Prabir Purkayastha | Stories in Stone

PRABIR PURKAYASTHA

STORIES IN STONE | COLONIAL CALCUTTA

PRABIR PURKAYASTHA

STORIES IN STONE | COLONIAL CALCUTTA

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M ISSION

Established in 2000, Sundaram Tagore Gallery is devoted to examining the exchange of ideas between Western and non-Western cultures. We focus on developing exhibitions and hosting not-for-profit events that encourage spiritual, social and aesthetic dialogues. In a world where communication is instant and cultures are colliding and melding as never before, our goal is to provide venues for art that transcend boundaries of all sorts. With alliances across the globe, our interest in cross-cultural exchange extends beyond the visual arts into many other disciplines, including poetry, literature, performance art, film and music.

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C O L O N I A L Indian-born photographer Prabir Purkayastha debuts a new collection of large-scale black and white photographs documenting the fading colonial architecture of Calcutta, once Asia’s most cosmopolitan city.

The project began in 2006, when Purkayastha, who was traveling through the city, was struck by the dwindling Jewish, Chinese, Armenian, Parsi and Anglo-Indian communities that once populated—and helped build—Calcutta. Awed by the crumbling facades of the buildings associated with these ethnic groups, Purkayastha returned in 2007 to photograph them.

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“For some inexplicable reason I couldn’t see myself as just another mute spectator pretending that they never existed,” says Purkayastha. “Watching helplessly as communities slowly vanish into the dusty corners of our nation’s history, I felt something needed to be done to record and preserve for future generations.”

The project grew in scope, eventually encompassing not only the architecture of these fading minority communities, but also much of the city’s British colonial architecture, both grand and humble. Many of the buildings documented are in

Star Theatre, Colonial Period, North Calcutta, 2012, Hahnemühle archival paper, 44 x 66 inches

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various states of disrepair—some are crumbling, abandoned or illegally occupied—while others still function, albeit in reduced roles, such as the magnificent 150-year-old mansion once occupied by the 19th century philanthropist Rani Rashmoni, now illegally occupied by migrant taxi drivers. The photographs lay bare the formidable preservation challenges facing the city. The Magen David Synagogue built in 1884, for example, which no longer has a congregation, is maintained only by a handful of caretakers.

time, native feudal lords, wealthy merchants and the Bengali elite were also erecting their own grand villas along with government, commercial and religious buildings, all of which earned Calcutta the nickname “City of Palaces.” The new architecture reflected the city’s diversity, incorporating both Western and Eastern influences and merging European styles—Gothic, Baroque, neoclassical and Art Nouveau— with traditional Hindu, Moorish and Islamic architectural details.

The story of Calcutta began in 1690, when Job Charnock of London’s famed East India Company landed on the banks of the Hooghly River. It was an ideal location for a British trading post and Calcutta soon became a thriving center of commerce and culture, attracting merchants and laborers from India and abroad.

The end of the British Raj brought an end to the city’s meteoric urban development and what remains today, and what Prabir Purkayastha has captured in his photographs, are the hauntingly beautiful remnants of Calcutta’s storied past—a history set in stone and mortar.

By the mid 19th century, Calcutta was the capital of British India and its prominence was reflected in the opulent buildings that began to punctuate the city. At the same

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Award-winning photographer Prabir Purkayastha was born in Central India in 1952. After graduating from the University of Delhi he worked in Thailand as a journalist.

Purkayastha returned to India in 1980, becoming one of

the country’s leading advertising practitioners in agency management and creative campaigns. He began taking photographs in earnest in the late 1980s, primarily in Indochina and India, including in Ladakh, Rajasthan, Assam, and now, Calcutta. During the past decade, Purkayastha has exhibited his work in New York, Chicago, Katonah, Los Angeles, London, Cologne, New Delhi, Calcutta and Mumbai. He works both digitally and in film and describes himself as a cross between a storyteller and sociocultural anthropologist. He’s based in Delhi.

