Guided
Tour No.2: Chowringhee Road
to Ballygunge Railway Station
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Introduction
This route will take us through the older southern
suburbs, the bastions of the well educated professional middle classes of their
day.
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top
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_____Pictures of 1940s
Calcutta________________________
_____Contemporary
Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___
Park
Street
Park Street,
which branches off No. 30 Chowringhee Road, is the widest and busiest street in
central Calcutta
and presents a very animated appearance. Fashionable in itself, Park
Street gives access to many fashionable
thoroughfares. It dates from 1767 and derives its name from the Park which once
surrounded Sir Elijah Impey's residence,
on which site now stands Loreto House.
The
traffic at the junction of Park
Street and Chowringhee
Road, is regulated by the coloured-light
signal-system. It is interesting to watch the red turbaned "Parawallah" (Traffic
Police Constable) standing calm and collected before the switch-board in the
control-cabin, on the west side of the road, manipulating the signals which
control the heavy traffic passing this point from all directions.
Park
Street boasts of many stately buildings, elaborate motor-car showrooms,
alluring hair-dressing and beauty-saloons, important business houses and
attractive residential quarters.
Entering
Park Street
from Chowringhee, we note odd numbers on the left, even numbers on the right.
At No. 1 is the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, founded in 1784; at No.
17 is the Oxford Book and Stationery Co. and their Lending Library; at No. 19
are housed the District Grand Lodge of Bengal, the Bengal Freemasons'
Trust Association, the Bengal Masonic Association and the
Scottish Masonic Committee for Bengal; at No. 21, is the Olympia Cafe,
Restaurant and Bar (Grecian Bakers, Confectioners and Caterers), alongside is
Park Row giving access to Karnani Mansion, which has a large frontage
to, and an entrance from, Free School Street.
On the
right of the entrance to Park
Street is Hall & Andersen's Departmental
Store, curving round into Russell Street,
which leads to Middleton Street.
[
]
At the
corner of Park Street
and Russell Street
stands that imposing building, Galstaun
Mansion,
having the distinction of being the largest mansion in Calcutta.
[
]
Adjoining
Galstaun Mansion
is Stephen Court,
another stately building, curving round into Middleton Row which leads to Camac
Street.
[
]
Directly
opposite Middleton Row is Free
School Street, at the corner of which stands Park
Mansions, built in 1910 on the site of the erstwhile Doveton
College for Boys. Next is
the Park Street
Post and Telegraph Office and a little higher up Walford Transport Limited's
elaborate Motor Showrooms, the home of the best English and American made
cars. Facing right are the Light Horse Club and Alien Berry
& Co.'s Motor Showrooms extending into Camac
Street, [
]
Returning
to Park Street
and resuming our way, we pass Alien
Gardens on the right and
reach Wood Street,
[
]
Pursuing
our way along the main thoroughfare, we have on the left the town residence of
the Nawab of Murshidabad; next, at No. 87
A, are the offices of Sir Henry
Qidney and the Anglo-Indian and Domiciled European Association
for All-India and Burma. On the right we have St. Xavier's College,
built on the site of the Sans Souci Theatre. It was in this theatre that
Mrs. Esther Leach, the famous
actress, was severely burnt on the 2nd November 1843, due to her dress catching
fire while waiting for her cue: she died after a fortnight.
Adjoining
the College at No. 32 is the Roman Catholic Archbishop's House, and a little
lower down the Seventh Day Adventist Church and Mission School, by the side of
which runs Loudon Street leading across Short Street, Theatre Road and Moira
Street to Lower Circular Road; next comes Rawdon Street running parallel to
Loudon Street. On the left are Park
Lane, the Tiretta
Cemetery and McLeod
Street which leads to Elliott
Road. Mission Cemetery and North Park Street
Cemetery on the left, and South Park Street Cemetery on the right, bring us to
the crossing of Lower Circular Road, from where we enter Park
Street (New).
Proceeding
we have on the left Park Show Cinema, and on the right Karaya Road winding into
Syed Amir Ali Avenue. [
]
Returning
to Park Street
(New) and pursuing our way, we have on the left North
Range. At No. 11/6 North
Range is an Armenian Cemetery and a Chapel built in 1906 and dedicated to St.
Gregory The Illuminator;
services are held here every Sunday evening, also in the mornings and evenings
on Wednesdays and Fridays during Lent; opposite North Range is the Park Circus
Post and Telegraph Office.
