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Introduction
The
_____Pictures of 1940s
Calcutta_________________________
_____Contemporary
Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___
_____Memories
of 1940s Calcutta_________________________
Where to live in Calcutta
On Coming to take up my new post in
Micheal
Carritt, ICS officer. Calcutta
(source:
Micheal Carritt: A Mole in the Crown. New
Delhi
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non
commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with
Micheal Carritt )
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Our House
_____Pictures of 1940s Calcutta_________________________
Finding a house
Must have house cannot possibly refuse simply gorgeous golf and bridge
for you implore on bended knees jane
Malcolm
Moncrieff Stuart, I.C.S. (Indian Civil Service) District Magistrate 24 Parganas,
Calcutta
(source: personal
scrapbook kept by Malcolm Moncrieff Stuart
O.B.E., I.C.S. seen on
20-Dec-2005 / Reproduced by courtesy of
Mrs. Malcolm Moncrieff Stuart)
_____Contemporary
Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___
_____Memories
of 1940s Calcutta_________________________
I was a young Indian (Parsi) girl living in
Calcutta
I was a young Indian (Parsi) girl living in
My neighbours consisted of a Chinese family who
had trekked from Burma, an Anglo-Indian family - Mr and Mrs Carter, a
Portuguese family — Mr and Mrs Coelho and their 4 sons, and 2 Baghdad Jewish
families — the Nahoums and the Manassehs.
My family lived on the top floor and from our
veranda (whose doors and windows had been plastered with black and brown paper,
as protection from broken glass during the air raid), I could see the steeple
and weather cock of St Andrews Church, and in the background Howrah Bridge, the
life-line of Calcutta connecting the 2 sides of the mighty Hooghly River.
Katyun Randhawa, a young Indian (Parsi) girl, Calcutta
(source: A5756150
The bombing of
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial
educational research project. The copyright remains with the original
submitter/author)
We had a
large house
[…]
Megna Mills compound - our home- We had a large house consisting of a
'Hal Camera', a ’Khana Camera', three
'Palan Cameras', two 'Goosle
Cameras', a 'Bottle Khana’, a
'Borchi Khana', a large front verandah and a long narrow back verandah.
Kenneth
Miln, son of a ‘jute wallah’. Jagatdal/Calcutta, 1945-49
(source: Letter sent to us by Mr Kenneth Miln himself, July 2006 /
Reproduced by courtesy of Kenneth Miln)
Ranchi Lake
Our house was a seven-roomed bungalow in an L-shape
in Old Commissioners' Compound which was just near the
Elizabeth
James (nee Shah), AngloIndian schoolgirl. Ranchi
(source:
page 14 Elizabeth James: An Anglo Indian Tale:
The Betrayal of Innocence. Delhi
she was virtually on her own when she went
up there
We had a terrace, as the roof of the house was
called and my Aunt had a room built for herself which was her bedroom which I
shared with her. There was a bathroom built adjoining this so she was virtually
on her own when she went up there.
Elizabeth
James (nee Shah), AngloIndian schoolgirl. Ranchi
(source:
page 15 Elizabeth James: An Anglo Indian Tale:
The Betrayal of Innocence. Delhi
A Fairy Tale bed
She had an enormous four poster bed. It had been
shipped over from
Elizabeth
James (nee Shah), AngloIndian schoolgirl. Ranchi
(source:
page 15-16 Elizabeth James: An Anglo Indian
Tale: The Betrayal of Innocence. Delhi
They were so house proud
I have vivid memories of their home. It was
crammed with ornaments and little incidental tables in heavily carved wood.
They were so house proud - Burra Aunty would plump up the cushions as soon as
one rose from a chair. The chairs were always covered with Anti-Macassars and
[…]
Elizabeth
James (nee Shah), AngloIndian schoolgirl. Darjeeling
(source:
page 37-38 Elizabeth James: An Anglo Indian
Tale: The Betrayal of Innocence. Delhi
Aunty Dolly was
very house proud
Aunty Dolly was very
house proud and the dining room was graced by an enormous and very beautiful
table which seated about sixteen people. She had a piece of glass cut to fit the top so that the polish would not be spoiled
and when she gave dinner parties, this table would be laid with an array of
silver, with a splendid epergne in the centre. We used to watch the Bearer and
his assistant setting the table, starched serviettes rolled into mock
candlesticks and set into the glasses. Or sometimes lotus flowers made from the
serviettes placed on the plates. Her crockery too was wonderful, much of it
having been handed down to her by her grandmother who had brought it all when
she came from
The sitting room or
"Drawing Room" as she called it, was carpeted with lush Persian
carpet and all the furniture shone so that one could see one's reflection in
it.
Elizabeth
James (nee Shah), AngloIndian schoolgirl. Ranchi
(source:
page 18 Elizabeth James: An Anglo Indian Tale:
The Betrayal of Innocence. Delhi
The girls were
all taught to be chatelaines of the old type
The girls in our
family were all taught to be chatelaines of the old type. To learn to sew a fine
seam and keep a fine table and keep detailed household accounts - a habit which
I still have. We embroidered all the linen ourselves. The sheets were all done
with drawn thread borders and monograms. The towels too were all monogrammed.
We also did lots of needlework and cross stitch for the local church fetes.
Since Aunty Dolly and I were Church of England and the rest Roman Catholic -
this was the gain of both churches since we patronised them both and did work
for both.
Elizabeth
James (nee Shah), AngloIndian schoolgirl. Ranchi
(source:
page 18 Elizabeth James: An Anglo Indian Tale:
The Betrayal of Innocence. Delhi
Uncle had gone
This [death of her
grandfather] was not the only change to which I returned after my nine months
in
Elizabeth
James (nee Shah), AngloIndian schoolgirl. Calcutta
(source:
page 40-41 Elizabeth James: An Anglo Indian
Tale: The Betrayal of Innocence. Delhi
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The Neighbourhood
_____Pictures of 1940s
Calcutta_________________________
_____Contemporary
Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___
_____Memories
of 1940s Calcutta_________________________
I was a young Indian (Parsi) girl living in
Calcutta
I was a young Indian (Parsi) girl living in
My neighbours consisted of a Chinese family who
had trekked from Burma, an Anglo-Indian family - Mr and Mrs Carter, a
Portuguese family — Mr and Mrs Coelho and their 4 sons, and 2 Baghdad Jewish
families — the Nahoums and the Manassehs.
