalidas and Rajendra came to an end. There was nothing to suggest a family dispute, or any other possible reasons. Rajendra now entered into business with the American shipper Linzy on a commission basis, which allowed greater profits and greater control on the visiting ships than acting as their bania. See Shubra Chakrabarti

As it appears from available sources, Rajendra carried on his business till early 70s.
The most important factors behind the survival of the Duttas were their ability to diversify and to move into related areas of commerce; and also their aptitude to evolve a sociable personal relationship among business partners that helped mutual success and continuity. Charles Eliot Norton, representative of Boston House, may provide best instances in support of this view.

Living Style & Social Grace
As Reflected in Letters of His Friend Chales Norton

Charles Eliot Norton, by Samuel Worcester Rowse

Charles Eliot Norton, by Samuel Worcester Rowse

Rajendra Dutta, like most of his family members, was of sociable nature. He had many friends. Some of his good friends were picked from his American business partners. Quite a few of them turned later into acclaimed academics. (See Sirajul)  They continued correspondence with Rajendra discussing different matters of their interest beyond business, as they did in Calcutta. ‘Norton a supercargo later turned academician’ wrote several letters to his family members and Boston friends, recounting the warmth of the friendship he enjoyed in company of Rajendra, and reflections on Rajendra’s lifestyle, his environment and obligations. (See Bean)  Norton wrote to his aunt, Miss Anna Ticknor, on October 21, ‘89 that he was invited to a native theatrical entertainment’ at Dutta’s house. The house he found, ‘. . ill-situated, large, and inelegant on the outside. Within, the rooms, which are generally very small, are built around an open square court; about the second story runs a verandah with which the upper chambers communicate. All looks uncared for and often dirty, as if there were an absence, as indeed there is, of refined taste and oversight.’
Norton sat on the verandah watching the episode of Nala and Damyanti being played. He was surprised that ‘the only mark of applause among the audience was the occasional throwing of some rupees tied in the corner of a handkerchief at the feet of the actors, and this was only done by the family or the guests in the verandah. It was only by their stillness and attention that the crowd below showed their approbation’. He thought the Hindu, ‘whose highest idea of happiness is inaction, can hardly understand that state of excitement which finds vent in a Western audience in a whirlwind of applause’. Norton misinterpreted the conduct, not being versant with the etiquette of Hindustani music, which never approves an applaud dispelling its lingering appeal. Hindustani music sounded ‘nasal and unmusical’ to Norton. But soon he gained some respect for the system, and came to know that “to a stranger the music is quite uninteresting, but I have no doubt it would become less so the more you heard, particularly if you knew anything of the science, for it is cultivated as a science, of Hindu music.” This he apparently learnt from his friend Rajendra.
Norton wrote to his sister Louisa on October 22, 1849 that the Dutta family was a very remarkable one; and added, “I treated them as gentlemen and as equals, we are now warm friends”. The Duttas, on the other hand, delightfully found their new friend’s interest ‘in the Hindus’, ‘their characteristic customs and habits’. Rajender had prepared a Hindu dress for Norton to wear on a special occasion, as he thought ‘that the natives would be pleased at the conformity to their customs’. His friend Norton found the dress a picturesque and most comfortable one for the climate.
On October 31, 1849, Charles Norton in a letter to his mother gave his scathing re-view on the Hindu rites of sacrificing that he experienced at Dutta’s house on the occasion of Jagadhatri Puja. He was there invited to see the ritual. The old Durgacharan, the head of the Dutta family, on his knees, bending head to the ground, made some silent prayer. When he rose, “a goat was brought forward, and its head being fastened was struck off at one blow by an attendant. Three or four musicians made a loud din with their tom-toms and cymbals; the blood of the goat was poured over the plates of offerings.” Describing the shocking sight he shared his immediate reactions with his mother. – “It is a fact strikingly characteristic of Hindu nature, of its aversion to change, of its want of spirit to break through the shackles that bind it. Rajender did not even pretend to regard the sacrifice with anything but contempt. . . .” (My emphasis) See: Norton

Philanthropy

In words of Shivnath Shastri, Rajendra had all the advantages that wealth and education could give him. See: Shibnath Rajendra dedicated all resources to help his people to live fit and well, with dignity. He studied medicine with this object, and rendered most extraordinary caring service for well-being of the people, irrespective of their class and faith.