Crossing
Mrigendra Lal Mitter Road, we have on the right Jhawtollah Road leading to Syed
Amir Ali Avenue, and on the left ]annagore Road, leading to the junction of
Beniapuker Road and Linton Street. A few yards higher up we come to the point
where Theatre Road
(New) joins Park Street
(New), with Siddiq Mansions on the right and Marina
Garden Court on the left.
Passing
on the left Suhrawardy Avenue extending to Darga Road, the extensive Eastern
Park and Orient Row, and on the right Circus Avenue, Syed Amir Ali Avenue, the
Park Circus Tram Depot, Kimber Street and Congress Exhibition Road, we reach
Bright Street leading past Mayfair Road to Syed Amir Ali Avenue, and
immediately after, arrive at the foot of the Eastern Bengal Railway Bridge, No.
4, which marks the end of Park Street (New).
From
this point Dilkusha Street branches to the right, while Darga Road on the left
leads to Chittaranjan Hospital, in front of the main gate of which
diverge three roads, viz. Gorachand Road running southwards to Jannagore Road,
Tiljala Road leading under No. 4 Bridge to Rifle Road, and Dehi Serampore Road
leading to the junction of Hati Bagan Road and South Road Entally.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 87-91 of John Barry: Calcutta 1940 Calcutta:
Central Press, 1940.)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced
under 'fair dealing' terms as
part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright
remains with John Barry 1940)
THE
ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL
"In
1936 His Majesty King Edward VIII graciously permitted the Society the
privilege of using the title "ROYAL," in recognition of its great
services to India
and to Eastern Literary Research".
The
Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, at No. 1 Park Street, Calcutta, the oldest
literary and scientific Society in the East, was founded in 1784 by Sir William Jones, a Puisne Judge of the
Supreme Court of Calcutta and master of several oriental languages, who became
its first President, with Warren
Hastings, Governor-General of Bengal, as its Patron. Its scope was
defined in the President's first address in words which were paraphrased in the first number of its Journal as
: "The bounds of its investigations will be the geographical limits of
Asia and within these limits its enquiries will be extended to whatever is
performed by man or produced by nature." ,
In its
early years the Society held its meetings in the Grand Jury's room in the
Supreme Court. In 1805, however,
Government sanctioned a free grant of the present site at the corner of Park
Street and Chowringhee Road, and a building, designed by Captain Lock of the
Bengal Engineers, was completed in 1808, the cost being defrayed by the
Society's members. Extensive additions and alterations have since been made, but
the main structure remains essentially the same as in 1808.
One of
the first activities of the Society was the publication of the "Asiatick
Researches". Twenty volumes of this serial were published between 1788 and
1836 when, due to financial difficulties, it ceased to appear. That there was a
distinct demand for the work produced, however, is borne out by the fact that
more than one "pirated" edition was printed.
The
proceedings of the Society's monthly meetings for some time appeared in a
private journal called "Gleanings in Science"; later another private
journal was started under the name of "The Journal of the Asiatic Society
of Bengal". In 1905 the two were
amalgamated as the "Journal and Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,
New Series". At the same time, yet another serial, entitled the
"Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal",
was started for the publication of larger articles or those requiring more
elaborate illustrations.
One of
the most important of the Society's activities is the publication of the
"Bibliotheca Indica", a series of texts in Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic
and other languages. Extensive works like the Persian Akbar Nama, the A'
in-i-Akbari and the Sanskrit Sahitya-Darpana, have been edited and translated
for this series. A particular domain in which these publications have been
eminently useful is Buddhist Sanskrit literature.
The
Society has published, from time to time, miscellaneous works such as
catalogues and dictionaries: one of the most important is Kemp's Catalogue of Scientific
Serial Publications in the Principal Libraries of Calcutta.
The
Society has succeeded in building up a large library of valuable Mss. Its
Persian, Arabic, Turkish and other collections, containing about 5,000 volumes,
the largest and most important in the world, were started by donations and
legacies, and later enriched by the transfer in 1835 of a part of the library
of the College of Fort William : further acquisitions were secured through the
financial assistance of Government, obtained by the enthusiastic activity of
Sir E. Denison Ross.
The
Sanskrit collection contains over 16,000 volumes, among which are beautiful
Buddhist pictures of the seventh and tenth centuries. This collection also owed
many of its early acquisitions to the library of the College
of Fort William, and later additions
have been mainly due to the enlightened policy of the Government of India
and Bengal. There is a small but picturesque
collection of Burmese manuscripts, and a collection of Tibetan xylographs.
The
Library of printed books is particularly rich in scientific and philological
serial publications, including many valuable early sets. Among the important
manuscript drawings is the famous collection of zoological drawings by Buchanan
Hamilton.