My family lived on the top floor and from our
veranda (whose doors and windows had been plastered with black and brown paper,
as protection from broken glass during the air raid), I could see the steeple
and weather cock of St Andrews Church, and in the background Howrah Bridge, the
life-line of Calcutta connecting the 2 sides of the mighty Hooghly River.
Katyun Randhawa, a young Indian (Parsi) girl, Calcutta
(source: A5756150
The bombing of
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial
educational research project. The copyright remains with the original
submitter/author)
Grandfather’s new house at 6, Lower
Circular Road
When
we entered grandfather’s new house at 6,
Samir
Mukerjee. Calcutta
(source:
Samir Mukerjee: Keep the faith & the friends. The Telegraph: 31Oct2003)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non
commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with Samir Mukerjee)
Moving out to Marquis Street
A few days after the contretemps with me - my
father found a job with Uberoi's the firm who had originally employed my Uncle as
a travelling salesman and he found some accommodation and came and took Aunty
Dolly and Stephen and me away from Mazda Mansions leaving Wahid alone with my
two sisters who said they did not want to leave.
Marquis Sheet - the place we went to live in was
something you read about but cannot believe unless you have seen it. It was in
what is known in
The Landlord was a Sindi and he openly boasted
that as far as he was concerned business came before even his mother and you
paid your rent or else you were out. That was it. It was a dreadful place. We
had to share a bathroom which was absolutely appalling.
There was running water only a couple of hours
per day and we had fill up containers with water when it was flowing. Of course
there was no hot water so cold water baths were the thing.
It was a dreadful place and I can remember one
night waking up to find that the sheet was absolutely a mass of cockroaches.
Somebody had fumigated their house and because this area was so open these
cockroaches had flown off from there and just invaded us en masse. Never before
had I seen and I hope never again to see anything like it. I was absolutely
terrified as were we all. Can you imagine waking up in the middle of the night
and finding your sheet one mass of brown crawling cockroaches - like something
out of a horror film.
Elizabeth
James (nee Shah), AngloIndian schoolgirl. La
Martiniere for Girls, Calcutta
(source:
page 46-47 Elizabeth James: An Anglo Indian
Tale: The Betrayal of Innocence. Delhi
Barrackpore - or part of it - had done its
best to give the feel of England
May 1942
Less than two weeks
after arrival, I and many others, were moved again to Barrackpore, about 20
miles away where a new Air H.Q was being formed. 3rd Tactical Air Force HQ it
started as, but it changed its name a few times during my stay. I was to spend
about two years in Barrackpore,[…]
Barrackpore, was the
place where I spent most of my time. On the grand trunk road from
It consisted of a
Railway station, a barracks, a cantonment, the Governor of
[…]
Barrackpore wasn't
really a bad place to be, as
No matter how hard you
try,
Harry Tweedale, RAF
Signals Section,
Barrackpore,May/June 1942
(source: A6665457 TWEEDALE's WAR Part 11 Pages
85-92 at BBC WW2 People's War'
on http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/ Oct 2006)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial
educational research project. The copyright remains with the original
submitter/author)
Entally
I was born
and lived the 20 years of my life before leaving India, in Entally, a small
area east of Lower Circular Road best
known for its Loreto Convent and for its market of the same name where a
sausage of legendary taste was produced.
Mike
Devery, schoolboy. Calcutta
(source:
Internet communications September 2004)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non
commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with Mike Devery)
Khaleeli Manzil
There
were also the Khaleelis ensconced in their comfortable mansion, Khaleeli
Manzil. We got to know them well and the large family had tea and dinner with
us a number of times. Mrs Khaleeli was covered from head to foot in the
traditional chaadar. To brighten our teas she used to send us a Persian sweet
called ranganak, with dates and walnuts, which was simply scrumptious. It had
an exotic smoky flavour that I always imagined came from oriental markets in
Habib
Khaleeli became our friend and turned out to be a born entertainer with his
quips and exaggerations. I felt drawn to one of the sisters, Tuba, who was
quiet and demure and blessed with a velvety voice. Every time I went to visit
the Khaleelis right opposite our house, I used to look out for Tuba who often
withdrew into her room and left me sorely disappointed.
Sometimes
from their drawing room came the sound of Middle-Eastern music, wavering,
sensuous, products of a culture where incense left its aroma on tangible
objects and in the air. It only heightened my sense of mystery. Much later when
we had all taken charge of our lives and had scattered in different parts of
the world, Tuba went to
Khaleeli
Manzil still stands, weathered by the Indian wind and rain. Habib Khaleeli
lives there alone and is hardly in circulation. When I look at the house now, I
think of the gaiety and merriment of a large, united family that I had the
privilege of seeing during my impressionable years.
Samir
Mukerjee. Schoolboy. Calcutta
(source:
Samir Mukerjee: Keep the faith & the friends. The Telegraph: 31Oct2003)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non
commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with Samir Mukerjee)
We could look into the households in the
slum from our third floor apartment windows
My father was a secretary of
Ashis
Nandy. Schoolboy, Calcutta
(source pages2
of Ashis Nandy: “Death of an Empire” in Persimmon. Asian Literature,
Arts and Culture (Volume III, Number 1, New York, Spring 200r also www.sarai.net/journal/02PDF/03morphologies/
04death_empire.pdf pp 14-20 Sarai
Reader 2002: The Cities of Everyday Life.)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial
educational research project. The copyright remains with Ashis Nandy)
Col. Berkeley Hill
In
He had a vast estate in Tatasilvai a village
outside
Elizabeth
James (nee Shah), AngloIndian schoolgirl. Ranchi
(source:
page 23-24 Elizabeth James: An Anglo Indian
Tale: The Betrayal of Innocence. Delhi
Phyllis Day
Another family we knew were the Days. Phyllis
Day was an Anglo-Indian girl married to a Bengali man. This was very unusual, High
caste Hindu families were very opposed to mixed marriages but even more so when
the girt was "Half-caste". They had a huge house on the outskirts of
Elizabeth
James (nee Shah), AngloIndian schoolgirl. Ranchi
(source:
page 24 Elizabeth James: An Anglo Indian Tale:
The Betrayal of Innocence. Delhi
The D’Silvas
My brother Stephen and I had a private tutor,
Mrs D'Silva, who lived in a large house off the main road- She was the wife of
Reginald D'Silva whose family owned large chunks of land in
Elizabeth
James (nee Shah), AngloIndian schoolgirl. Ranchi
(source:
page 25 Elizabeth James: An Anglo Indian Tale:
The Betrayal of Innocence. Delhi
The
Palace
_____Pictures of 1940s
Calcutta_________________________
_____Contemporary
Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___
GOVERNMENT HOUSE
Government House, very centrally situated at the
northern end of the
Designed by Captain Wyatt of the Corps of
Engineers, the foundation stone was laid on the 5th February, 1799, and the
building, erected at a cost of about Rs. 20 lakhs, formally opened and occupied
by the Marquess of Wellesley on the 27th January 1803, with a Ball given
in honour of the signing of the Treaty of Amiens.