Purkayastha’s work is in numerous private and corporate collections and has been featured in international magazines and newspapers including Black & White magazine, Silvershotz and ARTnews. His critically acclaimed book Ladakh (Timeless Publishing, 2005) won several awards, including Book of the Month, from Better Photography, UK; the Black & White magazine Photography Spotlight Award; the Gold Medal from the All India Federation of Master Printers; and the Silver Medal from SAAPI, Jakarta, in 2006. His second book, which focuses on Assam, is slated for publication later this year.

Prabir Purkayastha’s exhibition Aksaha (2002) received the Habitat Award for Best Photography Exhibition and in 2003 his InterGlobe calendar took top prize at the SAPPI Asian Awards for Printing. In 2005 and 2007, he was invited to speak at the Rubin Museum of Art, New York, about his wall-mural photographs of the ancient Ladakhi monasteries. In 2009, he was nominated for the international Prix Pictet Award and was selected as one of the Super Six Photographers by Fuji Film, India.

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During the British Raj, many of Calcutta’s wealthy and noble Bengali residents had multiple mansions within and outside the city to accommodate large joint families and entourages. This decaying mansion, almost one-hundred-fifty years old, once belonged to the zamindar (noble) family of Rani Rashmoni, a pious 19th century philanthropist best known for building a large temple dedicated to the goddess Kali. Today, through neglect and legal property tussles, it is reduced to a pitiful ruin, illegally occupied by migrant taxi drivers and their families.

The Rani’s Residence, Central Calcutta, 2013, Hahnemßhle archival paper, 44 x 66 inches 10

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Gayen Raj Bari (Gayen Royal Palace) of Dhanyakuria, on the outskirts of Calcutta, was built to resemble an English castle. It is a perfect example of the fusion-style architecture prevalent during the colonial period in Bengal.

Once the cherished residence of the wealthy aristocratic Gayen family, this raj bari, with its unique singha darja (lion gate), was built more than one hundred years ago as a display of power and prosperity. Today it’s an orphanage run by the West Bengal state government.

Although time has dulled its magnificence, its grandeur is still very much in evidence.

Raj Bari, Bengali Aristocrat’s Mansion, Outskirts of Calcutta, 2013, Hahnemühle archival paper, 44 x 66 inches 12

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Castle Gate, Bangali Aristocrat’s Mansion, Outskirts of Calcutta, 2013, Hahnemßhle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches

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In 1803, Lord Wellesley, the Governor General of India, decided to rule from a palace and so built Government House, the finest mansion of the British Raj. Its construction ultimately cost him his job, but it is still used today as the official residence of the Governor of Bengal.

Raj Bhavan, as it is now known, was modeled after Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire, England.

It occupies twenty-seven acres and has almost 90,000 square feet of floor space.

At the north gate entrance is a Chinese canon resting on a dragon that was brought from Nanking in 1842. Its inscription reads: “The peace dictated to the Emperor of China under the walls of Nanking by the military force of England and of India.”

Raj Bhavan, Imperial Architectural Splendor, Calcutta, 2013, Hahnemühle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches 16

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In 1901, on the death of Queen Victoria, Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India, proposed a memorial in stone: “Let us, therefore, have a building, stately, spacious, monumental and grand, to which every newcomer in Calcutta will turn, to which all the resident population, European and Native, will flock, where all classes will learn the lessons of history, and see revived before their eyes the marvels of the past.”

Lord Curzon and his chief architect, William Emerson, planned to design the Victoria Memorial in a manner and style resembling the Taj Mahal, India’s most famous mausoleum, dedicated to the memory of Mumtaz Mahal, the wife of Shah Jahan.

King George V laid the foundation stone in 1906 and the memorial was completed in 1921. The Victoria Memorial has a vast collection of rare books, paintings and statues as well as housing galleries and gardens spread across sixty-four acres. It is one of India’s finest symbols of colonial architectural grandeur.