It is
not generally known that the Indian
Museum owes its existence
to the Asiatic Society. In 1814 the Society started its own Museum, which grew
to such dimensions that the Society's resources were considerably strained by
its upkeep. With praiseworthy persistence it memorialised Gvernment on the
necessity for a subsidized National
Museum, until it gained
its point in 1862. The Indian
Museum Act was passed in
1866 and the Archaeological and Zoological collections were transferred to the
new Board of Trustees, in consideration of which the Society received Rs.
1,50,000.
Though
theMedicaland Physical Society was founded by John Adam and James Hare as early
as 1823, the Medical Section was not started till 1906, with F. P. Maynard as
its first Secretary. On the formation of the Calcutta
School of Tropical
Medicine, however, the Society, realising that its extensive collection of
Medical periodicals would be more valuable for research purposes in that
Institution, generously consented to its transfer.
The
Society fostered the formation of the Indian Science Congress in 1914. This is
a peripatetic institution, meeting annually in different centres of scentific
activity in India.
The Asiatic Society is responsible both for the management of the work of the
Congress, when not in session, and for the publication of its
"Proceedings".
The
Society's rooms are adorned by many works of art. In the centre of the meeting
room is a marble bust by H. Weekes of the founder, Sir William Jones, and a
portrait of him as a boy by Sir Joshua Reynolds. This and many other paintings
form part of the Home bequest, presented by Brigadier and Colonel Home in
memory of their father, Robert Home, portrait painter to the King of Oudh, and
from 1802 to 1804 Secretary of the Society. Among these are : "The Death of
Cleopatra", by Guido, "The Farmer's Household", by G. S.
Morland, "A Cupid", by Sir Joshua Reynolds, a full-length portrait of
Warren Hastings by Tilly Kettle, "Antwerp Cathedral", by Steinwich
the elder, and "The Two Daniells" and "James Hare", both by
Robert Home himself. A portrait of John Adam by C. Beechy hangs on the
staircase. The marble busts include two beautiful ones by Sir Francis
Chantreyof W.H. Mill, the author of that remarkable Sanskrit work,
"Christa-Sangita", and of H. H. Wilson, for many years Secretary of
the Society and afterwards first Boden Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford.
Other marble busts in the meeting room are of H.T. Colebrooke, (by H. Weekes),
for ten years President of the Society and afterwards the founder of the Royal
Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; of B. H. Hodgson (by
Thornycroft), a prolific contributor to the Society's publications and Mss.
collections; of T. Oldham (by Geflowiski), the first Superintendent of the
Geological Survey of India and three times President of the Society;
of F.
Stoliczka (by Geflowiski), palaeontologist of the Geological Survey and the
Society's Natural History Secretary; and of H. Blochmann (by E. R. Mullins),
the translator of the A'in-I-Akbari and for ten years Philological Secretary.
At the
top of the staircase there is a beautiful bronze bust of Czoma de Koros, the
pioneer of Tibetan scholarship, and one of Sir Ashutosh Mukerjee (by H. I.
Youngman), who guided the Society's destinies for many years. On the landing is
the famous edict of Asoka ( about 250 B. C. ), the Pali characters of which
were deciphered by James Prinsep, whose marble bust by H. Weekes is very
appropriately placed here. Another
exhibit of great interest on the landing is the cabinet of the Society's copper
plates, the inscriptions of which have been so valuable in the study of early
Indian history.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 100-105 of John Barry: Calcutta 1940 Calcutta:
Central Press, 1940.)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under
'fair dealing' terms as part of
a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with John Barry 1940)
THE
ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY
THE
ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY : The oldest literary and scientific society in the East,
housed at No.1 Park Street,
was founded in 1781 by Sir William Jones, the great Orientalist. A
"discussion meeting" is frequently held in the Society's hall, when
popular lectures on different aspects of Indian life and culture are delivered
by competent speakers. Members of the Allied Armed Forces are specially
welcome.
(source: A Guide Book to Calcutta,
Agra, Delhi, Karachi
and Bombay The
American Red Cross and the China-Burma-India-Command. [1943]: at:
http://cbi-theater-2.home.comcast.net/redcross/red-cross-india.html#INDIA)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced
under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non
commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with the
original submitter/author)
ST.