The palace, consisting of the main building
surmounted by a majestic silvery dome and four corner blocks, is almost a
replica of Kedleston Hall, Lord Curzon's ancestral home in Derbyshire. It
stands in the centre of an artistically laid-out park covering about six acres,
and was the residence of the Viceroys of
There are six gates to the building; the design
of the two eastern and the two western ones attracting special attention, each
being surmounted by a stone lion with a forepaw resting on a globe. The main
gate is to the north, where the Visitors' Book is kept.
When the Governor is in residence, mounted
sowars of his Bodyguard are on duty at the southern entrance, after the style
of the Horseguards at
A magnificent flight of steps leads to the State
Room, used only on State and Ceremonial occasions. The main entrance is through
a handsome portico, supported by lofty classical columns and surmounted by the
Royal Coat of Arms. The Throne Room, where the Throne of Tipu Sultan is still
preserved, and the Grand Marble Hall are on the first floor ; the Ball Room. is
on the floor above.
The Palace abounds with objects of art, many of
which are of historic interest.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 57-58 of John Barry: “Calcutta
1940” Calcutta
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non
commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with John Barry 1940)
BELVEDERE
Admission to the grounds only :—Free; open daily from sunrise to sunset.
Trams :—Kidderpore, Alipore, Behala.
Buses .—Nos. 3, 3A, 12, 12B.
This
palatial building, in the Italian Renaissance style of architecture, set in an
extensive park at Alipore, was the official residence of the
Lieutenant-Governors of
The main
entrance to Belvedere is on the north, from under a lofty gateway surmounted by
a carved figure of a vigilant tiger. The drive sweeps round smooth lawns to a
flight of steps guarded by two brass cannons, which were cast at Cossipore and
bear the arms of the East India Company. The facade is adorned with the Royal
Coat of Arms and supported by a double row of Ionic pillars crowned by Doric
capitals.
On
ceremonial occasions, when the gorgeously uniformed Viceroy's Bodyguard line
the drive and the steps, and when Indian ladies in richly brocaded saris, and
Indian gentlemen in their gay national costumes, mingle with the European
guests, Belvedere and its surrounding lawns are a magnificent setting to a
distinguished gathering.
Curiously
enough, the origin and early owners of this magnificent building are lost in
antiquity, Prince Azim-us-Khan being generally accepted as having built it in
1700. In 1780 however, Warren Hastings is recorded as having sold Belvedere to
Major Tolly, constructor of Tolly's Nullah : Tolly, after residing there for
some years, leased it to W. A. Brooke and on Tolly's death in 1802, it was put
up for auction and passed through several hands before it was finally purchased
in 1854, for the residence of the Lieutenant-Governors of Bengal, on the
recommendation of Lord Dalhousie.
Since
then it has been enlarged and improved upon by successive Lieutenant-Governors.
Sir W. Gray, Lieutenant-Governor, 1867-1871, added the verandah on the east
side and reconstructed the west wing. Sir A. Eden, Lieutenant-Governor,
1877-1882, built the whole of the centre main facade and added a wooden
flooring to the central ballroom. Sir
S. Bayley, Lieutenant-Governor, 1887-1890, constructed the glazed dining room
on the north-east side, while Sir C. Elliot, Lieutenant-Governor, 1891-1895,
had the rooms on the upper storey of the west wing built, and substituted an
archway for the door leading from the main staircase to the drawing room.
Further improvements, including the construction of a racket court and swimming
pools, were made by Lord Willingdon, Viceroy, 1930-1935.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 49-51 of John Barry: “Calcutta
1940” Calcutta
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non
commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with John Barry 1940)
Galstaun Park
Alongside runs
During the Great War Mr. Galstaun very
generously placed this commodious building at the disposal of the military authorities,
to be used as a temporary hospital for British soldiers, and it was in this
palatial building that Mr. Galstaun, in December 1921, received as his guest H.
R. H. the Prince of Wales, afterwards King Edward VIII. Mr. Galstaun always
very willingly lent his Park for open-air functions and allowed the general
public free access to the grounds and swimming pool. The Park is now the
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source pages
125 of John Barry: “Calcutta 1940” Calcutta
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non
commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with John Barry 1940)
City of Palaces
[going east on
(source pages 92 of John Barry: “Calcutta
1940” Calcutta
[…] while at the corner of Middleton Street and
Chowringhee Road stands Darbhanga House, the town residence of the Maharajah of
Darbhanga, adorned with a handsome illuminated clock tower: […]
(source pages 121-123 of John Barry: “Calcutta
1940” Calcutta
Immediately on the right, at No. 2 [Judge's
Court Road], is Bejay Manzil, the
(source pages 153 of John Barry: “Calcutta
1940” Calcutta
copyright remains with John Barry 1940)
At the corner of Alipore Road and Sterndale Road
is the palace of the Maharajah of Cooch Behar and a little higher up (left),
the Royal Agri-Horticultural Gardens; […]
(source pages 153 of John Barry: “Calcutta
1940” Calcutta
Pursuing our way along the main thoroughfare [
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 87-91 of John Barry: “Calcutta 1940” Calcutta
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non
commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with John Barry 1940)
_____Memories
of 1940s Calcutta_________________________
Life at Woodlands
[…] but soon we left for
My
Behind the main house were the staff quarters and the
stables. We kept about six ponies for us children, three or four horses for Ma,
and a dozen more for any guests and the ADCs. In the garages Mr. Davidson, our
English chauffeur, presided over a collection of motorcars ranging from Ma's
latest sedan to some elderly sportscars that had belonged to my father. Mr.