Lord Curzon, Victoria Memorial, Calcutta, 2013, Hahnemühle archival paper, 60 x 114 inches 18

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Pillars of Colonial Power, Victoria Memorial, Calcutta, 2013, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 44 x 66 inches

King Edward VII Memorial Arch, Victoria Memorial, Calcutta, 2013, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches

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The Drawing Room Lamp, Colonial Mansion Grandeur, Calcutta, 2011, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches

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Elias Ezra, a wealthy Jewish merchant and the commissioner of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, built Esplanade Mansions in 1910. This building, originally a residence, is Calcutta’s finest example of Art Nouveau architecture, a style imported from Europe.

Although the building’s ground floor is now occupied by government and private offices, the upper floors are still the city’s most sought-after residential address.

Trams and Mansion, Colonial Period, Calcutta, 2013, Hahnemühle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches 24

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Laha Residence, Colonial Period Mansion, Calcutta, 2013, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 44 x 66 inches

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The Burra Sahib’s Bungalow (Important Man’s Bungalow), built more than a century ago, is now a municipal corporation office. Years of neglect have reduced this once magnificent Europeanstyle mansion, built by Martin & Co., to a disgraceful shadow of its once-grand self.

Indigo Trader’s Mansion, Uttarpara, Calcutta, 2013, Hahnemühle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches 28

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By the early 19th century, Calcutta was reverentially referred to as the “City of Palaces.”

Its magnificent mansions were built by the British, wealthy Bengali and Jewish aristocrats and merchants. They incorporated Gothic, Baroque, Oriental and Islamic architectural styles and details, including fluted Corinthian columns, ornamental verandas, sloping roofs and large, manicured formal gardens.

One prominent decorative feature was the profusion of eclectic objects d’ art, including European oil paintings, Belgian cut-glass chandeliers, Victorian furniture, ormolu clocks, Chinese porcelain urns and busts in the style of ancient Greece and Rome.

Belgachia Raj Bari (Belgachia Royal Palace) bears silent testimony to this era of magnificence and grandeur. The marble bust of Alexander, at the entrance, and the arched corridor, with its Italian floor tiles, are timeless reminders of Calcutta’s colonial past. This palace, built more than a hundred years ago, now has a sole occupant. Raja Sailen Mullick wanders its fifty-four rooms filled with priceless memorabilia and faded memories.

Alexander, Shovabazaar Raj Bari, North Calcutta, 2011, Hahnemühle archival paper, 44 x 66 inches 30

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The Eastern Corridor, Colonial Period Residence, Calcutta, 2011, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 44 x 66 inches

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Venus, Raj Bari Staircase Lamp, Calcutta, 2011, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches

The Drawing Room, Bengali Nobility, Colonial Period, Calcutta, 2013, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches

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The Marble Palace, Bengali Nobility Residence, North Calcutta, 2013, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches

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Colonial Period Symbol #1, Calcutta, 2011, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches

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St. Paul’s Cathedral, 1847, Calcutta, 2011, Hahnemßhle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches

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La Martiniere School, Colonial Splendor, Calcutta, 2013, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches

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Bethel Synagogue was built in 1856. Although services stopped many years ago as Calcutta’s Jews migrated to Israel, the interiors of this beautiful synagogue (much like those of Magen David, Calcutta’s other synagogue) are stunning and a joy to behold.

The huge, gleaming chandeliers and ornate columns compliment the shinning marble floor. Arched, stained-glass windows imported from France bring heavenly light into this ancient place of worship. Despite being surrounded by shanty shops, the imposing domed structure still exudes a strong regal presence and commands silent admiration.

Bethel Synagogue, North Calcutta, 2011, HahnemĂźhle archival paper, 44 x 66 inches 44

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From 1858 to 1911, when Calcutta was the capital of British India, the city witnessed a spate of frenzied construction of buildings influenced by the conscious intermingling of various European and Indian styles of architecture.

Today, sadly, many of these structures are in various stages of decay. Conservation efforts are patchy and are often stymied by litigation, tenant troubles, ownership disputes, old tenancy laws and a lack of funds.