XAVIER'S COLLEGE
Centrally
situated at No. 30 Park Street,
in one of Calcutta's
most important thoroughfares, this well-known Catholic educational institution
has traditions and great achievements stretching back well over a century. The
aim of this Institution, under the able direction of the Society of Jesus, is
to give a liberal education to the youth of the country, irrespective of
religion. Special attention is paid to the moulding of character and the
inculcation of a civic sense, in order to prepare them for their various duties
in life.
The
earlier St. Xavier's College was founded on June 1st 1835, in Portuguese
Church Street, by the English Jesuits, the number of
pupils oscillating between 80 and 100. Three years later the College was
removed to a rented house at No. 3
Park Street and in January 1841 to No.
22 Chowringhee Road, the roll then being 153. By
1843 this number had risen to over 300, necessitating the erection of
additional school-rooms, which were opened on the 22nd January 1844.
In 1843,
at the insistence of Babu Motilal Seal, a wealthy Indian merchant, the Jesuit
Fathers took over the management of the Seal
College, then at 60
Colootolah Street. This, however, proved disastrous
and led to their leaving India
in 1846.
After
the departure of the Jesuits, St. John's College at Entally, which was founded
by Archbishop Carew in 1844, became the centre of Catholic education, and in about 1849, this College was
removed to No. 10 Park Street, the erstwhile premises of the Sans Souci
Theatre, purchased for the purpose. The College, however, was not a success
and, on the death of Archbishop Carew, closed its doors in 1855. Archbishop
Olliffe, the successor of Archbishop Carew, anxious to save Catholic education
from an untimely death, tried his utmost to persuade the English Jesuits to
return to India.
Proving unsuccessful, he appealed to the Belgian Jesuits, who responded nobly to the call, landed in India
on the 28th November 1859 and opened the doors of the present St. Xavier's
College on the 16th January
1860.
In 1862
the College was affiliated to the Calcutta
University and in 1867 the
B. A. Course commenced: later the B. Sc., ( Pass and Honours ) and the B. A.
(Honours) Courses were introduced, and recently B. T. Classes have been added.
In
February 1868, No. 11 Park Street,
with the adjoining grounds, was acquired, and by 1869 the College roll had
risen to over 500. In 1875 an Observatory was erected at a cost of Rs. 28,000.
1887 saw the start of the College Library : 1880, the construction of a
gymnasium:1886, the inauguration of the Entrance Literary Society: and 1906,
the erection of new science halls at a cost of Rs. 48,000.
The
Crohan building, to house the school classes, was completed in 1915 at a cost
of Rs. 1,06,000 and the Hindu Hostel at 219/1
Lower Circular Road was opened in 1919. Until quite recently the College boasted of
a magnificent old facade; this was demolished in 1931 and in its place now
stands a modern four-storeyed structure containing large lecture halls, well-equipped
laboratories and an up-to-date theatre for dramatic performances and
synchronised film productions.
The
College maintains a platoon of cadets attached to the Calcutta
University Training Corps.
Several
scholarships are awarded, the chief among them being the Power, Lafont and
O'Neill Scholarships and the Gold and Silver medals for Physical Science,
English Essay and Religious Knowledge.
The very
capable staff of the College, comprised mostly of Jesuit Fathers, are
responsible for the high percentage of successes in the University Examinations,
while in games, aquatic and athletic pursuits the Institution has an enviable
reputation.
The
ever-increasing popularity of the College is evidenced by the fact that, from a
mere 83 pupils in 1860, the roll has now risen to well over 2,000.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 95-97 of John Barry: Calcutta 1940 Calcutta:
Central Press, 1940.)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced
under 'fair dealing' terms as
part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright
remains with John Barry 1940)
Russell
Street
In Russell
Street, on the right, is the rear entrance of the
Bengal Club; lower down at No. 5, are the General Offices of the National
Council and Publishing House of the Y. M. C. A. of India,
Burma and Ceylon,
and the meeting-rooms of the Christian Fellowship Centre. This building
was the Anglican Episcopal Palace from 1826 to 1846, and during this period was
occupied successively by Bishops Heber,
James, Turner and Wilson. On the left of the thoroughfare are the
offices of the Royal Calcutta Turf Club, The
Refrigerators (India)
Ltd., Sutton & Sons Ltd., and Staynor & Co.'s Branch Auctioneering
Rooms.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 87 of John Barry: Calcutta 1940 Calcutta:
Central Press, 1940.)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced
under 'fair dealing' terms as
part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright
remains with John Barry 1940)
Galstaun
Mansion
At the
corner of Park Street
and Russell Street
stands that imposing building, Galstaun
Mansion, having the distinction of
being the largest mansion in Calcutta.