Homeopathy
Finishing academic studies, Rajendra opted for medical science to fulfill his cherished ambition to relieve the sufferings of diseased humanity. Rajendra set up at his residence an allopathic dispensary in collaboration with the eminent physician Dr Durgacharan Banerjee. He earned reputation as a allopathic doctor. But he felt not so happy with the results of his allopathic treatment.Rajendra got involved in exploring alternative methods of treatment, and eventually found his answers in homeopathy. In 1864 he opened a charitable homeopathy dispensary, and earned wide reputation as a homeopathic practitioner in Calcutta society. He cured Pundit Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar of his chronic ailment that baffled the leading allopath doctors. He also successfully treated a nasty gangrene developed on a leg of Rajah Radhakanta Deb, and had the rare privilege of attending the God-like personality, Sriramakrishna. The contribution of Rajen Dutta however was not limited to practising homeopathy but mothering the young science in India by promoting its capabilities, and reinforcing the drive for homeopathy by winning over confidence of other practitioners. He pushed up Dr C.F. Tonnere, helped him setting up a Homeopathy Institute. Rajendra also worked with French physician Dr. Thienette de Berigny when he was in Calcutta. It was a memorable day, when at the residence of Pearycharan Sircar, Rajendra had convinced the young Mahendra Lal Sircar, an MD, of the efficacy of Homeopathy by demonstration in presence of Dr Berigny and few students of Calcutta Medical College. See Pearycharan Jibanbritta. Dr Sircar, then a medical star of the Calcutta medical firmament, took to homeopathy under the tutelage of Rajen Dutta. (See: Collection on Carcinosimum/ By Mahender Singh, Jain.2003) During the latter part of his life, taking Dr Berigny with him, Rajendra went round visiting the sick, making no distinction of creed, caste, or rank. Such visits were not just professional, but friendly as well. He would sit by his patients in friendly chat; and arrange for their diet or any other necessities, if needed. As an instance of his caring attention to his patients, we may recall that Rajendra, in one of his visits to ailing Sriramakrishna in April 1886, happened to notice the wretched pair of sandals on his feet and took personal care to get them replaced with a new made-to-order pair. The sandal is now preserved in Belur Math as an object of worship. See Kathamrita
Rajendra Dutta has made a permanent place in history as the father of homeopathy in India. Whatever else he did for the good of his patients remain unexplored.

Hindu Metropolitan College
In 1854, the middle-class sentiment of the Calcutta gentlemen had a shock when Hira Bulbul, a well-known Baiji, wished to get her meritorious son admitted to Hindu College – the elite institution of Western education. Hira Bulbul presumably had some patrons to back her up, and Rajendra, a genuine admirer of her music (See Norton), and a champion of human dignity, could have been the likely sponsor of her move. But, other than his liberal character and his humanitarian principles, which his friend Charles Norton analytically described, nothing whatsoever was found to hold up any possibility of his supporting Hira’s cause. On the contrary, there remains a popular belief that it was Rajendra who really lead the protest movement against Hindu College and broke away with a good number of mainstream Hindu elites to establish the Hindu Metropolitan College. The only reason that might explain his disagreement with Hindu College was perhaps the serious lack of spiritual input for educating their boys.  Today, reviewing the situation with a wider perspective, the episode of Hira Bulbul appeared to be merely an accidental cause for founding the Hindu Metropolitan college in 1853, which was , actually, ‘opened by a knot of orthodox Hindus, as a sort of protest against the laxity displayed in the matter of religious teaching in the older institution.’ (My emphasis) See Life of Indian journalist

