The Forgotten Palaces of Calcutta discovers the old areas of the city, where heritage houses and history fill every crowded lane and secret courtyard. Languishing in another time and place, at the end of narrow lanes and behind untidy shop-fronts, Calcutta's rich heritage waits to be discovered.
The great houses of Bengal's merchant princes have been largely forgotten and rarely photographed. Many of the interiors have remained the same for over 200 years. While much has been written and photographed on the British colonial architecture and lifestyle, very little has been done on the Indian equivalent. The great families experienced enormous changes in fortune over the centuries, from great wealth and power during colonial times to dramatic economic and social upheaval after Independence. For the remaining occupants, their ancestral homes are bitter-sweet symbols of family pride, impossible to restore, or sometimes even to maintain.
By focusing on Calcutta's heritage mansions and palaces, The Forgotten Palaces of Calcutta makes an important contribution to the architectural history of both Calcutta and India.
Joanne Taylor was born and educated in Sydney. She studied Indian history at the University of Sydney and has written a thesis for the University of New South Wales on the Great Houses of Kolkata. Joanne's first visit to India in 1971 left an indelible impression on her.
An accomplished writer and photographer, Joanne has since travelled widely in India, particularly in Kolkata and Bengal. In her award winning book, The Forgotten Palaces of Calcutta, she achieves her aim of showing another side of Calcutta, a city she feels leaves a lasting impression on all who embrace it.
Looking at and photographing old houses has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. In addition to this is my ongoing love for India, beginning in 1971 with my first glimpse of the Taj Mahal by moonlight. This passion is due not only to my innate curiosity, but also the pleasure I feel when discovering an old mansion or a ruined palace. The mysteries that lie beyond a padlocked gate or an overgrown garden nourish my romantic tendencies. With photography I can record my discoveries, leading me to wonder further on the lives and histories of the families who manage to remain in such grand, evocative homes and the treasures they contain.
Imagine my joy in discovering the old area of North Calcutta, where heritage houses and history fill every crowded lane and secret courtyard. Languishing in another time and place, at the end of narrow lanes and behind untidy shop-fronts, Calcutta's rich heritage waits to be discovered.
A book like this is in part the result of visiting Indian houses, but finding and photographing these buildingsis not all that is necessary. Historical information is needed, not just from libraries, but also from the homeowners themselves. I needed to make contact with owners and seek their permission to photograph.
However, everywhere I was made to feel welcome, which invariably led to wonderful encounters with friendly, hospitable people, who generously shared their family history and allowed me to photograph their homes.
By focusing on a neglected phase of colonial history this volume will show another side of Calcutta.
While much has been written and photographed on the city's British architecture and lifestyle, very little has been done by British or Indian writers on the indigenous equivalent.
By opening the doors to the homes of former rajahs and merchants we may imagine what life was like for a people who enjoyed British patronage and enormous wealth. Generations of colonial rule has resulted in an architectural style unique to Calcutta. I have endeavoured to highlight this hybrid architectural style of the Great Houses and their condition today, striving to exist in a city that seems oblivious to their fate. They are an important thread in the tapestry of Calcutta's history.
More practically, I have attempted to show a cross section of houses to exemplify the many and varied styles of architecture and the lifestyles that in some cases continue today.
When asked to name one particular sight that sums up Calcutta, author Krishna Dutta answered: 'The decaying mansions of the Babus, who were the rich, British-influenced Indian gentry. They were built in a medley of architectural styles that V.S. Naipaul calls ""Calcutta Corinthian"" and are unique.'
The The Great Houses of Calcutta are an important but forgotten part of India's architectural history. Despite descriptions like 'Bengal Baroque' and 'Rotten Rococo', these strange palaces and their heady mix of architectural styles seem to exist in an exuberant kind of harmony. Neo-classical, Islamic and Hindu elements can be found in both the structure and decoration of these heritage buildings. Ornate archways wide enough for an elephant to pass through lead to vast inner courtyards with temple-style family shrines. Colonnades catch the slightest breeze and cast shadows on marble floors, and above, latticed balconies derived from Mughal times decorate women's quarters and co-exist with English painted glass, French doors and Venetian chandeliers. The founders of these 250 to 300-year-old mansions and palaces were landowners, merchants, intermediaries and cashiers for British leaders like Clive and Hastings. Others were moneylenders and tutors or interpreters for the British. They were all entrepreneurs who often held a variety of such roles. These men were indispensable to the British administration and this association was the basis of their accumulation of wealth.
With the British introduction of the Permanent Settlement Bill in 1793, they became even wealthier, buying up impoverished rural estates or zamindaris and employing managers to run them.
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Hindu (935)
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Biography (702)
Buddhist (544)
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Mahatma Gandhi (372)
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