It is the leading award-winning travel magazine in the Asia-Pacific region, with a print run of 32,788 copies and a readership of 98,364 per edition. Book appointments on Facebook with Architectural Designer in Kolkata. But without a master plan, such efforts remain isolated examples of what might be possible even as the public outcry over Kolkata’s disappearing architectural heritage grows louder—last April, a group of prominent citizens including novelist Amit Chaudhuri and filmmaker Aparna Sen marched on the mayor’s office to protest the demolition of historic buildings. Each of the mentioned firms is involved in producing the best architectural projects. But inside her elegant, high-ceilinged apartment, Silliman talked for an hour about heritage projects it would have taken me a month to discover. A Park Street institution celebrated for its Iranian-style chelo kebabs. The Luxe List 2019: 88 Armenian, Malaysia, Southeast Asian Cocktails to Shake Up at Home. After lunch, I took a taxi to a nearby gallery-cum-store to see another example of adaptive reuse. DestinAsian is distributed in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, and the rest of the world. The result is a barebones catalog that only outlines the city’s significant architectural heritage, ranging from undeniable icons like the Writers’ Building (a Greco-Roman landmark originally built for the British East India Company in the 1770s) to effectively anonymous structures such as an “old residential house” on Abhoy Guha Road. Suggesting that I start our tour without her, she said, “Are you in front of that huge monstrosity? Top Kolkata (Calcutta) Architectural Buildings: See reviews and photos of architectural buildings in Kolkata (Calcutta), India on Tripadvisor. ; 91/98-7471-8756. Looking up at the bougainvillea-festooned window boxes on the building’s pretty red-brick exterior, I recalled Deb Lal’s complaint about the “facade-ism” that has become a stand-in for more substantial conservation efforts in the absence of a comprehensive heritage plan. The battle to save Kolkata’s crumbling heritage buildings. Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta in English, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal and is located in eastern India on the east bank of the River Hooghly.The city was a colonial city developed by the British East India Company and then by the British Empire. A few minutes before we were to meet in the affluent Kolkata neighborhood of New Alipore, conservation architect Nilina Deb Lal called me from her car to say she was just around the corner, but stuck in traffic. Star Theatre. A slim, practical woman dressed in a green tweed vest and khaki pants, her hair parted in the middle and tied back with a rubber band, Deb Lal briefed me on those hurdles with the aid of a map of landmarks she’d helped develop on behalf of the nonprofit Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) some years ago. Case in point: the Old Kenilworth Hotel, an iconic if tumbledown establishment that fell victim to the wrecking ball last year after the Kolkata Municipal Corporation downgraded its heritage status. According to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s Graded List of Heritage Buildings, The Astor, originally built in 1905 as a boarding house for British soldiers, is a Grade I structure. 27 Jawaharlal Nehru Rd. ; 91/98-3007-0213; doubles from US$345. Photo about January 08.2011 Kolkata,West Bengal,India,Asia-A traditional house of the Old Kolkata. There is surely more an eerie leaf in the 250-year-old building. 17 Black Burn Ln. This nine-suite bolt-hole overlooking the Victoria Memorial is not a heritage property per se, but it’s done up to look like one, with an exquisite collection of antique Bengal-colonial furniture and art. This article originally appeared in the April/May 2019 print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“Conserving Kolkata”). Anything goes anywhere.”. kolkata architecture -british period 1. kolkata (english colonial architecture) sonakshi bhattacharjee(114ar0024) mithilesh mandal (114ar0006) suchetana chakravarty(114ar0025) 2. timeline 3. wrighter’s building place –kolkata (1777-1906) designed by thomas lyon 4. architectural context 5. Recent Posts. Bangkok Plans to Reopen Some Businesses as COVID-1... 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An Exciting Trip to West Bengal and Odisha. 5 Radha Kanta Jeu St.; 91/98-3018-4030; doubles from US$72. The “House with a Head”, as the current owner Aveek Sen calls it, was recast as a modern gallery space once the curator-writer collaborated with gallerists Priyanka and Prateek Raja. The wooden ceiling had long planks and solid wooden logs to bear the load of the ... with a special focus on the Raj and Kolkata. 