The Telegraph Huntage 2015, Decoding Calcutta’s Heritage

The Telegraph Huntage 2015

Decoding Calcutta’s Heritage

See Also: Compilation of The Telegraph Huntage

A two to four member team, a car and a leaflet with clues for eight heritage sites in Calcutta (Kolkata).  The team that reached the most spots within a specified time would win. Sounds easy, not exactly…

The Telegraph Huntage 2015 starts

Fourteen heritage spots were selected and each team had to visit the allocated seven spots, following five different routes. To make it more complex, each spot had two sets of clues, thus making it a total of ten combinations.

The fourteen spots with the two clue sets are provided below:

1. Madrasah – i – Aliah (Calcutta Madrasah)

Clue Set I: Warren, Seat of learning, AU, Majestic Crown

Clue Set II: Hastings, Knowledge, Mohammedan, Mohasin Square

Madrasah – i – Aliah

Madrasah – i – Aliah or Calcutta Madrasah and now the Aliah University (AU) was set up in 1780 by Warren Hastings, the then Governor General of India.

The Madrasah – i – Aliah happens to be one of the oldest centres of higher learning in the country.

Aliah University (AU) has with it the rich heritage of the 235-year-old educational and cultural institution

It is located next to the Mohasin Square (Formerly Wellington Square), a large square with a pond in the middle. It is also near the cinema halls of Crown and Majestic.

2. Choong Ye Thong Chinese Cemetery

Clue Set I:  U – Shape, Double Burial, These days everything is made in ………., on DCD

Clue Set II: Horse Shoe, Twice Burial, Hakka Style, Near Slaughter House

Choong Ye Thong

Choonge Ye Thong Chinese Cemetery is the largest of the seven Chinese Cemeteries in the Tangra (New Chinatown) area on the eastern edge of Kolkata.

The Choong Ye Thong grave Yard is located on the D C De Road and located opposite the Tangra Slaughter House.

The Chinese in Calcutta follow a double burial rituals, and the bones are dug up after 3 or 4 years and buried in horse shoe shaped graves.

The Choong Ye Thong Chinese Cemetery contains innumerable horse shoe or U – shaped graves. Read more…

3. Gandhi Bhavan

Clue Set I: Hyderi, Communal, Miabagan, 25 Days

Clue Set II: Partition, Manzil, 73 Hours, Bengaliwallas

Gandhi Bhavan

Gandhi Bhavan is a colonial styled bunglow located in Belghata area. It was the house were Mahatma Gandhi stayed for 73 days during the communal riots just before the independence.

 

The house originally known as Hyderi Manzil belonged to a Dawoodi Bhora family.

Gandhi stayed in the house and fasted for 73 hours and urged the Hindus and Muslims to stop the communal riots.

Today the house in Beleghata has been converted into a museum and know as the Gandhi Bhavan. The exhibits include the bed where Gandhi slept and several newspaper cutting of the Beleghata riots.

4. Bagmari Kabarsthan

Clue Set I: 2940 Katthas large, 400 years old, “Innalilahi wa inna liayhi rajoon”, Employee State Insurance

Clue Set II: Spread over 147 bighas, 4 century gone, K – 54,  “To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return.”

Bagmari Kabarsthan

Bagmari Kabarsthan located between Ultadanga and Kankurgachi and next to the Employees State Insurance Hospital.It has PIN of 700054.

Covering a area of 2940 katthas or 147 bighas it is considered as one of the largest cemeteries in Asia.

The 400 year old cemetery is considered as one of the oldest in Calcutta.

The cemetery is spread over a large area and is divided into different segments. Its an active cemetery where burials still takes place. There is no restriction in entry but photography is strictly prohibited inside the Bagmari Kabarsthan.

5. Bhukailash Temples

Clue Set I: Dream Girl, The first electric tram car in Asia ran from Esplanade to _____, Single Stone, Happynarayan

Clue set II: Raima = Moon Moon: Esha = ?, Docks, 18 feet stone, Twin Temple

Bhukailash Temple

The twin temples of Bhukailash located in Kidderpore are are known for their tower Shiva Lingas, one rising to a height of 18 feet.

The 200 year temple was founded by Joynarayan Ghosal and was visited by the famous Bollywoofd actress Hema Malini in 2013.

