Calcutta 2
Nawab Siraj-ud-daulah
the last independent Nawab of Bengal was betrayed in the Battle of Plassey
by Mir Jaffar, his confidante and commander
of his forces. The Nawab lost the Subah and the British
took over the charge of Bengal in 1757, and installed Mir Jafar on the Masnad ...
that is the throne.
The end of the reign of Nawabs of Bengal was the jump-start of the rule of British East India Company under Robert Clive. But then in retrospect we could say that it was in fact the cornerstone of the dominion of the British Empire spread across all of South Asia.
Though forces of the East India Company were triumphant, the British were panic stricken at the near loss of their trade base. Fear made them rebuild a better, unassailable and fortified Fort William.
Most forts are on a concept of a plateau, like Golconda Fort, Gwalior Fort and more. For the resurgent Fort William the British engineers took advantage of the lay of the land which was like a saucer, with high ground on five sides and river on three. Fort William came to be set in a bowl with 15 metre wide moat that could be filled with water through sluice gates from the river and has six Gates called –
With just 23 hours of extra time we could only stretch time that much and no more. There was so much to do and so much to see. The small but beautiful St Peter’s Church is , now a library, Kitchener House, Dalhousie Barracks and the Time and ball tower are some of the important heritage buildings within Fort William.
The Dalhousie Barracks
is a huge 4 storey structure that can house an entire infantry battalion with
weapons and equipment.
These ‘towers’ are a part of
a complete Victorian telegraph system, likes of which are seen in England &
Scotland. We saw one of the best conserved Semaphore tower on London Orbital
Motorway on our way to visit friends in Surrey.
The Governor General and
first Viceroy of India took his official residence in a palatial building on
the banks of the Hooghly at Barrack pore, which I was told was more than an
hour’s drive from where we were.
Many a story I had read about
the dark haired beautiful, Vicereine Charlotte Canning, and her love for India. Charlotte wrote in her diary, ‘Here we are! Really in India! It feels like a dream….I am quite
charmed by it.’ She was
described in the Indian press, as ‘a
beauty, an artist and an eminent botanist‘.
Intrigued
we were, when asked to try a Bengal sweet. Lediken. A confectioner called
Bhim Nag to christen it after Lady Kenny. It is a dessert made using chenna, in a cylindrical
shape and reddish brown in colour quite akin to its famous cousin from North -
the 'Gulab Jamun’.
The Kitchener House
It came to
be known as ‘Kitchener House’ after Field Marshal Horatio Herbert
Kitchener, the 1st Earl Kitchener, occupied this house between 1902 and 1909.
When he came to India, he was already famous as Lord Kitchener of
Khartoum and an island on the Nile is also named after him. He was one of the
most celebrated officers to have taken over as commander in chief.
Tall doors lead on to a 26 seater Dining Hall and
a lounge with an ornate mantle. Actually
in the colonial times the ladies would withdraw to this room leaving the men to
discuss matters of state, politics and Crown with their brandy snifters. This
room was the ‘Withdrawing Room’, now commonly called the ‘Drawing Room’. Once
upon a time these rooms would have heard the swish of the Crinoline skirts
alighting from horse driven carriages escorted by officers in opulent mess
dress complete with swords and silver spurs for an official reception at the
Commander in Chiefs House.
Today the Kitchener House is the Officers Mess and Crinoline hoops are replaced by Silks and Chiffon's…. For the officers the mess ceremonials remain similar.
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| Fort William |
What most of us do not know is that there were
actually two Fort Williams in British Calcutta. The old and the new Fort
William named in honour of the King of England
 |
| Sir Charles Eyre started Building Fort William 1696 |
The Old Fort dates back to the very early days
of the British rule in Kolkata, under Sir Charles Eyre who began the
construction in 1696 for the British East India Company. It was carried on by
John Beard to completion by 1706. The site of
old Fort William was located at the present GPO, the Eastern Railway Office,
Custom House and the Government Office complexes on the banks of river Hooghly.
Interestingly, though built for defense, there was no moat around this fort.
Consequently, the defences of
the fort crumbled and could not take on the attacks of Nawab Siraj-Ud-daula
forces in 1756 in the Battle of Plassey .The Nawabs
of Bengal had served as the rulers of the Subah of Bengal for decades, probably
at the pleasure of the Mughal Empire.
 |
| East India Company - The Battle of Plassey |
The end of the reign of Nawabs of Bengal was the jump-start of the rule of British East India Company under Robert Clive. But then in retrospect we could say that it was in fact the cornerstone of the dominion of the British Empire spread across all of South Asia.
Though forces of the East India Company were triumphant, the British were panic stricken at the near loss of their trade base. Fear made them rebuild a better, unassailable and fortified Fort William.
Most forts are on a concept of a plateau, like Golconda Fort, Gwalior Fort and more. For the resurgent Fort William the British engineers took advantage of the lay of the land which was like a saucer, with high ground on five sides and river on three. Fort William came to be set in a bowl with 15 metre wide moat that could be filled with water through sluice gates from the river and has six Gates called –
·
Chowringhee Gate, also known as Royal Gate. Faces
the temple of Chowringhee Baba.
·
Plassey Gate, housed the Regimental Garrison Officers Mess
·
Calcutta Gate was Government offices and Bengal
HQ.
·
Water Gate
faces the river and called the Paani Dwar. It is also gate for Princep Ghats.
The Esplanade was in the control of the Company.
·
St Georges Gate, located in Hastings, also called
the Coolie Darwaza as it faced Coolie Bazaar and settlement of Coolies. Two
residences on top of this gate were for senior officers.