It was built for Mr. J. C. Galstaun, landholder, merchant and well-known
sportsman. Designed by Martin & Co. the foundation stone was laid in 1920
and the structure, of modern architecture, completed in 1923 at a cost of Rs.
65 lakhs. The upper floors are let as
residential flats, while the ground floor is occupied by business houses,
including the Imperial Bank of India
(Park Street
Branch). It has a large frontage on both Park and Russell Streets, and from its
roof splendid views of Calcutta
and the river beyond can be obtained.
The
southern wing of this mansion covers the site of the house built by Chief
Justice Sir Henry Russell in about 1798; it was in this house that the
beautiful Rose Alymer died on the 2nd March 1800, at the tender age of twenty.
She was buried in the South
Park Street
Cemetery, and is
immortalised in the following verses by that strange genius, Walter Savage
Landor :
"Ah,
what avails the sceptred race?
Ah, what
the form divine?
What
every virtue, every grace?
Rose
Alymer, all were thine.
Rose
Alymer, whom these wakeful eyes
May
weep, but never see,
A night
of memories and sighs
I
consecrate to thee."
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 87 of John Barry: Calcutta 1940 Calcutta:
Central Press, 1940.)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced
under 'fair dealing' terms as
part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright
remains with John Barry 1940)
THE
ARMENIAN COLLEGE
This
Institution was founded in 1821, under the name of the Armenian
Philanthropic Academy,
by Messrs Astwasatoor Mooradkhan and Manatsakan Varden, who are appropriately
commemorated by marble tablets in the College portico.
In 1825,
the Aratoon Koloos
School, which was established in 1798
was incorporated with the College and in 1871 the College was affliated to the Calcutta
University for the Entrance
Examination, and recently to the Cambridge
University for the Senior Cambridge
Examination. In 1883 the College was removed from Old China
Bazar
Street to No.
56 Free School Street, and in 1889, in order to meet
the educational requirements of the period College Classes were started for
preparing boys for this First Arts and the higher Examinations of the Calcutta
University. It was then
that the Institution came to be known as the Armenian
College: these Classes
were however, discontinued in 1891.
The
College boys participate in all athletic game and pursuits, including boxing,
and have earned a good reputation for themselves in the field of sport.
A marble
tablet at the College main gate in 56
Free School Street, records that the famous
novelist, William Makepeace Thackeray,
was born in this building on the 18th July 1811.
At the
south-east corner of the compound stands the College swimming bath. A marble
tablet inside bear the inscription :
"Erected
and Presented to his Alma Mater by P. H. Crete, esq. For the use of the
students of the Armenian
College, 1930.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
page 133 of John Barry: Calcutta 1940 Calcutta:
Central Press, 1940.)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced
under 'fair dealing' terms as
part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright
remains with John Barry 1940)
Middleton
Row
At No. 1
Middleton Row is Gallway House (Y. W. C. A. Hostel), the foundation
stone of which was laid in 1925 by the Countess of Lytton. No. 4, is the Birkmyre Hostel and Club, No. 7,
Loreto House and St. Thomas'
Roman Catholic Church. This Church is one of the most popular in Calcutta,
and its services, especially on Sundays, are invariably well attended.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 88 of John Barry: Calcutta 1940 Calcutta:
Central Press, 1940.)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced
under 'fair dealing' terms as
part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright
remains with John Barry 1940)
LORETO
HOUSE
( AT NO.
7 MIDDLETON ROW )
This is
another Catholic educational Institution. It was founded in 1842 under the direction of the Loreto
Sisters, with the primary object of imparting to Catholic girls a religious and
moral training, in addition to all branches of secular knowledge. (Children of
other denominations are also admitted.)
The
building, a commodious three-storeyed structure, set in spacious grounds, is
erected on the site of the Garden House of Henry Vansittart, Governor of Bengal, 1760-1764, which house was
occupied by Sir Elijah Impey, the
first Chief Justice of Calcutta,
1774-1782.
There
are four departments in the Institution, namely, a College Department, a
Teachers' Training Department, a School Department and a Kindergarten
Department, which is conducted along the lines of the National Froebel Union
for Kindergarten teachers.
The
College Department has been associated with the Calcutta
University since 1889. In
1913 it was affiliated to the I. A. and L. T.,
in 1921 to the B. A., in 1925 to English Honours and in 1938 to the B. T.
classes.
The
Institution has a well-stocked Library, social and sports clubs, tennis courts,
and basketball grounds.