These deserted and decaying structures pictured here were once the regal residences of wealthy merchants. They’re now rapidly crumbling into dust and lost memories.

Past and Present #2, North Calcutta, 2013, HahnemĂźhle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches 46

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St. James’ Church, Colonial Period, Calcutta, 2013, Hahnemßhle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches

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Vases and Venus, Raj Bari, North Calcutta, 2011, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches

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Christ Church, North Calcutta, 2012, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 30 x 20 inches

Rear Staircase, Colonial Period Mansion, Calcutta, 2013, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 30 x 20 inches

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Ballabh Raj Bari (Ballabh Royal Palace), with imported figurines lining the roof, stunning frescoes and impressive towers, was built more than a century ago for the wealthy Ballabh family. Although the family has now shifted to more contemporary accommodations elsewhere in the city, the mansion is still used for important family events as well as the annual Durga Puja festival, which celebrates the Hindu goddess Durga.

The living room, still very much in use, is one of the many rooms built in the neoclassical style that surround the central courtyard. The mansion and its gardens are occasionally used for film shoots.

Courtyard Reception Room, Bengali Aristocrat’s Mansion, Outskirts of Calcutta, 2013, Hahnemßhle archival paper, 44 x 66 inches 54

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The Princep Ghat was built in memory of 19th century British scholar, Orientalist and secretary of the Asiatic Society James Princep in 1843. It is one of many ghats (a series of steps leading down to a holy river) lining the banks of the Hooghly. The serene, Palladian-style portico sits in the shadow of the mighty Howrah Bridge, one of Calcutta’s most recognizable landmarks. In 1965, the bridge was renamed Rabindra Setu, after Rabindranath Tagore, but it’s still popularly known as the Howrah Bridge. The Princep Ghat remains a well-loved recreational spot for evening strolls and family picnics.

Past and Present #1, Prinsep Ghat, Calcutta, 2009, Hahnemühle archival paper, 44 x 66 inches 56

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Colonial Garden-House Stairway, Calcutta Suburbs, 2012, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 44 x 66 inches

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Flowers, Jewish Cemetery-1870, Calcutta, 2011, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches

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Verandah Railing, Bengali Mansion, North Calcutta, 2011, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches

The Reformatory, Colonial Period Structure, Calcutta, 2013, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches

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Colonial Period Cathedral, North Calcutta, 2013, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches

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Bishop Heber, St Paul’s Cathedral, Calcutta, 2011, Hahnemßhle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches

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Built in the Italian Renaissance style, the Magen David Synagogue was constructed in 1884

by Elias David Joseph Ezra, in memory of his father. It no longer has a congregation. Prior to World War II there were more than five thousand Jews in Calcutta. Today it’s estimated that there are fewer than twenty-five. Like Bethel Synagogue, its interiors boast a splendor and vastness. Its stained-glass windows glimmer like jewels, and light the main hall with an ethereal glow. The vast halls, raised balconies and wide, wooden staircases, though silent and empty, are kept spotlessly clean by caretakers. The high dome, painted blue with silver stars, resembles the heaven so dearly sought by all who once came here to pray.

Sanctuary #2, Magen David Synagogue, Calcutta, 2011, HahnemĂźhle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches 68

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Time Passages, Magen David Synagogue, North Calcutta, 2011, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 44 x 66 inches

Archway, Magen David Synagogue, North Calcutta, 2011, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 30 x 20 inches

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Boithok-khana, Colonial Raj Bari Drawing Room, Calcutta, 2011, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches

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Stairway, Colonial Raj Bari, Calcutta, 2011, Hahnem端hle archival paper, 20 x 30 inches

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Text © 2014 Sundaram Tagore Gallery Images © 2014 Prabir Purkayastha All rights reserved under international copyright conventions. No part of this catalogue may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Cover: Alexander, Shovabazaar Raj Bari, North Calcutta, 2013, Hahnemühle archival paper, 44 x 66 inches