One of the most iconic and busy neighbourhoods of Kolkata and erstwhile Calcutta is Chowringhee. Today, we know it as the road that houses the iconic Oberoi Grand Hotel, Indian Museum, eateries and restaurants, New Market, the abode of street shopping, and merges with the buzzing Park Street. While one side is chaotic with activities the other side of Chowringhee offers a more relaxed outlook towards life guarded by the vast expanse of the Maidan and the majestic Fort William. As a prelude to World Heritage Week, INTACH hosted an intimate discussion on the evolution of Chowringhee spearheaded by GM Kapur and heritage enthusiast Nitin Shrestha at the Oberoi Grand Hotel premise. It was attended by heritage enthusiasts, scholars, and the like.
Kapur started the session with a visual presentation of the Chowringhee from an era gone by. Starting right from the transformation of the hotel from a residential complex, to a lodge to the heritage hotel title it has earned today before moving on to other known landmarks, most of which do not exist today. From a timeline of around 1910 through archival photographs the presentation was knowledgeable for the millennials. It made the seniors walk down memory lane while talking about Firpo’s Restaurant, United Services Club, New Market, Asiatic Society, and more.
What piqued the audience's interest was the presentation on Fort William, the new and the old by Shrestha. It delved deeper into the history, political treaties and strategies, architecture, and positioning of Fort William, what it was to what it is today. This part was particularly interesting considering that Fort William is a restricted place for the general public. While he busted myths with facts, he also highlighted the lessons learned from the fall of the Old Fort William and how newer and safety-proof strategies were applied during the construction of the new Fort William, especially the biggest lesson learned of having a clear passageway in front which leads to the flourishing of the Maidan. Though a cannon was never fired from within the walls of the new Fort, it is quite equipped to fight enemies both from land and the water.
The event curated and hosted by INTACH and its members Siddharth Sarkar and Asif Ali transported us to a Calcutta that was much heard about in oral stories and seen through black and white photographs. What added to the evening was the memory jolt of the seniors present who recalled their tryst with the transforming Chowringhee and shared the same with the audience.
Photographs by Pritam Sarkar