- Raj
Bhavan is the official residence of the governor of West Bengal.
- This
three-storied majestic building comprises of a central area with large halls, curved
corridors on all four sides.
- The Government House as it was called at that time
was completed on January 18, 1803. Twenty-three Governors-General and, later,
Viceroys lived in this house, until the capital shifted to Delhi in 1912. The purpose
of construction of this building was to keep 'plebeian' and the 'common man' out
of the vicinity of the abode of the Governor General. It was a seat of the
power and might of the Monarch and the Throne.
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| The Raj Bhavan Building |
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The North Gate
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| At the North Gate |
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The building at a distance
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- About the building:
Construction work started in 1799 and was completed in 1803. Wellesley started
residing in the year 1802. The building has six gates, the north gate for
commoners, the south gate for the entry of the Governor and two gates on each
of east and west side. It spans an area of 27 acres and the amount spent was 1,
80,000 pounds at that time. The price of the land was 80,000/- INR at that
time. The chief architect was Capt. Charles Wyatt and the building resembled
Curzon’s ancestral house – the Kelliston House of Durbishire. The architectural
style is Edwardian and comprises of a central dome shaped hall. Gas connection
was set up in 1873 and electricity in 1880s.
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| The East Gate |
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| A model of the building |
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| The Central Dome |
- The grand staircase is
accessible only by the Governor or any visiting head of state only on special
occasions.
- The staircase leads to the Drawing and Durbar Hall, which
currently is inaccessible to commoners. The first floor central area consists
of the Throne Room, Yellow Drawing Room, Banquet Hall and the Blue Drawing
and Brown Dining Rooms. On the first floor, North East corner is the Council
Chamber, where major Government decisions were made during British rule.
The second floor has the Governor's apartments and the Ball Room. These
areas are also inaccessible to the public.
- In
front of the staircase stands a canon mounted on a dragon. The canon was
built in 1842 as a Britain’s victory over China in the Opium War during the Governor
Generalship of Ellenborough.
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| The Wnged Canon |
- There is a controversy of opinion regarding the
statue of the Sphinx standing near the east gate. According to one view
it was built along with the construction of the Victoria Memorial while another
view is that it was built to commemorate Britain’s victory over Egypt in 1887.
As per installation time, the later view seems to be more acceptable. Initially
it was built of clay and cement by local artisans and later converted to cement
during the times of Curzon.
- The North and Central Marble Hall bears
several replicas of sculptures; the original ones are being preserved at the
Indian Museum. The earliest replica was built resembling Khajuraho sculpture. One
of these sculptures dates back to early Buddhist period when artisans were
unable to depict 3D versions and hence the statue shows the namaskar mudra
(folded hand posture) toward the side of the body, instead of the hands being
positioned in front of the body. The paintings of Dr. Rajendra Prasad (the
first president of Independent India) and C. Rajgopalachari (last
Governor-General of India, as when India became a republic in 1950 the office
was abolished and also the only Indian-born Governor-General) adorn the hall. A
palanquin dating back to 1880, a replica of a boat used by the first lady and a
rickshaw hand drawn by two persons are also preserved. In 1947 Durga Puja was
performed at this very hall.
- The first elevator of Asia installed here
is commonly called as the ‘guilded bird cage’ due to its small size
(accommodating about 3 people) and golden color. It was built by Otis Company
in either 1889 or 1892 and has been renovated only twice since then (1969,
2010).
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| The guilded bird cage |
- Another attraction here is the Phaeton Gharry used by Curzon.
- The rooms
are adorned with several photographs of national importance. These are replica
photos, the original ones being preserved at the Indian Museum and Indian
Archives.
- The library houses a collection of about 10,000 books and most
of them are signed by the Governor during whose tenure the books were included
among the collectibles. The room is used for Governor’s video conference. A
table which was used by Curzon for signing the documents related to
partitioning of Bengal was identified and put up in the library by Ex-
Governor, Viren J. Shah. The library has a replica of the first Indian
Constitution (the original one being written entirely by hand calligraphy) and
the book Works of Sir William Jones. The book Ruins of Gold (having the map of
undivided India) from the personal collection of Curzon is also preserved.
- The
manicured garden is a pleasure to view. Originally gravels were
transported from England for the walkway by Wellesley. Initially the garden was
devoid of trees for distant visibility of the building. Lady Amherst (known for
her fondness of trees and after whom the flowering plant Amherstia nobilis
is named) took upon herself the job of beautification of the garden. The drive to beautify the garden was carried on by later by Lady Eden. Two
artificial lakes built by Aukland and Lytton were designed to add to the
biodiversity of the place. In 1877 an amount of 11,000 Indian Rupees were spent
to construct the lake and a bridge.
- A replica of the symbol of British
Monarchy, the Royal Court of Arms (with the words God and Myriad
engraved on it in Latin) was transported all the way from Glasgow by Curzon and
was later brought down at the time of Indian independence. The huge structure
weighs 80 tonnes and is built in cast iron. This was later discovered during an
excavation during the Governorship of Gopal Krishna Gandhi. Initially it was
placed on the landing of the grand staircase and was replaced by the Ashok Stambh.
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| Replica of the Royal Court of Arms |
- Near the South gate is placed a huge Belgian glass mirror and four large marble
flower vases.
The grandeur of the building is much lost today owing to lack of
frequent renovation. It is hard to avoid the vision of plasters coming off the
damp walls and dust accumulating in the library. The initiative to open up
portions of this historical building was undertaken by the present Governor of
Bengal C. A. Ananda Bose on 14th April 2023. Called as Jan Raj
Bhavan, this heritage walk is guided by officials of the Indian Museum. The
attempt to preserve the itineraries is indeed commendable. Amidst strict
security protocols one experiences a slice of history that covers the
transition between the pinnacle of colonial supremacy and post-independence era.
An interesting observation is that the
tour guides deliberately used the prefix ‘Mr.’ instead of ‘Lord’ before the
names of the British Governor Generals. This apparently is a measure to
disregard the colonial dominion over the Indian commoners. Such an attempt of
decolonization is noteworthy; however, history can never be disregarded. Every corner of the building speaks about the
magnanimous attempt made to inculcate a slice of Britain here in Calcutta such
that it was fit to live by the rulers most of whom found this native land unfit
for civilized habitation.
Reference
https://rajbhavankolkata.gov.in/web/Photo.aspx
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