Stories of the Colonial architecture

 (KOLKATA-COLOMBO)

Lopamudra Maitra Bajpai

First Published

January 2019

Copyright © Lopamudra Maitra Bajpai, 2019

Lopamudra Maitra Bajpai  has asserted her right under the Indian Copyright Act to be identified as Author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Publisher

Crossed Arrows (A unit of Doshor Publication)

C/2 Ramkrishna Upanibesh, Regent Estate,

Jadavpur, Kolkata 700092

E-mail: doshor.publication@gmail.com

ISBN: 978-8193954409

Printed and bound in India by S.P. Communications Pvt Ltd, Kolkata

Acknowledgement

My sincere thanks to India-Sri Lanka Foundation and the Honourable High Commission of India in Sri Lanka (Colombo)- for the award of a social science research grant under the proposed title- “Histories and stories of public spaces- A study of the colonial architecture of Kolkata and Colombo”- and for encouraging research in history and comparative studies of South Asia. It is with their kind help that this study was possible between the two cities of Colombo in Sri Lanka and Kolkata in India. Heartfelt thanks to HE The High Commissioner of India, Respected Sir Mr. Taranjit Singh Sandhu. Thanks to HE The Former Deputy High Commissioner of India, Respected Sir Mr. Arindam Bagchi. I am much obliged and extend my sincere thanks to Respected Sir Mr. Niteen Yeola- 2nd Secretary (Pol.)- HCI, Sri Lanka- for all the help, support and encouragement. I also extend my sincere gratitude and thanks to Honourable Madam Mrs. Rajashree Chintak Behera- The Former Director, Indian Cultural Centre, Colombo- for always being an encouraging support.

I would also like to take the opportunity to extend my thanks to, Mr. Jawhar Sircar, Former Culture Secretary, Government of India and Former CEO Prasar Bharti, Government of India for his guidance and help. I also take the opportunity to extend my thanks to Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, Shiladitya Pandit (Correspondent, The Times of India, Pune), Dr. Pranab Jyoti Sharma (Manger- Language Services SAGE India Publications Pvt. Ltd.), Mrs. Luna Bose and Rishav Bose from Colombo, Architect Gopa Sen, Dr. Rupendra Kumar Chattopadhyay (Paresh Chandra Chatterjee Professor of History, Presidency University, Kolkata) and Dr. Shubha Majumdar (Deputy Superintending Archaeologist, Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi) and the helpful team of Archaeological Survey of India, Kolkata Chapter and Sanjeewani Vidyarathne (National Museum, Colombo) and my friends Ms. Radhika Singh and Ms. Rukmini Mukherjee for their love and support.  I would like to take this opportunity also to express my gratitude towards two important teachers who have always been a source of inspiration and motivation and guided me to learn history, research and ethnography- Late Prof. Amalendu Mukherjee, historian and Lecturer, Calcutta University and Late Dr. (Prof.) D.K. Bhattacharya, prehistorian and former Head of the Department of Anthropology, Delhi University. As I pen down the last few words of this work, I remember their words fondly. They would have been the happiest today to see the fruition of the hardwork.

Last, but not the least, I would like to extend my thanks to my Baba- Dr. Tushar Kanti Maitra, my Ma- Mrs. Manju Maitra, my sister- Dr. Gargi Maitra and especially my little daughter- Aishani- without whose constant support, love and encouragement and fruitful discussions, this work would not have been possible.

Prologue

The history of colonial times observed tremendous changes with respect to economic as well as socio-cultural, religious and political spheres of the Indian sub-continent. With a new chapter in history, the time also witnessed a period of rebuilding an identity and amidst the many factors, this was aided by the constructions of new buildings, giving shape to new settlements and recreating a new geography of the region. Down the course of history, these constructions have been the representations of an era gone by however, many have fallen into a state of despair in the present. This include both public and private historical places. While some have been fortunate enough to receive the touches of conservation, there are many who still lie in oblivion. This work focuses on specific public spaces from the colonial times across the regions of Kolkata (West Bengal, India) and Colombo (Western Province, Sri Lanka). This is not a technical work on architecture or conservation of heritage sites, but aims to touch upon the vital points of both through an understanding of history and the intangible cultural heritage element of the many lore and stories associated with historical spaces. The work aims to help in spreading awareness about not only these spaces, but the need to have an understanding about a balance between history and modernity- a continuity from the past that helps to find answers to many questions in the present.

Thanks and regards

Dr. Lopamudra Maitra Bajpai

April 18, 2018

World Heritage Day

Introduction- History, Stories and Preservation

Once upon a time, next to the lion’s gateway of the king's palace there was a huge tiger in an iron cage. The tiger used to go down on his knees to all the people who passed to and fro in front of the palace and say, 'Won't you please open the door of the cage for me just this once, kind sirs?' 'You must be joking,' they replied. 'If we open the door for you you'll break our necks.' Meanwhile one day there was a lavish feast at the palace. Learned men came flocking to attend it. Amongst them was a Brahmin who looked very kind and innocent. The tiger started to bow and scrape before him, and the Brahmin said, 'Ah, this is a very well-mannered tiger! What do you want, my son?' The tiger clasped his paws together and said, 'Please be so good as to open the door of this cage for me. I implore you on my bended knees.'

The Brahmin was such a kind-hearted man that he quickly did what the tiger asked and opened the cage-door. Then the good-for-nothing tiger came grinning out of the cage and said, 'Sir, I'm going to eat you up!' Anyone else would have fled instantly. But this Brahmin didn't know how to flee. 'I've never heard anything like it!' he said in great dismay. 'I've done you such a favour and now you say you're going to eat me! Surely people don't do such things, do they?' 'Indeed they do,' said the tiger. 'They do it all the time.' That can't be so,' said the Brahmin. 'Come on, let's find three witnesses and see what they say.' 'All right', said the tiger. 'If the witnesses agree with you. I'll release you and go on my way. But if they say that I'm right. I'll catch you and eat you up.'