1 Queen’s Way; 91-33/ 2223-1890. Later that afternoon I settled in for a beer on the sunny restaurant terrace at The Astor, the modest boutique hotel where I was staying. Thinking I could manage colonial landmarks like Dalhousie Square, Eden Gardens, and St. John’s on my own, I opted for a tour of neighborhoods along the Hooghly. More info. One evening, I made my way to the home of Jael Silliman, an American-trained academic who is among the last remaining members of Kolkata’s once-thriving Baghdadi Jewish community. Most Likes Most Views. It’s apparently been the city’s premier spot for traditional Bengali favorites like prawn malaikari (whole prawns in coconut-milk gravy) and mangshor jhol (a spicy mutton curry) since it opened in 2003. French Quarter Architecture In Kolkata For some reason, Kolkata is filled with buildings that look like they belong in New Orleans' French Quarter. #Calcuttahouses #OldCalcutta #Calcutta360 … Sitting in the bustling, colonial-style dining room, it was hard to believe that elsewhere the city was struggling to conserve its architectural heritage. Journeys; Spice Boxes; Local Projects; Series; People; Youth Voices A 35-story residential tower is now going up in its place. That puts it in the same category as the General Post Office and St. John’s Church. But after I wound my way around to what Indians call “the backside,” I saw what Deb Lal was getting at. Kolkata - Kolkata - City layout: The most striking aspect of the layout of Kolkata is its rectangular north-south orientation. Now, the handsome yellow building operates as a café and a soon-to-open six-room hotel. We arrived just in time to avoid the long queue, and my tablemates, who run a tour company called Heritage Walk Calcutta, ordered up a feast worthy of twice our number, including deep-fried flatbreads filled with green peas (koraishutir kochuri) that are a winter staple. Iftekhar Ahsan at the entrance to Calcutta Bungalow, the old townhouse he has converted into a six-room inn. “As a consequence, it’s sort of a free-for-all. Silliman, who grew up in the Calcutta of the 1960s, also told me about the recent refurbishment and rededication of the city’s two surviving synagogues, the oldest of which, Beth El, dates to 1856. Open In Google Maps. In part, that’s down to an undeservedly grim reputation. Kolkata: This architect's home embodies a bond between his mother & son. Despite those compromises, given the fate of the Old Kenil-worth, The Astor represents an important victory for conservation, and along with a few other pioneers, it could mark a turning point for the city. And several other ventures scattered around town are starting to show that heritage has marketable value, not only for individual property owners but also for entire neighborhoods. “There has always been a hesitance to take hard measures,” Deb Lal said. We rendezvoused at 6 Ballygunge Place, an upscale restaurant that occupies a large white bungalow in the South Kolkata neighborhood where 18th-century European residents once built their so-called garden houses. Discover (and save!) Accessibility Help. It was the story of India all over again: “intangible” ingenuity was thriving by dint of jugaad—or “making do”—while the infrastructure crumbled around it. The storied Fairlawn Hotel, an eclectic colonial throwback that has hosted hip and famous guests ranging from Günter Grass to Sting, was recently acquired by Brij Raj “Diamond” Oberoi, a nephew of the founder of Oberoi Hotels & Resorts. Among them were ongoing efforts to revitalize the erstwhile European trading settlements in Kolkata’s northern suburbs. Located far from the heart of the city, at Belvedere Avenue, around 30 kms off Kolkata, the National Library is not just a literary sojourn but also a ghost-buster's delight. An elegant heritage bungalow sets the stage for refined Bengali cuisine. Built in 1910, Esplanade Mansions is a rare example of art nouveau design in Kolkata. I’d come to West Bengal’s state capital to take stock of its rich trove of colonial architecture, and this forlorn former mansion—hidden and ignored rather than restored and celebrated—was emblematic of the city’s ongoing struggle to digest and capitalize on that very heritage. A virtual route of creative and cultural exchange. Far from a cesspool of filth and poverty, Kolkata is one of the most vibrant and engaging metropolises in the country. Keeping things tidy at Kolkata’s 1864-built General Post Office Building. Sprawled