Silk River, A Journey Down the Hooghly River

Silk River

A Journey Down the Hooghly River

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Indian independence the ambitious project of Silk River explored the unique relationship between London and Kolkata through artistic exchange between communities along England’s Thames Estuary and India’s Hooghly River.

Silk River Boat Sumangal with the Silk Scrolls at Bichali Ghat, Metiabruz (Kidderpore), Hooghly River

The Silk River project focused on 20 locations along the Thames starting from Kew Gardens to South End and along the Hooghly River it covered similar locations along the Murshidabad to Bata Nagar stress. Each of the 20 places along the two rivers were represented by giant scrolls made of Murshidabad Silk and drawn in Patachitra art form. Apart from that there were two similar separate scrolls representing the two rivers.

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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.

Suriname Memorial, Balu Ghat Metiabruz, Kolkata

Suriname Memorial

Balu Ghat, Metiabruz, Kolkata

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

Suriname Memorial, Balu Ghat, Metiabruz, Kolkata

The Suriname Memorial may be new but India’s relationship with Suriname dates back to over almost 150 years. A joint initiative of India and Suriname government the memorial is built in honour of those Indian contract workers who migrated to Suriname, the small country located on the northeast Atlantic coast of South America, from 1873 to 1916.

In the footsteps of Wajid Ali Shah, Walking tour of Metiabruz

In the footsteps of Wajid Ali Shah

Walking tour of Metiabruz, an initiative of ITC Sonar, Kolkata

See also: Metiabruz Dawat, ITC Sonar, Kolkata

On 13 May 1856 a steamer, name McLeod, docked at the Bichali Ghat in Metibruz, in the southern fringes of Calcutta (now Kolkata). On board was the disposed king of Oudh (or Awadh) Wajid Ali Shah.

Group shot at the grand staircase of the Bengal Nagpur Railway (BNR) Office, headquarters of South Eastern Railway (SER), Garden Reach, Kolkata

Little did he know that he would never return to his capital Lucknow and it started the beginning of a home in exile.

Metiabruz Dawat, ITC Sonar, Kolkata

Metiabruz Dawat

ITC Sonar, Kolkata

A saffron flavoured  potato, along with chunks of meat, laid in a bed of saffron tinged white and yellow rice is what Kolkatawalas call a biryani. A potato in biryani may sound strange to the rest of Indians but alu has been an integral part of Kolkata Biryani for over 150 years.

Star attraction of the Metiabruz Dawat at ITC Sonar, Kolkata, Mughlai Parantha with Chicken Chap and Mutton Biryani

The story of the alu in biryani goes back to 1856 when the last Nawab of Oudh, Wajid Ali Shah was deported to Kolkata (then Calcutta) by the British and settled in Metibruz area, south of Kolkata.