Davidson was reputed to have been the first man to drive a car in
Inside "Woodlands," Ma had given her imagination
full rein and had decorated each room in a different style. The scheme for the
drawing-room was dictated by a beautiful Chinese screen made of wood and
encrusted with jade and rose quartz, while others were French or English or
Italian. Her own room was the most oriental in the house, filled with divans
and Persian rugs and dominated by the fabulous carved ivory bed, with its great
elephant tusks sticking dangerously out of the legs, which is now in the family
museum in
"Woodlands" was always full of people. Whenever
we were in
Theoretically, viceregal entertaining demanded perfection,
but in practice attempting to reach such an unattainable standard invited
disaster, and at "Woodlands" there always seemed to be some minor
mishap. The most inexplicable and infuriating to Ma was a menu for a special
dinner-party. After she had spent days planning it, the menu was finally
printed in French, on handsome cards with the
Of all the many people who came to "Woodlands," a
few stand out in my memory: the Maharaja of Kashmir, who always came for the
races and sometimes stabled his horses there; Prince Aly Khan, who, like Ma's
other Muslim friends, was intrigued by my Muslim name; and the specially
thrilling Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., the great swashbuckling film star. I remember
that he was expected at "Woodlands" in the early evening, and for two
days beforehand I was in a silent turmoil dreading that he would be late and I
should be sent to bed before he arrived. When the evening came, this dismal
prospect seemed increasingly likely as the minutes passed, but mercifully I was
reprieved. He had, it turned out, been caught by fans at the Howrah Bridge,
then—as now—the only bridge over the Hooghly River, which flows through
Calcutta. When he finally got to "Woodlands" at eleven o'clock, all
his buttons had been torn off as souvenirs. I did meet him, and he was
immensely charming. He gave each of us a signed photograph of himself. Mine was
inscribed, "Remember the 23rd of May," and I could hardly believe the
wonderful coincidence that he and I shared a birthday. I still have the
photograph. Later he came to
But in the eyes of Ila, Menaka, and me, the most glamorous
visitor of all was the Maharaja of Jaipur, who came to stay with us during the
Christmas holidays of 1931, when I was twelve.
Gayatri
Devi, princess of Cooch Behar Calcutta
(source:
pp. 87-90 Gayatri Devi / Santha Rama Rau: “A
Princess Remembers. The Memoirs of the Maharani of Jaipur”. Philadelphia
& New York
The end of the old Woodlands
The last big celebration we ever held at
"Woodlands" was on the occasion of Indrajit's engagement to the
Princess of Pithapuram. With the fall of
Gayatri
Devi, Maharani of Jaipur. Calcutta
(source: p. 187
Gayatri Devi / Santha Rama Rau: “A Princess Remembers. The Memoirs of the
Maharani of Jaipur”. Philadelphia & New
York
What remains of the palaces
The palace in
Gayatri
Devi, Maharani of Jaipur. Calcutta
(source: Gayatri Devi / Santha Rama Rau: “A
Princess Remembers. The Memoirs of the Maharani of Jaipur”. Philadelphia
& New York
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Rajbati
_____Pictures of 1940s
Calcutta_________________________
Coolies in front of Marble Palace
In contrast to the magnificent palace in
background, two sweating coolies strain at a load of precious firewood. The building is known as the Marble palace,
contains a rich collections of paintings, lavishly furnished. it belongs to a Bengali family who are
alleged to feed hundreds of poor daily.
Clyde Waddell, US military man, personal press
photographer of Lord Louis Mountbatten, and news photographer on Phoenix
magazine. Calcutta
(source:
webpage http://oldsite.library.upenn.edu/etext/sasia/calcutta1947/? Monday, 16-Jun-2003 / Reproduced by courtesy of David N. Nelson,
South Asia Bibliographer, Van Pelt Library,
_____Contemporary
Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___
Mysore House
and across Tollygunge Bridge, on the right, is
"Mysore House", the historical palace built by Prince Golam Mohammed,
son of Tippu Sultan : on the upper floor are a number of old portraits, paintings
and manuscripts; conspicuous among them is a painting entitled "The
Departure of the Sons of Tippu Sultan from the Zenana".
Returning to Russa Road and pursuing our way, we
have on the left the well-known Shahi Mosque, built in 1843 by the same Prince
Golam Mohammed; by the side of the mosque runs Prince Anwar Shah Road leading
to Gariahat Road. In
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 166 of John Barry: “Calcutta 1940” Calcutta
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non
commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with John Barry 1940)
_____Memories
of 1940s Calcutta_________________________
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mansion Courts
_____Pictures of 1940s
Calcutta_________________________
_____Contemporary
Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___
Galstaun Mansion
At the
corner of
The
southern wing of this mansion covers the site of the house built by Chief
Justice Sir Henry Russell in about 1798; it was in this house that the
beautiful Rose Alymer died on the 2nd March 1800, at the tender age of twenty.
She was buried in the
"Ah,
what avails the sceptred race?
Ah, what
the form divine?
What
every virtue, every grace?
Rose Alymer,
all were thine.
Rose
Alymer, whom these wakeful eyes
May
weep, but never see,
A night
of memories and sighs
I
consecrate to thee."
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 87 of John Barry: “Calcutta 1940” Calcutta
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non
commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with John Barry 1940)
Addresses of Mansion Courts
in 1940
Amolia Chamber—
Amolia Mansions—10 Wellesley Square.
Auckland Mansions—6/7 Lower Circular Road.
Avenue Court—24 Syed Amir All Avenue.
Avenue House—Chowringhee Square.
Central Court—2 Chittaranjan Avenue.
Chowringhee Mansions—30
Chowringhee Road. Phone, Cal. 672.
Cohen Mansions— 14 Ripon Lane.
Coronation Court—West Range, Park Circus.
Crescent Court—39B Lower Circular Road.
Durga Chamber—114 Lower Range, Park
Circus.
Emerald Court—178 Lower Circular Road.
Esplanade Mansions—14 Government Place
East.
Fountain Court—3 Middleton Street. Phone,
Cal. 2204.
Galstaun Mansions—12 Park Street.