The Hindu Metropolitan College, the first national college in Calcutta, opened in the palatial house of Gopal Mullick at Sanduriapatty, with Radhakanta Deb as the President and Debendranath Tagore as the Secretary. Celebrities like Motilal Sheal, Bhudeb Mukhopadhyay, and Rajendra Dutta were among its patrons. The college was fortunate to have Captain David Richardson as its Principal. Rajendra had a major role in setting up the College, and managing its affairs. He also had to shoulder its financial burden as well. Soon it earned reputation as an excellent institution of learning. Several men of eminence had their education here. Keshub Chandra Sen, Sambhu Chandra Mookherjee, Kristodas Pal were among the students of upper class. The college ran for a few years only. The reason of its discontinuation was thought by many as a natural outcome of the shift in the Government policy for admission to Hindu College. The new policy permitted no students other than sons of the Hindu community to get admission to the School section of the Hindu College. The policy of admission to College section however remained unchanged, allowing students of all castes and creeds. As we see today, this policy shift did not affect the senior section, where the final products of the College were groomed, and on whom the reputation of the College largely depended. Since there was no change in College level admission policy, we cannot reasonably guess why then the new policy be considered as the reason for declining importance of the Hindu Metropolitan College and its diminishing relevance to contemporary society. It looks like that the restriction imposed for school-level admission was no more than a compromise that suited both the sides at least for the time being.

Savitri Library

Savitri, a free circulating library was founded in 1879 in the Dutta house at Akrur Dutta Lane. It started with the donated books from the private library of Duttas enriched with contributions of scholarly family members, particularly Rajendra, an acknowledged book lover and book collector. He grew a fine collection out of the books gifted to him, ordered by him, and also received on exchange. (See Bean). His interest had no boundary. Harvard University gratefully acknowledged his gift of precious volumes of oriental literature. One may be pleasantly surprised to find him sending for a copy of Mrs Kirkland’s ‘The book of home beauty’ as early as in 1853.

Rajendra was in his fifties when Savitri started. His two cousins, Gobindalal and Kanailal Dutta, were in the forefront of all activities of the library and its literary and the cultural events conducted under the library banner. Illustrious literary personalities, like Bankimchandra, Chandranath Basu, visited Duttas’ courtyard to preside over the Library foundation day celebrations. Here at a public meeting called by the Swa-Dharma Samity, Rabindranath made his historical announcement on September 17, 1905 of the nationwide observation of Rakhibandhan Day in protest of the Government move for Bengal Partition. See:Basantipur Times

Savitri continued for many more years after Rajendra passed away. When the li-brary was finally closed its collections were donated to Sahitya Parishad.

Women Emancipation
Among other issues, women’s emancipation- ‘women’s rights, the plights of Hindu widows, and the need for women’s education’ –  was one of his chief concerns. The introduction of the sewing machine to Calcutta society in 1853 had been a significant news item in context of social change. The machine got imported for the first time from America by Rajendra Dutta (see: Benoy Ghose). The same year he brought Mrs. Kirkland’s ‘The book of home beauty’. His involvement in the move-ment against polygamy might be deeper than just putting signature on the joint petition, বহুবিবাহ প্রথা নিবারণার্থ আবেদনপত্র, signed by over two thousand citizens. He must not have ever forgotten his suffering of being a father to see his only daughter a child widow. It was expected that he had made some organized effort for the cause of women.
Above everything, Rajendra considered the improvement of the basic character of his people by restoring spirit of goodwill, desire for learning, patriotism, which have been eroded partly as a result of the abuse of foreign dominations, especially under the British rules. Some scholars, who intimately studied the Bengali society of the mid-19th century,  ‘distinguished a lower and higher type of Indian’. The demarcation hinged, not on wealth or even on education as such, but on whether privileged Hindus used their education and intelligence to raise the character of their people. ‘Of those who did, like Rajinder Dutt (sic), there seemed hardly a saving remnant’ See: Turner

A Tragic Hero of Bengal Renaissance

rajedraDutta

Rajendra Dutt. Clay model. Courtesy: Peabody Museum, Salem

Rajendra Dutta, an acknowledged protagonist of social upliftment had fought lifelong for the cause of the common people by democratic means. He continued unendingly with his struggle against social evils, like illiteracy, physical and mental sickness, cultural apathy. His Indianness, his unshaken loyalty to cultural tradition made Rajendra different from his Derozian classmates at Hindu School. He took the gradual path of social change as opposed to the revolutionary path of his Young Bengal friends. We may not however forget that Rajendra Dutta was after all a product of David Drummond, the brilliant teacher who fired his pupils’ mind with the culture of independent thinking. Drummond also had produced Henry Derozio, the fiery patriot who instilled the spirit of liberty, equality and freedom in the minds of his students at Hindu College.
Rajendra did never admit the ‘professed’ Derozians’ arrogant disregard for authority and tradition, as to him those were much too deep-rooted social system to throw out overnight without destroying the society itself. This conviction determined his way of negotiation with the realities of social discriminations and abuses and deprivations of their legitimate right of living useful life in good health with dignity.
It was his dogged fidelity to the tradition and authority that costed his mental peace and happiness in personal life, and even forced him to sacrifice his personal preferences of religious affinity. He had been a defenseless spectator of the bloody rite of animal sacrifice performed in his own house; and a condemned father who had to bless his only daughter marrying under-aged only to get back as a cursed widow-child.

