South Park Street Cemetery

 

Coexistence of life and death – a historical and ecological perspective

 

• Sometime around 1840s there happened to be a dense forest infested by tigers and dacoits. This area was selected for shifting the Christian burial ground from the heart of the city. The first cemetery for East India Company was near the present-day Kiran Shankar Roy Road and this was closed down in 1767. The perpetual stench, belief in the Miasma theory, devastating sight of dead body processions, lack of knowledge about tropical diseases and unavailability of antibiotics were the reason for shifting the cemetery to the outskirts of the Kolkata. As many as four cemeteries were constructed in this forest land. It’s bewildering that this forest was none other than the Park Street; the bustling metropolitan hub that we know today. The area later on came to be known as badamtala due to many almond trees planted here. The four cemeteries as seen in a city map of 1847, were North Park Street, South Park Street, Mission and French cemeteries. Henceforth, this area came to be known as the Burial Ground Road. After independence, England declared that it will finance the maintenance of civilian burial grounds but not the private ones or those serving East India Company officials. Thus, Indian Government decided to sell off three of the cemeteries retaining only the South Park Street cemetery till date. 
• One of the oldest non-church cemeteries of the world, South Park Street cemetery was established in 1767 to replace the yard of St. John’s Church in the ruins of the old Fort William. The first burial was on the 25th August, 1767 of Mr. John Wood, who was a writer in the Customs House Also known as the Great Christian Burial Ground in Asia, it covers an area of about 8 acres and was closed down in 1790 although few cases of burials were reported till 1830. The sprawling area has about 1600 tombs ranging from epitaphs, cenotaphs and tablets. The monuments are of Gothic, Neo classical or Indo Saracenic architectural style being mostly rectangular or circular with ornate roofs. The cemetery houses remain of people from all strata of the society including wealthy ones as is evident from the elaborately designed tombs. 

The Entrance

Heritage site

Entrance

Near the gate

One of the ornate tombs

• One of the tallest graves is of the renowned Indologist Sir William Jones. Currently this grave is maintained by the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 

• The tomb of Henry Louise Vivian DeRozio lies immediately outside the walls of the premises and is maintained by the All-India Anglo-Indian Association, Calcutta. 

Tomb of DeRozio

• English, French and Armenian tombs are seen here. Although restoration projects are underway, several structures are on the verge of destruction due to biodegradation, fungal growth and wild vegetation leading to root penetration and dampness.  Several epitaphs were seen to have soil built up or tree growth making them virtually unidentifiable.
• Herein comes the story of life, rather the eternal tussle between anthropogenic and natural factors, which leads to a distinct ecological footprint of a particular space. 
• As one steps into the chiaroscuro, the ambience automatically shifts from the hustle and bustle of the city to a peaceful environment amidst tall shady trees and plants of different varieties. Walking down the path one can see the Cyanobacterial biofilm along the way rendering a blue green effect to the soil. 
• As one progresses, certain tombs can be seen to be covered with characteristic orangish layers of the algae Trentepohlia sp. 

Fungi sporocarp

• Going in deeper into the cemetery, the surrounding becomes cooler and more insulated from the city pollution to certain extent. Here we can observe the growth of lichens (a symbiotic association of algae and fungi) even of the rare crustose variety. The lichens do not grow on marble or stone tombs as there are no perforations for hyphae penetration. Lepraria incana, commonly called as dust lichen can be seen here. 

Lichen patches 

• The trees planted here were selected thoughtfully as each of them flower at different seasons. This ensured flowers falling on the graves all round the year even when people could not visit to pay homage to the departed souls. Among the trees the main ones are mango (Mangifera indica), debdaru (Polyalthia longifolia), gulmohur (Delonix regia). Others include Casuarina, Copper pod tree (Peltophorum pterocarpum) etc. The presence of Beech fern (Phegopteris sp) can be seen. Timber yielding trees were never planted to prevent the entry of poachers. 

Casuarina tree

• Herbs of different types include the exotic dubba ghash (Cynodon dactylon). 

• Presence of caterpillar, butterfly, snails and birds can be seen in abundance. 

• Ecological succession of primitive to advanced plant species can be witnessed easily. This urban cemetery stands as a biodiversity island amidst the city which can thrive with minimum human interference. 

• Few evidences suggest the existence of wetland in this area. Channels were built all around the paths to drain out inundated water. The moisture saturated soil throughout the year supported the coexistence of halophytic and mesophytic plants. Thus, the area which was once a dense forest with saline water encroachment stands as a silent observer to the play of life and death through centuries. All this happens at the very heart of the once capital of colonial India, Kolkata.

 

 

 

 

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