Grosvenor House—21 Old Court House
Street.
Halwasiya Mansions—62/2 Moira
Street.
Jiwan Mansions—11 Middleton Row.
Jubilee Court—11 Harrlngton Street.
Karananj Mansions—Kunction of Park
Street and Free School St.
King's Chambers—40 McLeod Street.
King's Court—50 Theatre Road.
Lindle Chambers—6A Hastings Street.
Middleton Mansions—9 Middleton- Street.
Palace Court—1 Kyd Street.
Park Chambers
Park House—6 Park Lane.
Prince Court— 47 New Theatre Road.
Phone, P.K. 1591.
Queen's Chambers—
Queen's Court—
Royal Chambers—Moira Street.
Royal Court—5/1 Russell Street.
Stephen Chamber—26 Chowringhee Road.
Stephen House— 4 & 5 Dalhousie
Square. Phone, Cal. 1108.
Subid All Buildings—1 Madan Street.
Victoria Chambers—5 Chowringhee Road.
Victoria House—Chowringhee Square.
Phone, Cal. 6200.
White House—21 Chittaranjan Avenue.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 244-246 of John Barry: “Calcutta 1940” Calcutta
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial
educational research project. The copyright remains with John Barry 1940)
!!NEW!!
Mazda Mansions – Free
Noor Buildings – Park Circus, 31 Beck Bagan Row.
Palace Court – in central Calcutta.
(Source:
Contributors)
_____Memories
of 1940s Calcutta_________________________
Galstaun mansions
Some time early in this century an Armenian
land-developer named Galstaun made a mint of money in
Micheal
Carritt, ICS officer. Calcutta
(source:
Micheal Carritt: A Mole in the Crown. New
Delhi
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non
commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with
Micheal Carritt )
Keeping Open House
My flat was
at the top of a block near the Bishop's House at the south end of Chowringhee
... You entered the flat along a sort of open corridor, windowless on one side.
Immediately in front stood the door to a small boxlike bedroom-writing room
plus bathroom. This region I kept for myself. All the rest of the flat had by
now become 'open house' to uniformed visitors ... The hospitality offered
wasn't a thought-out affair—it had just evolved during the latter part of '41
as I got to know some newly-arrived British N.C.O.'s and thought well of them
... They brought friends; one thing led to another and by August '42 the flat
was scarcely ever guestless ... men just arrived, by plane from the forward
airstrips or off the leave trains,
sweaty and tired; threw their soiled clothes on the floor ... bathed, and
settled in. Food they knew would be good, and the rooms reasonably clean and
there'd be no houseproud 'memsahib' to worry over who did what or where things
went. On January nights, when
Ian
Stephens, editor of the Statesman. Calcutta
(source:
Ian Stephens: Monsoon Morning. London
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non
commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with : Ian Stephens 1966)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boarding Houses
_____Pictures of 1940s
Calcutta_________________________
_____Contemporary
Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___
Addresses of Boarding Houses
in 1940
Agabeg's Boarding Establishment—24
Chowringhee Road. Phone, Cal. 3721.
Astor House—44 Theatre Road. Phone, P.K.
745.
Buchanan's Boarding Establishment—14/1
Sudder Street. Phone, Cal. 3752.
City Boarding—27 Harrison Road. Phone,
B.B. 3851.
Grand National Boarding—
Hayton. R. A. —6 Rawdon Street.
Phone. P.K. 841.
Hayton's Board and Residence—161
Dharamtala St. Phe., Cal. 1310.
Holm Croft—2/1 Harrington Street- Phone.
P.K. 178.
Killarney Lodge—3 Wood Street. Phone.
P.K. 261.
Loch Lomond Lodge, Ltd. —12/1
Pretoria Street. Phone, P.K.1479.
McDonnell, L., Ltd. Boarding
Establishment—1 Bishop Lefroy Road. Phone, P.K. 235.
New Kenilworth—1 & 2 Little Russell
Street. Phone, P.K. 1879.
Presidency Boarding House—66 Harrison
Road. Phone, B.B. 3569.
Salvation Army Naval and Military Home—2
Sudder Street. Phone, Cal. 3883.
Santi-Niketan Boarding House—16 Harrison
Road. Phe., B.B.671.
Sarkies' Central Lodge—6/2 &.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 248 of John Barry: “Calcutta 1940” Calcutta
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial
educational research project. The copyright remains with John Barry 1940)
!!NEW!!
Fairlawns –
(Source:
Contributors)
_____Memories
of 1940s Calcutta_________________________
… a pair of trousers and shoes for Rs 15
I made my first trip to
I put up at a hotel owned by south Indians on
First-class tram fare from
(N.S.
Mani, newly employed office worker from Kerala, Calcutta, February 1945
(source: Telegraph Thursday, October 27, 2005)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non
commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with N.S. Mani )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Student Hostel Days
_____Pictures of 1940s
Calcutta_________________________
_____Contemporary
Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___
Addresses of Hostels
in 1940
Baker Hostel—8 Smith Lane. For students
of Islamia College.
Birkmyre Hostel—4 Middleton Row- Phone,
P.K. 998. Page 208.
Elliott Hostel—Wellesley Square. For
Madrassah students.
Ram Mohan Roy
Hostel—
Salvation Army Gidney Hostel for Young
Business Women— 38 Dharamtala Street. Phone, Cal. 1673.
St. Xavier's College Hostel—30 Park
Street.