Rajendra had also given up his right of embracing a faith of his choice. As it appears in some letters and journals of his contemporaries, Rajendra had every opportunity to come close to espousing progressive Christian or Brahmo ideologies. In 1854 Rajendra met Reverend Charles Brooks, a Unitarian pastor. Brooks was curious to know why Rajendra had not embraced Unitarianism in spite of so much keenness. Rajendra made it clear that it was because his mother would expect her last right be done by him. Next year, Rev. Charles Dall, the American Unitarian missionary stationed in Calcutta, considered Rajendra as one of the two ‘pioneers in the Unitarian cause’, the other one being Rajnarayan Basu. Rajendra was also closely connected with the Brahmo movement. The harsh comments of the veteran Brahmo, Rakhadas Haldar, that the new Brahmos were no better than Hindus, could not dampen his spirit. The promise of Brahmoism encouraged Rajendra to support Debendranath in Tattvabodhini Sabha. See: Lavan  ‘Dutta expressed his views on religion, in which he assails both Hindu and Christian orthodoxy’ (See Bean )  No matter where he belonged, what he believed, Rajendra pursued religiously his humanitarian labour of love through his life. In his prime time, during mid-19th century, the state of public morals was far from heartening. “The idea of truth seems extinct in the nation, and the higher qualities of the character are developed in very rare and uncertain instances.” Charles Norton, who later in life was regarded ‘the most cultivated man in the US’, wrote “I have seen but one native, whether Hindu, Mussulman, Parsee, or professed Christian, that I respect, — that one is my Calcutta friend, Rajender Dutt.” See Norton
To Norton, Rajendra was a tragic hero as he failed to bring about any lasting effect on the mind-set of his people, and his mission for improving the quality of life of his people and of the society remained a short-lived phase in history. His was a tragedy, because he knew experientially of incorrigible elements of national character, nonetheless never stopped midway, like a Sisyphus.

This is an input for inspiring research

Rabindranath Tagore, Gurudev (1861-1941)

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রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর, কবিগুরু (১৮৬১-১৯৪১)

Rabindranath Thakur, anglicised to Tagore (Bengali: রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর) (7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941), son of religious reformer, Maharshi Debendranath, sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region’s literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its “profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse”,he became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. In translation his poetry was viewed as spiritual and mercurial; his seemingly mesmeric personality, flowing hair, and otherworldly dress earned him a prophet-like reputation in the West. His “elegant prose and magical poetry” remain largely unknown outside Bengal. Tagore introduced new prose and verse forms and the use of colloquial language into Bengali literature. He was highly influential in introducing the best of Indian culture to the West and vice versa, and he is generally regarded as the outstanding creative artist of the modern Indian subcontinent.
As a humanist, universalist internationalist, and strident anti-nationalist he denounced the Raj and advocated independence from Britain. As one of the greatest exponents of the Bengal Renaissance, he advanced a vast canon that comprised paintings, sketches and doodles, hundreds of texts, and some two thousand songs; his legacy endures also in the institution he founded in 1901 an experimental school in rural surroundings at Śantiniketan (“Abode of Peace”), where he sought to blend the best in the Indian and Western traditions. His school, known as Visva-bharati university since 1939, was granted full university status in May 1951.
Tagore modernised Bengali art by spurning rigid classical forms and resisting linguistic strictures. His novels, stories, songs, dance-dramas, and essays spoke to topics political and personal. Gitanjali (Song Offerings), Gora (Fair-Faced), and Ghare-Baire (The Home and the World) are his best-known works, and his verse, short stories, and novels were acclaimed—or panned—for their lyricism, colloquialism, naturalism, and unnatural contemplation. His compositions were chosen by two nations as national anthems: India’s Jana Gana Mana and Bangladesh’s Amar Shonar Bangla. More