The
College is staffed with religious and secular professors, holding British and
Indian degrees, and the examination results are very satisfactory.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
page 98 of John Barry: Calcutta 1940 Calcutta:
Central Press, 1940.)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced
under 'fair dealing' terms as
part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright
remains with John Barry 1940)
Camac
Street
Camac
Street which runs southwards and joins Lower
Circular Road in front of Galstaun
Park. Down Camac
Street, on the right, is Middleton Row and a few
steps farther on, at No. 2, the offices of the Consul General for Italy.
Lower down is Middleton Street,
leading to Chowringhee Road,
and nearly opposite, Short Street
leading across Wood Street
and Loudon Street
to Rawdon Street.
At the corner of Camac Street
and Short Street
is the Society for the Protection of Children in India:
(Hours for interviews from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily, and by appointment);
farther on (right) is Harrington
Street leading to Chowringhee
Road.
We have
now reached the point where Camac
Street and Theatre
Road bisect each other. Proceeding along Camac
Street, we note on the left Albert
Road leading past Victoria
Square to Hungerford
Street. Pretoria
Street, leading from Theatre
Road to Lower
Circular Road on the right and Victoria Terrace,
leading to Hungerford Street
on the left, mark the end of this thoroughfare.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 89 of John Barry: Calcutta 1940 Calcutta:
Central Press, 1940.)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced
under 'fair dealing' terms as
part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright
remains with John Barry 1940)
Wood
Street
Returning
to Park Street
and resuming our way, we pass Alien
Gardens on the right and
reach Wood Street,
tenanted mostly by members of the medical profession. At No. 1, are the offices
of the European and Anglo-Indian Family Benefit Fund; at No. 7, the
Saturday Club, [
]; at Nos. 13, 14 and 15 are the offices of the
Survey-General of India;
facing Wood Street
is Wellesley Street.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 89-90 of John Barry: Calcutta 1940 Calcutta:
Central Press, 1940.)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced
under 'fair dealing' terms as
part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright
remains with John Barry 1940)
Saturday
Club
at No. 7
[Wood Street],
the Saturday Club, founded in 1875 : it now has about 1,500 members. The
Club is in the nature of a social one, with amenities for swimming, dancing,
tennis, squash-rackets, etc.; at Nos. 13, 14 and 15 are the offices of the
Survey-General of India;
facing Wood Street
is Wellesley Street.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 89-90 of John Barry: Calcutta 1940 Calcutta:
Central Press, 1940.)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced
under 'fair dealing' terms as
part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains
with John Barry 1940)
PARK
STREET CEMETERIES
At the
southern end of Park Street,
at its junction with Lower
Circular Road, are the old Calcutta Park Street
Cemeteries where, under massive brick and plaster memorials, lie the remains of
many great personages associated with the early history of Calcutta.
Names famous in verse and legend adorn the crumbling graves and vividly
resuscitate for us the glories of Old Calcutta,
of Warren Hastings, of French Privateers and of gay mid-Victorian Cavaliers. These
cemeteries are four in number :
Tiretta
or French CemeteryOpened in 1786 for the reburial of the young wife
of Edward Tiretta, an Italian
who rose to the position of Superintendent of Streets and Buildings. In this
cemetery are also buried Mark Mutty, the Venetian, the renowned Vicomtesse
Adeline de Facieu and Roman Catholics of those early days.
Mission
CemeteryOpened
in 1773. Among those buried here are Richard Burney, and the Rev. J. Z.
Kiernander, the first Protestant Missionary to Bengal, who built in 1770, at
his own expense, the Beth Tophilla (House of Prayer), now the Old
Mission Church.
North
Park Street CemeteryOpened in 1791. Here lie the remains
of Thomas Henry Graham, killed in action in an affray between the East India
Company's ship "Kent"
and a French privateer in 1800 ; Richard Thackeray, the novelist's father; and
William Jones, founder of Bishop's College, now Sibpur
Engineering College.
South
Park Street
CemeteryOpened
in 1767. Here a mammoth obelisk marks the grave of Sir William Jones, founder
and first President of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
A fluted column, inset with a black marble slab, marks the last resting place
of Rose Aylmer, immortalised in verse by that strange genius, Walter Savage
Landor (P. 88). Here are also buried Captain Mackay, whose narrative of
shipwreck inspired that of Byron's in "Don Juan"; General Clavering;
Major-General Stuart; Colonel and Lady Monson; Colonel Kyd, founder and first
President of the Botanical Gardens; Sir Elijah Impey; Henry Vansittart,
Governor of Bengal, 1760-64; Edward Wheler, and Captain Edward Cook, son of the
famous navigator. As Commandant of H.M.Ship "La Sybille", Captain
Cook engaged the heavily armed French frigate "La Porte",
and captured it on the 1st March 1799; he was wounded in action and
died on the 23rd May 1799, at the age of 26: a memorial tablet in Westminster
Abbey records his great services to the Empire.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 98-99 of John Barry: Calcutta 1940 Calcutta:
Central Press, 1940.)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced
under 'fair dealing' terms as
part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains
with John Barry 1940)
_____Memories
of 1940s Calcutta_______________________
No
photos of Park Street.