St. Xavier's College Hostel for Indian
Students—219/1 Lower Circular Road.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source
pages 220 of John Barry: “Calcutta 1940” Calcutta
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial
educational research project. The copyright remains with John Barry 1940)
_____Memories
of 1940s Calcutta_________________________
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Village Hut
_____Pictures of 1940s
Calcutta_________________________
_____Contemporary
Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___
_____Memories
of 1940s Calcutta_________________________
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the Bustee
_____Pictures of 1940s
Calcutta_________________________
Children near entrance to U. S. air base at Alipore, somewhere Garden Reach Road. Calcutta
Glenn Hensley, Photography Technician with US Army Airforce, Summer 1944
(source: Glenn S. Hensley: Children at air base entrance, I003, "Children near entrance to U. S. air base at Alipore, somewhere Garden Reach Road. Calcutta," seen at University of Chicago Hensley Photo Library at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/images/hensley as well as a series of E-Mail interviews with Glenn Hensley between 12th June 2001 and 28th August 2001)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced by permission of Glenn Hensley and under a Creative Commons license)
Calcutta's poor
Clyde Waddell, US military man, personal press
photographer of Lord Louis Mountbatten, and news photographer on Phoenix
magazine. Calcutta
(source:
webpage http://oldsite.library.upenn.edu/etext/sasia/calcutta1947/? Monday, 16-Jun-2003 / Reproduced by courtesy of David N. Nelson,
South Asia Bibliographer, Van Pelt Library,
Cow dung patties
"Patty-cake Annie" is the nickname
tagged to the makers of
Clyde Waddell, US military man, personal press
photographer of Lord Louis Mountbatten, and news photographer on Phoenix
magazine. Calcutta
(source:
webpage http://oldsite.library.upenn.edu/etext/sasia/calcutta1947/? Monday, 16-Jun-2003 / Reproduced by courtesy of David N. Nelson,
South Asia Bibliographer, Van Pelt Library,
_____Contemporary
Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___
Nothing can equal, for squalor and filth
and stench, the bustees
Nothing
can equal, for squalor and filth and stench, the bustees (workers'
quarters) in
"Conditions
in certain parts of
(Shiva Rao: "The Industrial Worker in
India" pp. 113-140)
(source:
pages 363-364 of Rajani Palme Dutt: “India
To-Day” London
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non
commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with Rajani Palme Dutt)
_____Memories
of 1940s Calcutta_________________________
We could look into the households in the
slum from our third floor apartment windows
My father was a secretary of
Ashis
Nandy. Schoolboy, Calcutta
(source pages2
of Ashis Nandy: “Death of an Empire” in Persimmon. Asian Literature,
Arts and Culture (Volume III, Number 1, New York, Spring 200r also
www.sarai.net/journal/02PDF/03morphologies/ 04death_empire.pdf pp 14-20 Sarai Reader 2002: The Cities of
Everyday Life.)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial
educational research project. The copyright remains with Ashis Nandy)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Barracks & Camps
_____Pictures of 1940s
Calcutta_________________________
R & R Hotel. Calcutta
Robert Sanders
, USAAF 40th Bombergroup. Calcutta, 1945
(source: webpage http://40thbombgroup.org/indiapics2.html Monday,
03-Jun-2003 / Reproduced by courtesy of
Bob Sanders)
Karnani Estates
Karnani Estates, mammoth apartment hotel for
Clyde Waddell, US military man, personal press
photographer of Lord Louis Mountbatten, and news photographer on Phoenix
magazine. Calcutta
(source:
webpage http://oldsite.library.upenn.edu/etext/sasia/calcutta1947/? Monday, 16-Jun-2003 / Reproduced by courtesy of David N. Nelson,
South Asia Bibliographer, Van Pelt Library,
_____Contemporary
Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___
BILLETING
Officers. Whether in
Enlisted Men. The American Red
Cross Clubs have the best accommodations (and other billeting data) for E.M. If
the ARC is unable to handle you, consult the Billeting Officer,
Things To Remember. 1. In all
places tap water is unfit to drink. Ask your room bearer for drinking water.
2. Lock up or check those Arms and Ammunition.
3. Bearers are paid by the hotel; therefore
tipping is optional. If you're well-heeled kick in with a couple of annas but
don't overdo it. Other people have to live there.
4. Most hotels operate on the European Plan
which means that the rate per day includes three meals.
5. Each hotel has a laundry price list. When
paying for laundry insist that the dhobie show you this list.
6. If you attempt the American habit of
stripping a hotel room when you leave, it may prove embarrassing; for you'd be
surprised how quickly those room bearers will trot out their mental check lists
as you're in the act of departing.
(source: “The Calcutta Key” Services of Supply
Base Section Two Division, Information and education Branch, United States Army
Forces in India - Burma, 1945: at:
http://cbi-theater-12.home.comcast.net/~cbi-theater-12/calcuttakey/calcutta_key.html)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial
educational research project. The copyright remains with the original
submitter/author)
Roommates
After I wrote you last
night, I expected to get to bed in reasonable time, but that was not to be. No
indeed. Gus came in in a disgusting state of inebriation, and was so argumentative
that I finally had to tell him off...after which he rather sullenly went to
bed, lay there looking and sounding greatly like a dully animated porcine
structure. I was about ready to turn the lights off when Captain Parsons
entered, awakened Gus, and both of them indulged in drunken horseplay. Then
they decided to gave some more drinks, and to satisfy them, I had a bottle of
beer with them. They talked about everything, with Parsons rather rational, Gus
clever enough, but belching hoggishly ever few moments. Not an inspiring sight,
I assure you.
If my previous
description of him sounded unflattering, it was because I was so impressed with
the pig-like characteristics that his nose, mouth, and receding chin, with that
crew cut lend his features at such moments. Shove an apple in his mouth and you
might be very surprised indeed. If sound effects oinked, that would do it, and
you could never tell the difference.
At any rate, Parsons
wanted me to go outside to talk to him privately. He wanted to tell me
something in my professional capacity. It was largely to the effect that he was
drinking too much, realized it, and wanted to know what was wrong with him.
From what he said, it seems that he feels inferior because he has only a fifth
grade education; has been overseas before but this time he had to leave a wife
and the only home security he ever knew. He hates his own people, and dislikes
his present job of utilities officer very much. He kept me up until 3:30, and
of course I did him no good. I understand now why he stresses that item of rank
so much...it is the only thing he can pull.
Richard Beard ,
US Army Lieutenant
Psychologist with 142 US Calcutta
(Source: p.217 of Elaine Pinkerton (ed.): “From
Calcutta With Love: The World War II Letters of Richard and Reva Beard”
Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press, 2002 / Reproduced by courtesy of Texas
Tech University Press)
Pin-up girls in the wind
April 9, 1945
Dearest Ritter:
The frolicking wind blows wildly and irresponsibly
through our compartment at this 5:30 afternoon hour. Our pinup girls are
dancing on their heads or really kicking up their heels in wild abandon. Still
no rain and so our lives are talcumed with dust at all hours of the day and
night.