along the banks of the Hooghly River, Kolkata was never a planned city like New Delhi, she explained. In the riverside town of Serampore, which served as a Danish outpost for 90 years until its sale to the British East India Company in 1845, the restoration of the 200-year-old St. Olav’s Church bagged a UNESCO heritage award in 2016 for its “meticulously executed conservation work.” The project was part of an ongoing preservation program led by the National Museum of Denmark, which has also overseen the resurrection of Serampore’s Denmark Tavern, an 18th-century inn that lay in ruins just four years ago. (For my money, it also houses the country’s best museum.) With the exception of the central areas where Europeans formerly lived, the city has grown haphazardly. Heritage Walk Calcutta’s Tathagata Neogi and Chelsea Mcgill on the grounds of St. John’s Church. Considerably more ambitious is Singapore-based journalist turned entrepreneur Rinkoo Bhowmik’s CHA Project; the social enterprise has partnered with INTACH to convert a 100-hectare swath of Tiretta Bazaar into a historical center featuring food streets, heritage trails, and a night market. startheatre.co.in. The city’s main colonial-era edifices—from the grand General Post Office and Writers’ Building to the hushed confines of St. John’s Church, whose grounds house Job Charnock’s mausoleum and the Black Hole Monument—are undeniably evocative. The looming threat to its landmarks notwithstanding, for the tourist, Kolkata remains breathtaking. Please note that the names are arranged in … And there’s a newfound enthusiasm for restoring and celebrating its architectural heritage even in the face of formidable obstacles. 18 Park St.; 91-33/2229-8841. The entries are so vague that travesties like the encroachment on the grounds of Hastings House have been inevitable. Yet even as the West Bengal capital moves determinedly into the future, conservation-minded thinking is quietly gaining ground. Designers Interiors Architects Welfare Association. As developers eye land, activists and residents fear the city’s history is fading with the demolition of old structures. Led by a young “explorer” named Ramanuj Ghosh, we began at Mullick Ghat’s famous flower market, where some 2,000 vendors produce wreaths of marigolds and red hibiscus for celebrations and religious rites. Now, its paint was peeling and its facade was crumbling. But,” he added with a frown, “most of those houses have already been demolished.”. An Exciting Trip to West Bengal and Odisha – Mr. Naman Yadav Our family has been... Read More. That means there is often no way to turn the most notable (and therefore most heavily restricted) buildings into commercial ventures and every incentive simply to let them fall into ruin, after which they can be declared derelict and be demolished. Sections of this page. But even on this off-season day for the flower sellers, we had to be on the lookout for the deliverymen who keep the stalls stocked as they plunged down the narrow lanes with Volkswagen-size loads of marigolds balanced on their heads. The next morning I stepped out to explore what UNESCO would call Kolkata’s intangible heritage on a guided walking tour with Calcutta Walks. 91-33/2460-3922. Rajesh Sen at the Zs’ Precinct in South Kolkata. The “huge monstrosity” was a new government building called the Soujanya State Banquet Hall. Jump to. To make the Victorian building a profitable venture, owner Vikram Puri, a former Wall Street investment banker whose father purchased The Astor in a distressed sale in 1999, opted to retain its colonial flavor in the reception and common areas, which boast patterned marble flooring, wrought-iron railings, and a beautiful staircase made of Burmese teak. The past lives on everywhere, clashing and combining with the future in a colorful tapestry: flower vendors hand-stripping stems of their thorns by the bushel with their smartphones laid on the pavement beside them; hawkers rolling and folding samosas for suited office workers and young rockers festooned with piercings; dhoti-clad laborers taking their morning bath in the frigid Hooghly, just as they have done for hundreds of years. your own Pins on Pinterest The City of Joy is — more often than not — defined by its old houses that stand as a bridge between its past glory and present oblivion. Later that afternoon, I met up with husband-and-wife scholars Tathagata Neogi and Chelsea McGill to learn more about the fight to stop those buildings from disappearing altogether. Developed from three riverside villages granted to the East India Company by the nawab of Bengal in 