Smita's Kolkata Chronicles

The foundation of Scottish Church College was laid by Dr. Alexander Duff, the first overseas missionary of the Church of Scotland to India .  Initially known as the General Assembly's Institution, it was founded on the 13th July, 1830 . Rev. Alexander Duff opened his institution in Kamal Bose's (an Anglo Indian) house, upper Chitpur Road, Jorasanko. In 1836 the institution was moved to Gorachand Basak's house in Garanhata and in 1836 the present building was begun.   In 1840 the Institution could be divided into School and College departments .  Alexander Duff (1806-1878) was born in Scotland on 25th April, 1806. He had a brilliant career and arrived in Calcutta on 27th May, 1830 after two shipwrecks. In India, Dr. Duff had played a significant role in imparting western education through the medium of English. This further paved the way for the inculcation of western philosophy and western way of living within the Indian society. Dr. Duff developed a profound love for Ind...

The Armenians were the first merchants to arrive to India much before Job Charnock and the East India Company from the ancient Eurasian country. Merchant Thomas Cana arrived to Malabar coast on 780 CE.  The community was sparsely populated reaching maxima of 12,000 people at a time.  The Armenian Holy Church of Nazareth (located at Bowbazar), established in 1688, was the first church of Calcutta which houses the oldest Christian grave dating back to 1630. It was rebuilt in 1724 through the efforts of  Agha Nazar  after the original wooden structure perished in a fire in 1707 . The same register of Baptism is maintained from 1904 till today.  The majestic architechtures of Kolkata associated with the Armenian legacy includes Stephen Court and Grand hotel (built by Arathoon Stephen), Queens’s mansion and Nizam Palace (built by J. C. Galstaun), Armenian Ghat (built by Hazoori Mal), Park Mansion (built by Mesrope Thaddeus) and others.  The wealth...

The Baghdadis came to India during the British Raj and settled in Bombay, Calcutta and other port cities in Asia. The Jews of Cochin and Mumbai were the first inhabitants of this community in India. They gathered wealth as agriculturalists, soldiers and merchants. As per records, Shalon ben Aharon ben Obadiah Ha-Cohen arrived to Calcutta from Aleppo in Syria on 4th August 1798 via Bombay and Surat. He settled near Portuguese and Armenian dwellers at Murgighata in Barabazar. His nephew Moses Simon Duek Ha-Cohen, a renowned businessman, played a pivotal role in drafting the constitution of the community. In the 1800s there were 300 Jews in Kolkata of which 30 remain today.  Three synagogues, two prayer halls, and a cemetery at Narkeldanga remain, along with a few stately mansions and street names. Jewish Girls and Jewish Boys School (Barrackpore) are prominent even today.  Street names associated with famous Jewish persons include Ezra Street in Burra Bazaar (after Sir Da...

Girish Chandra Bose (October 29, 1853 – January 1, 1939) was an Indian educator and botanist who hailed from the village of Berugram in the Burdwan district of India.  After his graduation from Hooghly College in 1876, he was appointed as a lecturer of science at Ravenshaw College , where he worked until 1881. He was offered a state scholarship to study agriculture at the Royal Agricultural College (Cirencester, England). He took life membership of the Royal Agricultural Society in 1882, and in 1883 was elected a Fellow of the Chemical Society. He completed his degree at the Royal Agricultural College in 1884.  After visits to Scotland, France and Italy, he returned to India. A Manual of Indian Botany written by Bose, was intended as textbook containing plants of India, in contrast to the European textbooks commonly used at the time. He also started the first agricultural journal in India . The journal, founded in 1885, was published both in English (as Agricultural Gazette...

Located at Singhipara, this sprawling bunglow dates back to about 250 years. After overcoming family ownership issues, the present owners have undertaken massive renovation drive to restore the past glory. The main building is two storied. Intricate meenakari motif adorns the porch. Within the house one finds ornate sofas, flowervases, paintings and chandeliers. As one enters, the massive gate bearing a lion statue holds one in awe.  The marbel temple of the family diety of Kali creates a sense reverence. However daily worship is now temporarily stopped. The lawn, walkway and pond adds to the majestic charm.  Durga  pujo is performed at the thakurdalan The place can be reached by a 45 minutes drive from Kolkata either from the Rajarhat side or the Airport side beyond Madhyamgram. The road leading to the place lies amidst fields of paddy, mustard and banana, far from the hustle and bustle of the city life. The property is strictly private and not for public viewing. Date o...