Smita's Kolkata Chronicles

Remount Road adjacent to Diamond Harbour road reminds one of the colonial past with red brick mansions. A short ride leads to the South Eastern Railway (SER) Head Quarters at Garden Reach. The sprawling red building with domes, turret and kharkaris is a majestic sight. Till date it is referred to as The Bengal Nagpur Railway Headquarters. The BNR main line from Nagpur to Asansol was opened for goods traffic on 1 st February 1891. It was only after Kharagpur was linked from the west and the south that it was connected to Howrah in 1900. The Main Office is housed in a massive red building built in the Indo – Saracenic style in 1907. The logo comprises of a tiger and a snake probably depicting Bengal and Nagpur. The management of the BNR was taken over by the Government of India in 1944. In 1952 BNR merged with East Indian Railway Company to form Eastern Railway. In 1955, South Eastern Railway (SER) was made an independent unit of the Eastern Railway. It comprised lines mostly operated ...

Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE) was established in 1884 by East India Company, as a workshop to repair vessels of River Steam Navigation Company.  In 1934, the Company was registered under the Indian Companies Act, 1913 and was renamed as Garden Reach Workshops (GRW) Limited. During 1939 -1945 the company was actively involved in the World War II.T he Government of India took over the same in 1960 .  The primary role of this riverine shipyard has been building warships and other vessel for the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard.  The diverse category of vessels built includes 05 ton boats to 24600 ton Fleet Tanker, world class Frigates and Fast Attack Crafts. Its role in defense preparedness of Indian Navy is undeniable. Other activities comprise of engineering business with a product profile of pre-fabricated steel bridges, various deck machinery items & assembly/testing/overhauling of marine diesel engines. The 1st warship of Independent...

The worshipped idol (https://kinjalbose.wordpress.com/2018/04/03/choto-rashbari/ ) Rathyatra (https://kinjalbose.com/2020/06/22/rathayatra-of-choto-rashbari/) Choto Rasbari located 93, Tollygunge Road, Kolkata was established by Pyarilal Mondal and Monimohan Mondal in April 1847 (Bengali year 1253) and is a Grade I heritage building under Kolkata Municipal Corporation.  The main temple is  navaratna  (nine pinnacled) dedicated to Gopal ji  and two  pancharatna  (five pinnacled) temples on either side. There are also ten  aatchala  (eight roofed) temples (five temples on each side) dedicated to Lord Shiva. The entire temple complex has a large courtyard of black and white marbles.  The idol of Shyamsundar ji,  which was brought from Bawali (near Budge Budge in South 24 Parganas) is also worshipped here along with Gopal ji.   The adjacent ghat of Adi Ganga is in a dilapidated state. There were 15...

Located amidst the hustle and bustle of one of the busiest thoroughfares of Kolkata, Baithakkhana bazar is an ancient market place in the Bowbazar area.  It was one of the largest paper markets in India which has lost its importance today due to emergence of digital technology.  It is also one of the largest retail groceries and FMCG (Fast-moving consumer goods) markets of eastern India and one of the oldest wholesale markets for vegetables and fish in the city.  As one passes through the place, the variety of marketable commodities holds one in awe.  Boytaconnah Street , as per Lt. Col. Mark Wood’s map of 1784, was the area east of Lal Bazar to Circular Road, which ran along the filled-in Marhatta Ditch and is now Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road.  In Bengali language Baithakkana means drawing room for gathering and chatting. According to legend, in this area under a ‘Bat-tola’ (banyan tree) to Job Charnock met his native acquaintan...

The main college building College entrance Women's College

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...