1690, Kolkata—known until recently as Calcutta—became the first capital of the British-held territories in India a century later and remained the capital of British India until the seat of government was moved to New Delhi in 1911. But as Neogi (who earned a doctorate in archeology from England’s University of Exeter) and McGill (who has a master’s degree in South Asian studies) explained, there is so much to preserve that a constant battle is inevitable, especially without a coherent vision for delineating historical districts and landmarks. At the same time, as in Delhi and other cities throughout India, owners bear the brunt of restrictions on what they can do with their property without any state funding for maintenance or upkeep, apart from exemption from property taxes. “Because it doesn’t have any theoretical foundation, the list is dangerously prone to manipulation,” said Deb Lal, bemoaning the destruction of several post-independence structures associated with Writers’ Building. 14. After detailing the restoration process and the creative ways he’s making the building pay for itself (an artist-in-residence room upstairs and pop-up restaurant events, for instance), Sen took me on a lightning tour of the surrounding neighborhood to illustrate its potential value as a historic district. “The main thing is to raise awareness,” Sen told me. ... this heritage site houses stunning tombs built in both the Gothic and Indo-Saracenic styles of architecture. About; Places; Creative Media. Book appointments on Facebook with Architectural Designer in Kolkata. In modern times, sporadic attempts to decentralize and decongest the urban core have never come together into a coherent strategy for simultaneously developing the city and preserving its unique character. Visit real-life Bollywood sets with #SterlingBioscope; We threaded through the stalls and down to the riverbank, where some of these workers were bathing in the shadow of the Howrah Bridge. “A lot of new nonprofits have come up,” Neogi said. The east–west dimension of the city is comparatively narrow, stretching from the Hooghly River in the west … Bordering the North Kolkata area that is home to such lavish Bengali mansions as the 19th-century Marble Palace and the 18th-century Shobhabazar Rajbari, Kumartuli is surrounded by incredible ruins collapsing under their own weight. InterContinental Debuts High-rise Hotel in Chongqi... Could This Be Shanghai’s Most Beautiful Bookstor... 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Steeped in the intellectual patriotism that made Calcutta the center of the Indian independence movement in the early 20th century and later gave rise to Subhas Chandra Bose and his Indian National Army, Bengalis have been reluctant to embrace the city’s legacy of imperial rule, even though the Victoria Memorial—a white-marbled pile built a century ago in the so-called Indo-Saracenic style—is perhaps the most remarkable homage to empire in all of India. Kolkata, Oct 31 (IANS) A coffee table book, “Kolkata Happening City”, with more than 2,700 photographs of iconic buildings and unique facts on its distinctive old-world architecture was launched here on Tuesday. Copyright © 2018 DESTINASIAN MEDIA GROUP - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. And yet, as Deb Lal explained when she arrived a few minutes later and spread out a map of the city’s heritage sites, the original headquarters of the Raj today sees only a fraction of the foreign tourists who explore Lutyens’ Delhi or the Gateway of India area of Mumbai. ... "This was first church of the early British settlers and this is reflected in both its Georgian architecture and the often touching inscriptions on … It was not until the late 1980s, in the lead-up to the 300th anniversary of Kolkata’s since-repudiated founding, that the municipal government attempted to create a list of historical landmarks. The British colonized India for over 200 years, and cities such as Mumbai, New Delhi and Chennai are home to notable Victorian-era buildings. The designation meant all renovations had to be cleared through the city’s Heritage Conservation Committee and changes to the exterior were not permitted, despite the fact that the building was virtually falling apart when restoration work began in 2012. But Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, was the capital of India for 39 years during the British rule, and it remains the top spot to see colonial architecture, a must-see city for architecture lovers to include on their India itineraries. Built during the expansion of South Kolkata after the first partition of Bengal