·
Treasury Gate was known as Pyasa Darwaza owing to
the proximity to ‘Havildar reservoirs’. Above the gate was the Commander in Chiefs
residence. Though today it is the Officers Mess.
The East India Company built it at for around
of 2 million sterling pounds. The 180 acres of structure of the fort was
completed by 1770 as an asymmetrical octagonal shape, three sides of which faced
the river front.
The new fort was well protected with revolving artillery guns on the ramparts to meet any attack. The fort also housed the garrison strength of 1000 soldiers, weapons and equipment sent by the Crown. Fort William became the hub of ‘Company Bahadur’ as EIC was commonly known as.
The new fort was well protected with revolving artillery guns on the ramparts to meet any attack. The fort also housed the garrison strength of 1000 soldiers, weapons and equipment sent by the Crown. Fort William became the hub of ‘Company Bahadur’ as EIC was commonly known as.
It
is a compact fort, well defended and is said to be the only fort in the world
which has never been besieged
With just 23 hours of extra time we could only stretch time that much and no more. There was so much to do and so much to see. The small but beautiful St Peter’s Church is , now a library, Kitchener House, Dalhousie Barracks and the Time and ball tower are some of the important heritage buildings within Fort William.
The Granary
Lord Warren Hastings built a huge granary for rations and food grains for use during famine besides
storing ration, The Granary Barracks constructed
, could store 19,03,525 kgs of rice and 7,46,585 kgs of paddy for use during
famine. Though, the Granary was used as a prison in later years.
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| The Granary |
Inconspicuously hidden away within
the ramparts of Fort William in Calcutta is a tiny cell in these famed
Dalhousie Barracks that is honoured by officers and troops alike. One of these
cells has long been known as the 'Netaji Cell'. Maybe here lies a part of unexplored history that
may be linked to the disappearance of
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Though it could not be confirmed as to when he was imprisoned there but Netaji's niece
Chitra Bose did confirm that he was
there for one or two days before being shifted .
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| The Dalhousie Barracks
The
Time and Bell Tower
|
Peculiar turret like
structure is part of a characteristic landscape of pastoral Bengal. Many a
times you see the villagers make their way through agricultural fields, past
chimney like unique structures. These are not a chimney of the brick kilns nor
are they a watch tower used to keep an eye on Bargi‘s, the invading Maratha.
The locals have fascinating stories about these towers and are referred as
‘Girje’.
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| Tower in Surrey |
Semaphore was introduced in
India by the British during 1816 – 1830 when series of towers were planned
between Calcutta Fort William and Chunar Fort of Varanasi. This line it is said,
contained 70 – 80 feet high towers at an interval of 8 miles that is 13 Km. The
main operating station would be of course at Fort William at Calcutta
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| Tower in Fort William |
Some you may have seen or at
the least heard of this ‘Time and Bell Tower’ at Fort William. It was a 100
feet tower built in 1824 at a strategic point to provide Semaphore signalling
to ships passing by. Much later in 1881, the Calcutta Commissioner installed a
huge Ball on it as a time piece for shipping. It would be raised at 12:55 hours
and lowered at 13:00 hours daily to indicate the correct time. From then it is
known as the Ball tower.
The
Royal Peerage in Calcutta
With the rise of British trade in Bengal and
military in Fort William as the symbol of fortified strength, there came to be the
power sway of the two Earls. However there is an appropriate Hungarian proverb
that says, ‘Two sharp swords cannot be contained in one sheath’. Nonetheless
they had to be contained, thus dual sovereignty of power was separated at this decisive juncture in the colonial history.
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| The Viceregal Lodge i Barrackpor |
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| Lady Charlotte Canning |
Lady Canning was the daughter of the British
Ambassador in Paris and was Lady-in waiting to the Queen. She married Charles
Canning, The Viscount of Canning who was to be appointed the new
Governor-General of India. Sadly, Charlotte died in India, in her
husband’s arms on the eve of their departure back to Britain. Charlotte was
buried in the grounds of Barrackpore. Lord Canning was heartbroken and he too
passed away soon after.
Today a statue of Lord Canning on a horse
seems to stand guarding the grave of Lady Canning.
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| The Statue of Lord Canning guarding the grave of his wife |
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| Lediken |
The Kitchener House
Coming to the second Earl, he took over as the Commander
in chief of the British Indian Army with his official residence in Fort
William. The Kitchener House is located on the ramparts of Fort William over
the Treasury gate.
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| Entrance Mnoo in silhouette |
In 1911, after the capital shifted to Delhi,
Kitchener House became the officers' mess of the Bengal Presidency. The
Kitchener House is now the officers' mess for the Headquarters of the Eastern
Army Command.
The drive up to the Kitchener House has a feel of
hill terrain opening on to a wide Portico and colonnades. This
residence is an architectural marvel that combines the Gothic and Georgian
styles. A sweep of the eye catches an elegant deep set verandah in Indo
Colonial interiors furnishings and burnished brass, carryover of the British
Raj. In one corner, highlighted in evening glow stands a paradox to this very Colonial
setting. a very life like Rikshawallah pulling his rikshaw, an archaic relic of
Calcutta,. I was told that there are merely a few thousand left only in
Calcutta.
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| A marble bust of Colonel Lord William P. Beresford, VC. KCIE of 9th Lancers |
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| The Rickshawala and the rickshaw |
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| The Mess Interiors |
Today the Kitchener House is the Officers Mess and Crinoline hoops are replaced by Silks and Chiffon's…. For the officers the mess ceremonials remain similar.
Today Fort William is an asset of the Indian Army
and the Head Quarters of the Eastern Command of infinite importance and is thus a chapter in continuity of Indian history.
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| The Memorial |
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