Why?
You
said, "There are no photos of Park
Street. Why? Probably for two reasons. First, I just
wasn't aware of it. It was more distant from the Esplanade where the tram from
Kidderpore let us off. That meant it was a further walk and I really wasn't
aware of what it had to offer. I rarely got down that end of the Maidan, for my
primary interest was in the river area. It, too, may have been in the
"off-limits" to American personnel in Calcutta.
It could have been, too, that they didn't want any rowdy American troops
disrupting the peace of Park Street.
I just don't know.
Glenn
Hensley, Photography Technician with US Army Airforce, Summer 1944
(source: a series of E-Mail
interviews with Glenn Hensley between 12th June 2001 and 28th
August 2001)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced
by permission of Glenn Hensley)
Park
Street
"My
favourite shop was Mrs E. Wood, which then stretched from Peter Cat to Flury's.
It was a young girl's dream shop - lovely dolls, clothes ... and even a doll's
hospital where we took all our dolls for treatment.
I also
remember Mr Flury and Mr Trinca, the two Swiss gentlemen who owned a tearoom
called Flury's & Trinca's, located where Flury's stands today. As children
we were told that Mr Flury ran away with Mrs Trinca - or was it the other way
around - and the partnership split. Mr Trinca moved his confectionery to where
Ming Room now stands.
Then
there was an Englishman, Mr Murray, who was one of the finest milliners in the
world. His hats were sold at Sybil, a shop located bang opposite Sky Room.
I will
never forget how we used to hire bicycles for an-anna-an-hour from Royd
Street and cycle up and down Park
Street, finally treating ourselves to the best ice
cream in town from Magnolia's. Though Park
Street has changed so much, it will always be my
favourite street since it is Calcutta's
heartbeat!"
Nilima
Dutta, Calcutta.
1930-40s
(source: Barry O'Brien:
Nostalgic - Park Street
by email from "Roger Storey" <yerots@sbcglobal.net Mon, 23 Jun
2003 17:12:02)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced
under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research
project. The copyright remains with Barry O'Brien)
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Karaya
Road
Proceeding
we have on the left Park Show Cinema, and on the right Karaya Road winding into
Syed Amir Ali Avenue. In Karaya
Road, on the right, is Acre
Road and directly opposite it, the Scottish
Cemetery. Crossing Theatre
Road (New) we note Lower Range leading to Ahiripukur Road; we next cross Circus
Avenue, then Beck Bagan Row and reach the point where the thoroughfare takes a
sharp curve eastwards and joins Syed Amir Ali Avenue.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 91 of John Barry: Calcutta 1940 Calcutta:
Central Press, 1940.)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced
under 'fair dealing' terms as
part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright
remains with John Barry 1940)
Circus
Avenue
Retracing
our steps to Circus Avenue, and assuming we enter it from its junction with
Lower Circular Road, we will have on the left West Range, directly opposite
which is the Park Circus Telephone Exchange. Crossing
Lower Range
and then Karaya Road,
we note Nasiruddin Road
(right) leading to Syed Amir Ali
Avenue, and a little higher up, we cross Jhawtollah
Road. Park
Court ( right ) and Siddiq Mansions ( left ) facing
each other, bring us to the end of Circus
Avenue, [
]
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 91 of John Barry: Calcutta 1940 Calcutta:
Central Press, 1940.)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced
under 'fair dealing' terms as
part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright
remains with John Barry 1940)
Syed
Amir Ali Avenue
and
turning right, we find ourselves in Syed
Amir Ali Avenue, odd numbers on the left even
numbers on the right. Park Court
begins the thoroughfare on the right, and a little lower down is Nasiruddin
Road facing Congress
Exhibition Road.