6. Tipu Sultan Mosque, Tollygunge

Clue Set I: Identical Structure, PGMAS Road, Cannon’s Galore, Sanjay Khan

Clue Set II: Deshpran Rd, Colonial Conquest, Salaat, Pioneer of Rocket Artillery

Tipu Sultan Mosque, Tollygunge

Located at the corner of Deshpran Sashmal and Anwar Shah Road lies the Tipu Sultan Mosque.

The Anwar Shah Road is named after Prince Gulam Muhammad Anawar Shah, the son of disposed king Tipu Sultan.

Tipu Sultan was a pioneer of rocket artillery and provided the last resistance to the British conquest of India.

Life of Tipu Sultan was recreated in a TV serial acted by the famous actor Sanjay Khan.

There are two Tipu Sultan Mosques in Kolkata one in Esplanade and the other in Tollygunge. The second is located inside a large campus with innumerable cannons scattered all over the complex.

7. Ronald Ross Memorial

Find the memorial of:

Clue set I: Calcutta Chromosome, Most Prestigious Award, Seth Sukhlal, 2.9 km elevated road

Clue Set II: Lower Circular, Presidency General, Alfred Award, _____ Jalao _____ bhagao

Ronald Ross Memorial

Located on the Northern wall of the Presidency General (PG) Hospital, lies a arch shaped memorial dedicated to Ronald Ross, Nobel Prize winner of Medicine in 1902.

Ronald Ross (1857 – 1932) studied malaria from 1881 to 1899. On 20th August 1897 Ross, working in Secunderabad, discovered that malaria was transmitted by female  anopheles mosquito.

20th August is celebrated as the “World Mosquito Day.” Later in 1898 working at the Presidency General Hospital, Calcutta, Ross and his assistants traced the life history of the malaria parasite. Read more…

 

8. Bourne & Shepherd Studio

Clue Set I: BS 141, One of the oldest in the world, Negative Positive, Calcutta panorama

Clue set II: SNB, Lost in 1991, Samuel and Charles, Cheeeeese

Bourne & Shepherd

Located on 141 S N Bamerjee Road Bourne & Shepherd, Artists and Photographers, is one of the oldest operating photography studies in the world.

Established in 1863 Bourne and Shepherd Studio lost most of its archive of photos during the devastating fire in 1991.

The studio was founded by Samuel Bourne and Charles Sepherd in Shimla, after which they moved to Calcutta, the then capital of British India.

Samuel Borne, was a widely travelled person and   was famous for his Himalayan photography and also held the record of the highest photograph taken till 1921.

He also shot a panoramic photo of Calcutta from the top of chterlony Monument, now Saheed Minar.

Charles Shepherd was a master printer and adopted new technologies of printing. He was also responsible for the distribution and commercial aspect of the business.

The studio changed hand several times and presently owned by the Jayanta Gandhi.

9. Calcutta Deaf and Dumb School

Clue Set I: 1893, _____ Charades, Khamoshi, APC

Clue Set II: King’s market, Iqbal, Sign Language, Oldest of its kind

Calcutta Deaf and Dumb School

Calcutta Deaf and Dumb School is located on the Acharya Prafulla Chandra (APC) Road and opposite the Basu Bigyan Mandir and the Rajabazar Science College.

Established in 1893 it is the oldest Deaf and Dumb School not only in India but in the whole of Asia.

The school operates till class X and provides vocational training on a wide range of subject to the current and pass out students.

Sign language is the primary source of training but modern scientific methodologies of teaching are also being incorporated.

10. Jewish Cemetery

Clue Set I: Two overlaid equilateral triangles, Flower Garden, Slayer of Goliath, G—-Y–D

Clue Set II: At peace deep beneath, Feet towards Jerusalem, Coconut Land, Giant Philistine warrior defeated by_____

Panoramic view of the Jewish Cemetery, Phoolbagan, Narkeldanga Mani Road, Kolkata (Calcutta)

The only Jewish Cemetery in Calcutta is located on the Narkeldanga Main Road and at the Phoolbagan Crossing. The entrance of the cemetery is marked with the Star of David.

The Jewish Cemetery contains innumerable graves spread over a large area. The Jewish Cemetery also contains a Geniza, a storage place for abandoned Jewish religious documents. Read more…

11. Maniktala Christian Cemetery

Clue Set I: Near Leaper’s Healing Point, English and French, Bone yard, Toru

Clue set II: A Sheaf Gleaned in French Field, Aru & Abju, Dutt Family Memorial Park, KP Athenaeum

Maniktala Christian Cemetery

Located behind the Leprosy Mission Hospital and opposite the Kolkata Police Museum the Maniktala Christian Cemetery is one of the smallest Christian cemeteries of the city.