in the early 20th century, the 89-year-old art deco building that now houses The Zs’ Precinct had been lying vacant for a couple years before retired Indian Tobacco Company executive Rajesh Sen acquired it in 2015. For travelers from Hong Kong, Cathay Dragon has the only direct service to the West Bengal capital, flying every day except Monday. Never a city for colonial nostalgia, the former Calcutta has a poor record when it comes to protecting its architectural heritage. ; 91-33/2286-1699. May 3, 2019 - Kolkata designed by ranganath krishnamani. I understood why Deb Lal, who holds a PhD in architectural history from the University of Edinburgh, wanted to meet me here. Interior Design Studio. Kanak Bldg., 41 Chowringhee Rd. Indian Museum Often conflated with the Black Hole of Calcutta (a dungeon where 143 British prisoners of war suffocated to death in 1756), Kolkata is also widely associated with Mother Teresa’s work with lepers as well as unflattering descriptions by foreign authors such as Günter Grass, who, in his 1975 novel The Flounder, described the city as “a pile of shit that God dropped.” Nor has its colonial history been a point of local pride. Mullick Bazar, Park Street area Kolkata, West Bengal, 700017, ... Old … 499 likes. This home by Abin Design Studio, enriched with heirloom treasures and a fusion of classic and contemporary elements, is a tribute to his family. Ambuja Neotia Hospitality, which operates various clubs and resorts as well as the Swissôtel Kolkata, last year completed a modern replica of an old Bengali rajbari (mansion) to launch an opulent boutique hotel—the Raajkutir—that offers carriage rides, Victorian high tea, and an extensive menu of single malts. Here’s the list of top 40 architecture firms/ architects in Kolkata for people seeking the best architects in the city of Kolkata. Recipes from the Road: Sambal Binagre Pesi. Indian-European structures with open terraces, spacious porches, red-oxide floors, wrought iron grilles and green windows make these homes hard to miss as you walk down the bylanes and alleys of north and central Kolkata. The grande dame of Kolkata hotels occupies a landmark neoclassical building that dates to the mid-1800s. ARCHIVED; Feb 1. But according to Deb Lal, it was a back-of-an-envelope undertaking without a basic theoretical framework; subsequent efforts have expanded and then pared down the list without remedying its flaws. Where citizen groups are active, such as in the old Chinatown area of Tiretta Bazaar, revival efforts are starting to gather steam; McGill was particularly effusive about the 2017 transformation of a 110-year-old Chinese dormitory into Sei Vui, a restaurant run by one of the neighborhood’s surviving social clubs. And while the plush Phoenix nightclub downstairs harkens back to the 1960s, when The Astor was one of the few jazz clubs in town, it has the aspect of a disco that swallowed a sports bar rather than someplace Duke Ellington might have played. Then walk to the corner and down the lane, and you’ll see an old, old bungalow.”. Kolkata was the capital of the British Indian empire until 1911 when the capital was relocated to Delhi. “But in terms of actual restoration work, there hasn’t been much.”. 15 Jawaharlal Nehru Rd. Tag Archives: kolkata old architecture. Crouched in the building’s shadow at the edge of a bus parking lot was a dilapidated 18th-century mansion whose stately proportions suggested it had once been an important colonial landmark. Silliman had told me on the phone earlier that she wasn’t an expert on conservation, and the crumbling facade of the building in which she lived seemed to bear that out. Connect with them on Dribbble; the global community for designers and creative professionals. General Post Office: Old Post Office Architecture - See 58 traveler reviews, 20 candid photos, and great deals for Kolkata (Calcutta), India, at Tripadvisor. 31 Giri Babu Lane, Kolkata 700012. Sometimes collectively referred to as “Europe on the Hooghly,” these enclaves—similar to the foreign concessions of treaty port–era Shanghai—once housed Danish, Dutch, French, and Portuguese traders, and are now attracting restorers’ attention. These houses give Kolkata its unique old-world charm and reflect the amazing architectural ethos of the city, but they are being lost in the mad … Architecture, sculpture, terracotta and painting developed extensively during the Pala Dynasty rule from 8th to 12th century. A signboard above the pillared porte-cochere identified the faded beauty as the Institute of Education for Women, though a smaller plaque informed me it was originally known