[…]
Richard Beard ,
US Army Lieutenant
Psychologist with 142 US Calcutta
(Source: page 140 ff of Elaine Pinkerton (ed.): “From Calcutta With Love: The World
War II Letters of Richard and Reva Beard” Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press,
2002 / Reproduced by courtesy of Texas Tech University Press)
_____Memories
of 1940s Calcutta_________________________
Eventually we arrived at Calcutta
Eventually we arrived
at
Stan Martin, soldier,
Calcutta, early 1940s
(source: A1982955 Stan Martin's WW2 story at BBC
WW2 People's War' on http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/
Oct 2006)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial
educational research project. The copyright remains with the original
submitter/author)
Quartered on the Race Track
I arrived in India in the fall of 1944 and
departed on Dec. 7th of 1945 on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, on the USS
General William Black.
My tour of duty in the CBI was a member of the
73rd Ord. Depot Co., located in
We were housed at an orphanage in Dum Dum, a
province of Calcutta and in the last six months of my tour we moved to Camp
Hialeah which was located in the very center of the Calcutta Race Track across
from Queen Victoria's Memorial. They were racing every day during the war. We
were sleeping on straw-filled mattresses in mud-built huts with straw roofs,
plus the daily dust, dirt and other waste of the race horses was not a pleasurable
place to be for "one's health."
Arthur
W. Sprankel, US Army soldier, 73rd Ord. Depot Co, Calcutta
(source:
CBI Sound-off.Vol.49, No 2 Spring 2003)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational
research project. The copyright remains with Arthur W. Sprankel &
CBI Sound Off)
Dengue fever at the museum
[…] we were billeted
in the museum. This was in the main street of
Kenneth Shaw
Prout, Army, Calcutta
(source: A5526489 Memories of a Bombardier 1940
- 1946 (Part 4) at BBC WW2
People's War' on http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/ Oct 2006)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial
educational research project. The copyright remains with the original
submitter/author)
Daddy would’nt put the officers who
organised this camp in charge of a public lavatory in the smallest village in
England
After going to an old camp where all particulars were taken, Daddy
went with some others to a camp which had'nt long been built, situated at a
suburb of
Leonard Charles
Irvine, 4393843, Royal Air Force Flt Sgt Nav, Calcutta
(source: Leonard
Charles Irvine "A LETTER TO
MY SON" at BBC WW2 People's
War' on http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/ Oct 2006)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial
educational research project. The copyright remains with the original
submitter/author)
Billeted in Alipore
Once again I was alone,
no mates, and then a transfer to Alipore where all the trains turned around and
the posh rich kids lived. My billet was a big house in a nice town with native
policemen on the gate, (who seemed to let anyone in regardless), and half a
dozen Indian boys who cooked lovely chips for a few annas.
Philip Miles, RAF photo reconnaissance unit, Calcutta, mid
1940s
(source: A4144664 What did you do in the RAF,
Dad? (Part 2) at BBC WW2
People's War' on http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/ Oct 2006)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial
educational research project. The copyright remains with the original
submitter/author)
First impressions: Calcutta
16 July
1945: My first impressions of
The
hospital — Entally — was a pleasant surprise to us. We drove in through the
bold iron gates, on either side of which extended high stone walls that
encompass the entire hospital. We were taken past the main hospital buildings,
which looked very imposing and consisted of white stone buildings with green
shutters, rather on French lines — not surprising since it was originally a
convent.
Watching
fireflies on the veranda
Finally,
we arrived at our mess. This indeed is very pleasant. It is a two-storey
building with upper balcony, and my room is over the dining room. The floors
are highly polished stone.
Matron
takes a keen interest in the garden, and just now, with the rain, it is at its
best. The lawns are beautifully green. In fact, apart from a few tropical palm
trees mixed in with other trees, and of course the everlasting heat, with the
roses in bloom, hollyhocks and gladioli one could easily imagine it was
What I
most like doing is sitting in the cool of the evening (after a most satisfying
dinner) on the veranda — watching the fireflies, flit to and fro in the dark
like lighted matches, while the crickets sing and the little lizards dart
around catching flies.
Henrietta Susan
Isabella Burness, V.A.D., Calcutta
(source: A1940870 Life in the VAD (Voluntary Aid
Detachment), 1945at BBC WW2
People's War' on http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/ Oct 2006)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial
educational research project. The copyright remains with the original
submitter/author)
So I
was not the most popular bloke
Alipore was a photo
reconnaissance unit with (at last) Mosquito aircraft. I was in charge of ‘A' flight
and had all airforce and instrument mechanics, most of the men were not keen
upon having a strange NCO put in over them. I knew none of them, and they had
been together all the way through Burma with photo reconnaissance spitfires,
dating back from the time Singapore fell to Japan, all the way to India. And
who was this mystery man (who knew about the new aircraft?) which none of them
had ever seen before. So I was not the most popular bloke and I didn't even
live with them but went off to my posh billet only to appear the next day.
Any major jobs and air
tests, I was in charge (but not over the engine fitters they were a separate
unit but they still lived with the other gangs). Any air tests I did, I flew
with the ordinary pilot of that particular plane, and quite a few times I flew
with the Group Captain. I got to know him quite well, really a nice man but
again it did not make me the most popular, but what could I do it was my job.
One day a few of us were taken to Dum Dum,
Philip Miles, RAF photo reconnaissance unit, Calcutta, mid
1940s
(source: A4144664 What did you do in the RAF,
Dad? (Part 2) at BBC WW2
People's War' on http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/ Oct 2006)
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial
educational research project. The copyright remains with the original
submitter/author)
A day out at the front
[Pilot
Officer Thirlwell was a photo-reconnaissance Hurricane pilot, who arrived at Magwe
just after the last of his squadron's aircraft crashed. As he had no job,
he was sent] to Lashio to investigate the possibility of flying out the
squadron personnel by
Pilot
Officer Thirlwell, pilot of an RAF
photo-reconnaissance Hurricane. Caclutta, mid 1940s .
(source:
page 360, Julian Thompson: “The Imperial
War Museum
Book of the The War in Burma London
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non
commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with Julian Thompson)
Charpoys
[…] with a good bed to
sleep on at night, we called them "charpoys", an Indian description
for bed. Even the good beds were nothing like the ones we had back home, they
were usually made of bamboo with jute twine as body support. We had the luxury
here of having white sheets and always with the inevitable mosquito net to be
slung over the bed supports.