Farther down is Jhawtollah
Road, a section of which mysteriously finds its way
across the Avenue: directly opposite Jhawtollah
Road is Dilkusha
Street winding into Rifle
Road. Passing the Calcutta Electric Supply
Corporation's Store Depot, we cross Beck Bagan Row and reach Karaya Road;
higher up (left) we pass the mysterious section of Jhawtollah Road and
immediately after, Bright Street giving access to Mayfair Road, which leads to
Palm Avenue. Ballygunge Park Road on the left and Ballygunge Store Road on the
right, mark the end of Syed Amir Ali Avenue,
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 91 of John Barry: Calcutta 1940 Calcutta:
Central Press, 1940.)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced
under 'fair dealing' terms as
part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright
remains with John Barry 1940)
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Old
Ballygunge Road
and we
step into Old Ballygunge Road.
Proceeding, we pass Ballygunge Park (left), Sunny Park (right), Ironside Road
(left), Queen's Park (right) and come to the point where six roads radiate:
these are, Bondel Road and Broad Street on the left, both leading to Rifle Road
; Hazra Road leading to Kalighat Bridge; Old Ballygunge Road leading to Syed
Amir Ali Avenue; Gariahat Road following a southerly direction to the Dhakuria
Lakes, and Ballygunge Circular Road leading to Lower Circular Road.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 91-92 of John Barry: Calcutta 1940 Calcutta:
Central Press, 1940.)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced
under 'fair dealing' terms as
part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright
remains with John Barry 1940)
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Ballygunge
Circular Road
Assuming
we enter Ballygunge Circular Road
from Lower Circular Road,
we will then have No. 1 on the right and No. 64 on the left. A short distance
from the entrance (left) is the Headquarters of the Boy Scouts First
Association, Calcutta.
On the right, at No. 1, is the United Missionary Training College,
founded in 1910 for the training of Indian Women teachers, and a few steps
farther on is Rowland Road leading to Lansdowne Road.
We now
face Bathgate & Co's dispensary; at this point Ballygunge
Store Road branches off to the left and forms a
triangle with Ballygunge Circular
Road and Ballygunge maidan in the rear : the space
thus enclosed is known as Rainey
Park. At No.
2 Store Road, is the Pasteur Institute (Calcutta
School of Tropical
Medicine), where hydrophobia cases are treated.
Patients are attended to from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, including Sundays and
holidays.
Continuing
our way along Ballygunge Circular
Road, we pass Mullen
Street leading to Lansdowne
Road, and come to the entrances of Lovelock
Place and Lovelock
Street. A little higher up is Puddapukur
Road leading to Ashutosh
Mukerjee Road, and a short distance farther up, David
Hare Training
College and then Ritchie
Road leading to Hazra
Road. The thoroughfare now takes a sharp curve to
the left and brings us to the newly-erected St. Lawrence School for Boys; on the
left is Tripura House, the
palatial residence of the Maharajah of Tripura: facing Tripura House is Dover
Road. Passing
Dover Park
and then Deodar Street
leading to Hazra Road,
we reach The Calcutta
University Science
College for the study of
Anthropology, Botany and Zoology.
The
Calcutta Corporation Vaccine Depot (right) and the Ballygunge Police Outpost
(left) bring us to the end of Ballygunge Circular Road, whence we pass into
Gariahat Road.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 92-93 of John Barry: Calcutta 1940 Calcutta:
Central Press, 1940.)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced
under 'fair dealing' terms as
part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright
remains with John Barry 1940)
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Gariahat
Road
Continuing,
we have on the left Merlin Park,
then Rustomji Street,
and on the right Garcha Road
leading to Hazra Road;
farther on (left) is the thoroughfare styled Mandeville
Gardens, leading past Swinhoe
Street to Ekdalia
Road. Passing Nundy Street, Dover Lane, Hindustan
Road and the Imperial Bank of India
(Ballygunge Branch) on our right, we reach the intersection of Gariahat
Road and Rash
Behari Avenue.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 93 of John Barry: Calcutta 1940 Calcutta:
Central Press, 1940.)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced
under 'fair dealing' terms as
part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright
remains with John Barry 1940)
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Rash
Behari Avenue
Proceeding
along Rash Behari Avenue, we note on the right, the Bank of Commerce
(Ballygunge Branch), Aleya Cinema and Fern
Road, and on the left Cornfield
Road leading to Swinhoe
Street. At
this point Rash Behari Avenue
crosses Ekdalia Road,
which leads to Ballygunge Station
Road and Ballygunge Railway Station.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 93 of John Barry: Calcutta 1940 Calcutta:
Central Press, 1940.)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced
under 'fair dealing' terms as
part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright
remains with John Barry 1940)
_____Memories
of 1940s Calcutta_______________________
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