as Hastings House—the onetime summer residence of the first British governor-general of India, Warren Hastings. In one exercise in revisionism, Job Charnock, the enterprising British East India Company agent hitherto credited with founding Kolkata, was erased from all official histories of the city in 2003. The driving force behind a collaborative online media archive called Recalling Jewish Calcutta, she has most recently authored Where Gods Reside, a book that explores the city’s diverse places of worship—lesser-known gems include a Greek Orthodox church and a Japanese Buddhist temple. Then we hopped on a ferryboat to Kumartuli, a traditional potters’ quarter where sculptors manufacture icons of the goddess Kali and other Hindu gods out of straw and clay from the Hooghly. Enjoy your travels! Being witnesses to one of the first examples of colonial architecture in the country, some of the historic buildings come a very long way. But my room was outfitted for the modern business traveler, with practical rather than evocative furnishings and only the slightest nod to the building’s age. The restored interiors of The Astor Hotel. Victoria Memorial Hall Situated near the east bank of the Hooghly river, the Calcutta High Court Building is a neo-gothic landmark dating to 1872. “We’re trying to recast Calcutta as a cosmopolitan city, rather than the city of poverty and Mother Teresa. For a taste of Kolkata-style Chinese food in a converted Tiretta Bazaar dormitory. Chef Joy Banerjee’s contemporary take on Bengali food. A more than 90 years old building near Rammandir area, MG Road. With business thriving, The Astor is now a testament to how heritage can be revived with a little ingenuity and a lot of perseverance. Once I started looking, I realized that dozens of the neighboring homes boasted similar rounded balconies, glassed stairwells, and circular windows that are hallmarks of the art deco style. Share. In the Sultanate Period, … Way back in 2006, when the reinvention of Kolkata’s crumbling urban legacy was in its nascent stage, 85 Lansdowne happened. Note: We do our best to ensure that all articles are accurate at the time of publication, but things change, do check ahead. Suburban areas in the Kolkata metropolitan area incorporate parts of the following districts: North 24 Parganas, South 24 Pargans, Howrah, Hooghly, and Nadia .Kolkata, which is under the jurisdiction of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), has an area of 185 km2 (71 sq mi). old building it still characterized by old design of ceiling. But beyond these, there’s a romance to the decaying mansions, temples, and civic buildings that is lacking in the perfectly conserved monuments and palaces of France or Germany; the sense of history that comes with scars. Old building architecture of Kolkata. Home to an excellent museum and public gardens, the grandiose Victoria Memorial is one of Kolkata’s better preserved monuments to empire. Considered an architectural wonder of Kolkata, St. Paul’s Cathedral is the largest church in Kolkata and the first cathedral that was built in the overseas territory of the British Empire. Now, it’s starting to happen.”. Iftekhar Ahsan, the young entrepreneur behind tour company Calcutta Walks, not long ago converted a 1926 townhouse into Calcutta Bungalow, a pioneering heritage hotel in an area of North Kolkata dotted with the decaying mansions of Bengali traders who grew rich off the Raj. According to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s Graded List of Heritage Buildings, The Astor, originally built in 1905 as a boarding house for British soldiers, is a Grade I structure. The architecture of Bengal, which comprises the modern country of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley, has a long and rich history, blending indigenous elements from the Indian subcontinent, with influences from different parts of the world.Bengali architecture includes ancient urban architecture, religious architecture, rural … ; 91-33/2249-2323; doubles from US$130. Meanwhile, the guidelines for owners of heritage buildings include a clause stating that any portion of the structure that is not considered significant can be demolished, with no mention of how that significance will be evaluated. Weekend Recipe: Thai-Inspired Braised Beef Noodles. Thanks to a burgeoning arts scene and new creative initiatives, Kala Ghoda, the old cultural enclave... Embark on a fascinating journey through India, experience its splendid culture and traditions, and d... DestinAsian was established in 2001. Lake Market. 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