 

Most of the graves belong to Bengali Christians and Banerjee and Dutt are common sir names. On closer inspection one can definitely spot a few Anglican names too.

The Cemetery contains the family grave of Rambagan Dutt family, including the grave of Toru Dutt.

Toru Dutt, the first Indian women to write proses and poetry in both English and French, is buried along with his siblings Aru and Abju. The enclosure also houses the grave of their parents, father Govin Chunder and mother Khetramoni. Read more…

 

12. St. Stephen’s Church

Clue Set I: Seamen, Market, Attached to an old school, Parksheptir Girja Ghar

Clue Set II: Lantern Shaped Tower, 1844, Calcutta Port, Anglican

St. Stephen’s Church

The St. Stephen Church with its strange shaped towering spire is located on the banks of Adi Ganga or Tolly Nala and next to the St. Thomas Boys’ School, one of the oldest schools of the city. The official address is 3, Diamond Harbour Road.

The spire looked like a rocket but the St. Stephen’s Church was constructed in 1846 and in those days there were no rockets! In fact the spire was shaped like a marinier’s lantern.

With the proximity of the docks the St. Stephen’s Church once attracted a large number of seamen, who visited the church for the Sunday service.

Today this Anglican church is located in a busy bazar area but the compound and the interiors of the St. Stephen’s Church are very well maintained.

The interiors contain a small pipe organ, several plaques a grand stain glass behind the altar.

13. Japanese Buddhist Temple

Clue Set I: White and Gold, Nippon, D_____ Lake, Fuji Guruji

Clue Set II: Siddhartha, Taiko, Bridge of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Forehead

Japanese Buddhist Temple

The Japanese Buddhist Temple is located next to the Dhakuria Bridge (now known as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprbhu Bridge) and on the edge of the Dhakuria Lake.

 

The milk white building with golden boarders is officially known as The Nipponzan Myohoji.

The Japanese Buddhist Temple was built in 1935 by the Japanese Buddhist monk Nichidatsu Fujii.

The temple is housed inside a large compound with well maintained garden containg a pillar with Japanese inscription and several statues of lions. The altar inside contains a small statue of Buddha and services are held twice everyday in morning and evening.

14. Nandakumar Hanging Well

Clue set I: St. G. G. Road, Tax Collector, Well, Elijah

Clue set II: Maharaja, Festive Goat Bazar, Judicial Murder, Impey

Nanda Kumar Hanging Well

On the northern end of Kidderpore Bridge and on a triangular traffic island on the St. George’s Gate Road stands a old well with a fresh coat of blue and white paint.

It was on this well tax collector Maharaja Nanda Kumar was hanged. In those there was no gallows in Calcutta and the well was special constructed to carry out the execution.

The charges against Maharaja Nanda Kumar was brought about by Warren Hastings and judge Elijah Impey handed over the death sentence to Maharaja Nanda Kumar. Today the historic well lies in utter neglect.

Tie Breaker I

Questions from the radio

While the participants of The Telegraph Huntage 2015 were cracking the clues they were simultaneously listing to 91.9 Friends FM for tie breaker questions.

The questions were:

1. Which cinema hall was previously called ‘Palace of Varieties’? (Ans: Elite)
2. In which area would you find the House of Quarrel, locally termed “Jhagra Kothi”?(Ans: Bara Bazar)
3. Which famous house is situated next to the Double-Decker fields? (Ans: Clive House)

In spite the obscure spots and the difficult clues several of the 150 + temas manged to crack the seven spots in time but only four manged to get all the tie nreaker questions right.

The top three were chosen via Tie Breaker II also consisting of a set of questions on Calcutta and this time with out googling.

A car finishes the Huntage 2015 course

Team Calcutta Quadrangle, represented by Soham Chandra (capt.) Abhijit Das Souvik Kayal Ritwick Bose were declared the winners.

Special Thanks:

• Voicworx Events & Workshops for including me in the organising team.
• The Telegraph and all other sponsors
• Voiceworx Event & Workshop team
• The Huntage Participants, whose deserve something more tha thanks

Discalaimer: This is a personal blog and the facts and opinions expressed in this blog post is entirely personal. It has no connection with The Telegraph or with any other sponsors or with the event managers Voiceworx Events & Workshops.