The two of them went into the fields to look for witnesses. Between two of the fields the farmers had banked up some earth to make a small raised path. The Brahmin pointed to the path and said, 'This can be one of my witnesses.' 'Very well,' said the tiger, 'ask him what he thinks.' So the Brahmin called to the path, 'Hey, my friend, tell me what you think: if I do good to someone, does he do me harm in return?' 'Yes indeed, sir,' said the path. 'Look at what happens to me. By lying between two farmers' fields I do them a great service. Neither of them can take away the other's land; the water in one field cannot go into the other. I do them this service, but the wretches hack me with their ploughs to make their fields bigger.' 'You hear what he says, sir,' said the tiger, 'how harm is done in return for good?' 'Wait,' said the Brahmin, 'I still have another two witnesses to come.' The Wicked Tiger The Stupid Tiger and other tales 'All right, let's find them,' said the tiger.

In the middle of a field there was a banyan tree. The Brahmin pointed it out and said, 'This can be my second witness.' 'Very well,' said the tiger, 'ask him, and let's see what he says.' So the Brahmin called to the banyan tree, 'My friend, you are very old, and have seen and heard much. Tell me, if someone does a good turn can he receive a bad turn back?' 'That's the first thing that happens to me,' said the banyan tree. 'People sit in my shade to get cool, yet they jab me to get my sap for glue. They even tear off my leaves to catch the sap in. Look at this — one of my branches has just been broken off.' 'Well, sir,' said the tiger, 'you hear what he says.' The Brahmin was now in some difficulty and couldn't quite think of what to say. But at that moment a jackal happened to be passing. The Brahmin pointed to the jackal and said, 'He can be my third witness. Let's see what he says.' So he called out to the jackal, 'Jackal, sir, stop a minute and be a witness for me.' The jackal stopped, but wasn't keen to come closer. He answered from a distance, 'What a strange request! How can I be your witness?' 'Tell me,' said the Brahmin, 'do people harm those who have done them favours?' 'Who has done the favour, and who has done the harm?' asked the jackal. 'If you tell me, then I can give you my opinion.' 'This tiger was in a cage,' said the Brahmin, 'and a Brahmin was walking along the path — ' 'This is very complicated,' interrupted the jackal. 'I shan't be able to say anything unless I see the cage and the path.' So they all had to go back to see the cage.

When the jackal had paced all round it, examining it closely from all sides, he said, 'All right. I've got the cage and path straight. Now tell me what happened.' 'The tiger was in the cage,' said the Brahmin, 'and a Brahmin was walking along the path — ' At once the jackal stopped him and said, 'Wait a minute — don't go so fast. I want to get this first bit clear. What were you saying? The tiger was a Brahmin, and the path was walking through the cage?' The tiger burst out laughing when he heard this and said, 'What an ass you are! The tiger was in the cage and the Brahmin was walking along the path.' 'Hang on,' said the jackal, 'the Brahmin was in the cage, and the tiger was walking along the path — ' 'No, you fool, not that,' said the tiger. 'The tiger was in the cage and the Brahmin was walking along the path.' 'I can see that this is going to be a very confusing story,' said the jackal. 'I can't follow it at all. What did you say? The tiger was in the Brahmin, and the cage was walking along the path?' 'Never have I met such an idiot!' bellowed the tiger. 'It was the tiger who was in the cage, and the Brahmin was walking along the path.' 'It's no good,' said the jackal, scratching his head. 'I won't be able to understand such a difficult story.' The tiger lost his temper. 'You will have to understand it,' he roared. 'Look, I was inside this cage — look— like this—' As he spoke he got into the cage. The jackal shut the door and drew the bolt. Then he said to the Brahmin, 'Good sir, now I understand everything. If you want to hear my opinion, it is this: you should not do favours for the wicked. The tiger was right: bad is often done in return for good. Run away quickly now — the feast in the palace is not over yet.' And the jackal went off to the forest, while the Brahmin went to join the feast.

Thus goes a very famous folktale in Bangla from the region of Bengal (undivided), as well as Bangladesh and was part of the famous publication- Tuntunir Boi (The Book of Tuntuni- the tailor bird) of 1910 by renowned author, poet, illustrator and publisher Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury. In the book Old Deccan Days from (central) India one can get to know about a similar story- where the tiger is replaced with an alligator and the matter was finally settled by a clever jackal after several appeals were made to a banyan tree, camel, bullock and an eagle. In another version, as mentioned in The Tales of Punjab from (northern) India - the matter was referred to a pipal or Bo tree and a road, while the final dispute was settled by a jackal who put the tiger back into the cage.

A similar story echoes in the Sinhala language as well, which sounds very close to the Bengali counterpart. In this version, a crocodile attempts to eat the man and appeal was variously made to a kumbuk tree and a cow. Finally a jackal settles the dispute. Interestingly enough, a version of The Panchatantra from India also comes close to the Sinhala version where a crocodile attempts to eat a Brahmin priest and various appeals were made to a mango tree and an old cow and finally a jackal settles the dispute. Thus, the storyline seems to have revolved across the region of India and adjoining places- “reflecting the flora, fauna, the society and the temperament, and most importantly- the similarities of emotions of the common man.” (Bajpai Maitra, 6:2017). Interestingly enough, the diversity of the regions are reflected through the emphasised variations, “like the mention of the immense prominence of kumbuk tree across the region of Sri Lanka, the significance of the mango, banyan or pipal trees in the regions of India, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh or the importance of an agricultural