Cliford Wood, Royal Air Force
wireless operator, Calcutta, 1943-44
(source: A4254103 AN RAF WIRELESS OPERATOR ON
THE
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial
educational research project. The copyright remains with the original
submitter/author)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Refugee Camp
_____Pictures of 1940s
Calcutta_________________________
_____Contemporary
Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___
_____Memories
of 1940s Calcutta_________________________
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the Street
_____Pictures of 1940s
Calcutta_________________________
Indian child bride
Clyde Waddell, US military man, personal press
photographer of Lord Louis Mountbatten, and news photographer on Phoenix
magazine. Calcutta
(source:
webpage http://oldsite.library.upenn.edu/etext/sasia/calcutta1947/? Monday, 16-Jun-2003 / Reproduced by courtesy of David N. Nelson,
South Asia Bibliographer, Van Pelt Library,
Homeless natives, sleeping
Most any block in the slum areas will find natives
sleeping huddled together under any shelter they can find, frequently none at
all. How the thousands of homeless can
survive under such conditions is beyond the understanding of many Western
visitors.
Clyde Waddell, US military man, personal press
photographer of Lord Louis Mountbatten, and news photographer on Phoenix
magazine. Calcutta
(source:
webpage http://oldsite.library.upenn.edu/etext/sasia/calcutta1947/? Monday, 16-Jun-2003 / Reproduced by courtesy of David N. Nelson,
South Asia Bibliographer, Van Pelt Library,
_____Contemporary
Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___
_____Memories
of 1940s Calcutta_________________________
A British view of a Calcutta Street
Imagine walking
along, say, Dalton Road and seeing, say, the Spencer brothers—one
sitting crosslegged in the midst of his wares in a loincloth and a beautiful
turban, the other .sitting right in the middle of the pavement bathing himself
(with his clothes on') at one of the wells of water that spring up at intervals
all the way along. Then next door probably a soothsayer or phrenologist with
all sorts of weirdlooking objects hanging outside—tortoise shells, dead things,
goodness know; what! Then, say, Mr Bell lying in his .string bed fast asleep in
the street—or sitting there stitching away and machining in the midst of naked
little urchins—boys, yelling little coloured birds. Rickshaws being drawn by
men, gharries by horses. Dead cats and rats lying about all over the place!
Such a bewildering conglomera tion—it is indescribable!
Laura
Lidrell, atcress. Calcutta1944
(source:
Geoffrey Kendal: The Shakespeare Wallah. London
(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non
commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with Geoffrey Kendal)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clothes
& Fashions
_____Pictures of 1940s
Calcutta_________________________
Indian women in native sarees
Indian women, dressed in the native Saree,
return from prayer at
Clyde Waddell, US military man, personal press
photographer of Lord Louis Mountbatten, and news photographer on Phoenix magazine.
Calcutta
(source:
webpage http://oldsite.library.upenn.edu/etext/sasia/calcutta1947/? Monday, 16-Jun-2003 / Reproduced by courtesy of David N. Nelson,
South Asia Bibliographer, Van Pelt Library,
Sidewalk tonsorial parlor
Sidewalk tonsorial parlor.
Clyde Waddell, US military man, personal press
photographer of Lord Louis Mountbatten, and news photographer on Phoenix
magazine. Calcutta
(source: webpage
http://oldsite.library.upenn.edu/etext/sasia/calcutta1947/? Monday, 16-Jun-2003 / Reproduced by courtesy of David N. Nelson,
South Asia Bibliographer, Van Pelt Library,
Clothes washing
In case there's any doubt in our mind as to your
dhobie's intentions with your best shirt, the expression on the face of the
fiendish laundry-wallah battering the garment in this picture should remove
it.
In closing this album of
Clyde Waddell, US military man, personal press
photographer of Lord Louis Mountbatten, and news photographer on Phoenix
magazine. Calcutta
(source:
webpage http://oldsite.library.upenn.edu/etext/sasia/calcutta1947/? Monday, 16-Jun-2003 / Reproduced by courtesy of David N. Nelson,
South Asia Bibliographer, Van Pelt Library,
_____Contemporary
Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___
_____Memories
of 1940s Calcutta_________________________
hated having the rolls in my hair every
night
Not long after that my
Uncle Bertie died. In company with many other little girls, I used to have my
hair twisted with rags every night to produce a Shirley Temple effect. My hair
was naturally curly anyway and people had a habit of sticking a finger into one
of my curls and pulling it out. I hated this - hated having the rolls in my
hair every night and on the day of the funeral I was sitting at the piano -
tinkling on the keys and somebody stuck a finger in one of my curls, I jerked
my head away and turned round to see Aunty Laura - his widow and remember
thinking "I must be nice to her today." To this day, I detest having
rollers in my hair!
Elizabeth
James (nee Shah), AngloIndian schoolgirl. Calcutta
(source:
page 13 Elizabeth James: An Anglo Indian Tale:
The Betrayal of Innocence. Delhi
"Juliana curl"
Dr Sinha was an Indian man who was married to an
English woman called Lilian. She was very friendly with my Aunt Dolly, possibly
having a common base in that they were both white girls married to Indian men.
Lilian, or Aunty Lil as we called her wore saries and she had long golden hair
which reached to her ankles. They had two girls called Renee and Joyce. Joyce's
claim to fame in my memory was an incident when she tried to do something
called a "Juliana curl" in her hair and lodged a comb so fast in her
tresses that it had to be cut out. Thereafter, a Juliana curl became a sort of
in house joke with us.
Elizabeth
James (nee Shah), AngloIndian schoolgirl. Dehra Dun
(source:
page 12 Elizabeth James: An Anglo Indian Tale:
The Betrayal of Innocence. Delhi
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Toys
_____Pictures of 1940s
Calcutta_________________________
_____Contemporary
Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___
_____Memories
of 1940s Calcutta_________________________
I was given a rubber doll for Christmas
That year, I was given a rubber doll for Christmas
which was something of a novelty because rubber dolls had just become
fashionable and mine had been specially imported. My brother Barney - always a
hit of a nut - put it in the fire.
Elizabeth
James (nee Shah), AngloIndian schoolgirl. Dehra Dun
(source:
page 12-13 Elizabeth James: An Anglo Indian
Tale: The Betrayal of Innocence. Delhi
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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