Memorial of Daulat Hossain, Park Circus

Memorial of Daulat Hossain

Park Circus

Shaikh Daulat Hossain the name is definitely unfamiliar. He is no celebrity but a memorial stands in his memory in a remote corner of Park Circus. Strangely the memorial also seems to be have been forgotten. It lies is utter neglect and is heavily encroached upon.

Daulat Hossain Memorial

Shaikh Daulat Hossain was shot dead by dacoits in Park Circus area when he tried to prevent their decoity attempt. He died on the spot on 7^th October 1932 aged only 18.

Nafar Chandra Kundu Memorial, Chakraberia Road (South)

Nafar Chandra Kundu Memorial

Chakraberia Road (South)

Nafar Chnadra Kundu, the name is quiet likely to sound unfamiliar because he is no celebrity he is just a common man on the street who did something extraordinary 114 years ago (in 1907). Although no longer remembered but his act of extraordinary courage was enough to turn him into a legend and an icon which today’s India needs more than ever.

Nafar Chandra Kundu Memorial

It was the month of May 1907 Nafar Chandra Kundu was walking down the streets of Chakraberia when heard shouts and desperate plea for help. He noticed a small crowd had gathered round a open manhole and the screams came from inside the manhole.

Rabindra Sarobar, Lungs of South Kolkata

Rabindra Sarobar

Lungs of South Kolkata and Birder’s Paradise

The artificial lake of Rabindra Sarobar and the green zone surrounding the lake is one of the most beautiful areas of Kolkata. The entire area provides oxygen and is often refereed to as the lung of south Kolkata.

Rowing at Rabindra Sarobar

But it is hard to believe that even a hundred years ago this beautiful area was a marshy stretch of land. It was a breeding ground of mosquitoes and source of malaria and other diseases.

Centenary of the end of World War I, Remembrance Day, Kolkata

Centenary of the end of World War I

Remembrance Day, Kolkata

I’m privileged to be here in Kolkata and had the opportunity to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in war. We recognise India’s remarkable contribution to the war efforts….

Bruce Bucknell. British Deputy High Commissioner, Kolkata

100th Remembrance Sunday at Kolkata. L: Bhowanipore Cemetery, C: Glorious Dead Cenotaph, Maidan and R: St. John’s Church

It was the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of the year 2018 the buglers sounded the Last Post followed by a two minutes silence, which was broken by the sounding of The Rouse.

Calcutta Bungalow – Heritage Bed & Breakfast, an initiative of Calcutta Walks

Calcutta Bungalow – Heritage Bed & Breakfast

An initiative of Calcutta Walks

It was probably in 2007 I met Iftekhar Ahsan (Ifte) for the first time. He had just launched Calcutta Walks, a walking tour company aimed at exploring the city. Calcutta was not new to walking tours and I was personally introduced to the concept of walking tour almost a decade before the meet.

Welcome to Calcutta Bungalow, Heritage Bed & Breakfast (the logo has been superimposed by photo editing software)

It was in 1999 when renowned conservation architects Debasis Nayak and Akhil Ranjan Sarkar first introduced me to the world of walking tours. At that time I was doing my Masters of Business Management (MBM) from Calcutta University and thoroughly enjoyed the early morning training session through the lanes and by-lanes of Sovabazar area of north Calcutta.

Cycle Polo, Poor Man’s version of the Royal Game

Cycle Polo

Poor Man’s version of the Royal Game

Polo reminds one of galloping horses and the sound of the wooden mallet hitting the bamboo ball. Polo, often termed as the “Sport of the Kings,” is played on horse back on a large rectangular field.

Chasing the ball, Cycle Polo, CC&FC, Kolkata

Each team consists of four players and the object is to score goals  by driving a small hard white ball into the opposing team’s goal using a long-handled wooden mallet. The team with the more goals wins.

Restoration of Jewish Cemetery, Kolkata

Jewish Cemetery, Kolkata

Kolkata Jews retrace their ancestor’s graves

Also See: Kolkata (Calcutta ) Jews

Rosemary Cohen has come all the way from Australia, with a inverted family tree. A few of the branches of the family tree stressed back to five generation. She, accompanied by her husband, was looking for the graves of her ancestors in the newly renovated Jewish Cemetery of Kolkata.

Looking for their ancestor’s grave, Jewish Cemetery, Kolkata

As we made our way through the thickly packed maze of, freshly painted, white graves of the Jewish Cemetery, Rosemary narrated her fond memories of Kolkata, the city of her birth.

Beth El and Magen David Synagogue, Kolkata, Re-dedication & Celebration of Restoration

Beth El and Magen David Synagogue, Kolkata

Re-dedication & Celebration of Restoration

Also See: Kolkata (Calcutta ) Jews

As the Muslim boys of Elias Meyer School (popularly known as Jewish Boys School) sang Hebrew song of peace Oseh Shalom at the Magen David Synagogue in Kolkata Ezra Moses could no longer hold his tears.

Re-dedication and Celebration of Restoration of the Beth El Synagogue, Kolkata

A emotional Ezra Moses, presently a resident of Miami, USA, murmured “this is where my parents got married, long time back, probably in 1943. This is the city of my birth.”

Unveiling of Dutch plaque at Suriname Memorial, Kolkata

Unveiling of Dutch plaque at Suriname Memorial

Balu Ghat (Suriname Jetty), Garden Reach, Kolkata

Also see: Suriname Memorial

“My ancestors must have stood here for the last time before leaving India forever. The men carried two dhotis and two kurtas each. The women carried two saris each. Apart from this, some carried religious books like the Ramayana, Mahabharata or Quran,”

Aashna Kanhai Ambassador of Suriname

Unveiling of the Dutch plaque at Suriname Memorial, Kolkata. L – R: Dave C Prasad (High Commissioner Trinidad & Tobago, Aashna Kanhai (Ambassador of Suriname), M J Akbar (Union Minister of state for External Affairs), Alphonsus Stoelinga (Ambasador of the Kingdom of Netherlands), Vinit Kumar (Chairman of Kolkata Port Trust) and Kajari Biswas (Branch Secretary, Kolkata, Ministry of External affairs)

Suriname Memorial, a small non – descriptive memorial, on the banks of Hooghly River in Metiabruz and Garden Reach area was unveiled, on 7 Oct. 2015, by the Union External Minister Sushma Swaraj, in the presence of  Aashna Kanhai, Ambassador of Suriname.

Qingming (Tomb Sweeping Day), Tangra, Kolkata

Qingming (Tomb Sweeping Day)

Tangra (New Chinatown), Kolkata

Also see: My blog post on Calcutta (Kolkata) Chinatown

Qingming or the Tomb Sweeping Day is held on the 15 th day after the spring equinox and normally falls on 5 or 6 April.

Qingming (Tomb Sweeping) at Choong Ye Thong Cemetery, Tangra (New Chinaatown), Kolkata

On this day the Chinese pay tribute to their ancestors by cleaning the tombs and offering elaborate food spread in front of the graves. It can be considered as the Chinese version of the  All Souls’ Day.