GUIDED TOURS
OF 1940S CALCUTTA
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Introduction
In
this section we want to recreate the experience of walking through Calcutta in the 1940s.
What buildings would you have seen, what sights, sounds and smells would you
have encountered in this street or that area?
What was the city like in those days?
The
tours we have so far are:
Tour No. 1 —Howrah
Station to Park Street
This tour will take us right through the
flourishing busy centre of the city on a route which for many would have been
their first experience of Calcutta.
You would pass grand buildings of
importance for politics, business and history, truly convincing you that this
might be second city of empire.
Tour No. 2
:—Chowringhee Road to Ballygunge Railway Station
This route will take us through the older
southern suburbs, the bastions of the well educated professional middle classes
of their day.
Tour No. 3
:—Chowringhee to Sealdah
The very mixed neighbourhoods of the East
are the subject of this tour out to Sealdah Station the other great entry to
the city.
Tour No. 4
:—Esplanade Row West to Kalighat Bridge
This tour promises a stroll along the
river, then on through the unique community of Hastings to the port district of Kiddepore,
and then on through wealthy Alipore and the banks of the Addi Ganga.
Southern Tour
:—From the Southern End of Chowringhee to Tollygunge
This tour leads us straight south through
to the very edges of the expanding city.
Northern Tour
:—From the Junction of Bentinck Street and Lower Chitpore Road to Paikpara
This tour takes you right through the
traditional Bengali north of the city.
_____Contemporary
Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___
TEEK-HAI
Once I knew a man who grew up in Philadelphia but never
visited Independence Hall located there. I know several New Yorkers who though
they live in its shadow, have never visited the Statue of Liberty.
I hope it can never be said that you
were in Calcutta and didn't visit the Burning
Ghats, the Kalighat Temple, and some of the other - equally famous -
sights which Calcutta
affords.
If you come here with an open mind
you will find Calcutta
is "Teek-Hai" (Okay). Of course, it's just like visiting any big city
back home: you can have a good time, or a bad time, depending on how well you
take care of yourself.
Incidentally, the people here like
us. They think we're all right. Thanks to the good behavior of the American
soldiers who preceded you, a friendly welcome from these folks awaits you. If
you behave equally as well, a similar welcome will await your buddies who
follow you in here.
"Teek-hai ?"
BRIG. GEN. R. R. NEYLAND
Calcutta,
1945
(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)
The
City Itself
Known by reason of its population as
the "Second City of the British Empire," Calcutta is a little over 30
square miles in area, including suburbs, and extends over ten miles from north
to south; the 1941 census (how they ever counted them is beyond us) established
the number of people here as being 2,108,891. Now that you are here, increase
that figure by one. The city crowds itself together on the left bank of the
River Hooghly; and it is one of the largest
shipping centers in the world. The terrain is generally flat, the height above
sea level being 16 to 19 feet. You might like to know that Calcutta
(and you right now) are located about as far north of the equator as is Havana, Cuba.
(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)
we
now propose to conduct him through the thoroughfares of this, the Premier City
of India
Having given the reader a general
idea of Calcutta in the preceding pages, we now
propose to conduct him through the thoroughfares of this, the Premier City
of India.
The series of tours in this and the following sections are so arranged, that
they cover almost every part of the city.
John Barry, journalist, Calcutta,
1939/40
(source
page 8 of John Barry: “Calcutta 1940” Calcutta: Central Press,
1940.)
(COPYRIGHT
NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial
educational research project. The copyright remains with John
Barry 1940)
AREA
AND POPULATION
AREA AND POPULATION: The area of Calcutta including the suburbs
is a little over 30 square miles. From the north to the south it extends over
10 miles.
Numerically, Calcutta
is, next to London, the largest and therefore
the second city in the British Empire. The
population in 1941, when the last census was taken, stood at 2,108,891 (Males
1,452,362; Females 659,529; Hindus 1,531,512; Muslims 497,535; rest 79,844.)
(source:
“A Guide Book to Calcutta, Agra,
Delhi, Karachi
and Bombay” The
American Red Cross and the China-Burma-India-Command. [1943]: at: http://cbi-theater-2.home.comcast.net/redcross/red-cross-india.html#INDIA)
(COPYRIGHT
NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial
educational research project. The copyright remains with the original
submitter/author)
_____Memories
of 1940s Calcutta_______________________
What
we were seeing and experiencing was literally awsome
We
learned to use the Calcutta trams, found our way
by foot down to Strand Road
from the Esplanade, looked in on Nimtolla Ghat, marveled at Howrah Bridge,
visited the site of the "Black Hole," and watched river traffic. To
we young fellows from the States, what we were seeing and experiencing was
literally awsome. Instead of a military operation, we felt we were being
priviledged to be taking a world tour of interesting spots at US government expense. At the time,
the "hurting war" was nowhere near Calcutta,
but was over across the bay in central Burma.
Glenn Hensley, Photography
Technician with US Army Airforce, Summer 1944
(source: 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)
SIGHTSEEING
Rubbernecking.
The day's young - Are you in a mood for a little sightseeing to start things
off? If you are, there are a number of ways to give this city and vicinity a
fast once-over. Let's take them one by one.
Strolling
Through. On you own, set off up through the
Maidan. It is Calcutta's
large, centrally located park that is flanked by a number of interesting
buildings both public and private. Victoria Memorial is at the southern end of
the park. And at the northwest extremity are the Government House and the Eden Gardens.
These gardens offer a cool retreat during the heat of the day. Starting from
the Maidan you can set off in any direction and find points of interest near at
hand. Only remember: Memorial Park, in the Maidan, is "out-of-bounds"
after sundowns.
(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)
American Red Cross Daily Tours
There
are a number of interesting sights to see in Calcutta that are not in-bounds except with official
permission. And so, for this and for a number of other reasons, the most
practical way to go sightseeing is to go on one of the daily tours arranged by
the ARC E.M.'s Clubs. All reservations for these tours should be made early in
the day at one of the two clubs, the Burra or the Cosmos (colored). For
officers, tours are arranged at the Hindisthan
Building. Red Cross
guides. The following paragraphs will give you a glimpse of what you may expect
to see:
ARC
Tour 1 includes a stop at Gov't House, which was until 1912 the residence of
the Governor General and Viceroy, and which is now the home of the Governor of Bengal. Considered the most beautiful residence in Calcutta. On to the Ochterlony Monument which is 165 feet high. Exactly
218 steps to the top. To Kalighat
Temple where animals are
sacrificed to the Goddess Kali whose body was alleged to have been broken into
51 pieces, and whose toe supposedly fell here at this temple. Pilgrims make
offerings here. The Goddess herself is worth seeing. Also you can see the
Champa Tree where Hindu women come to pray when they desire sons. And off you
go to the Sikh Temple. The Sikhs are followers of the
ten teachers called Gurus; they, the Sikhs, have a great reputation as fighting
men; they also abolished the caste system for themselves. To the Victoria
Memorial which was opened by Edward, Prince of Wales, in 1921 and which was
built with funds subscribed by the princes and people of India. Building closed for the
duration.
ARC
Tour 2 includes a visit to the Black Hole of Calcutta whose story you already know. (You
remember that in 1756 the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-dowls, attacked Calcutta and sacked the
English Settlement. The story of the "Black Hole" in which was
performed the amazing feat of squeezing 146 British men and women into a room
in the Fort that measured only 22 feet by 14 feet, with only 23 persons
surviving by the next morning, stands discredited today as a legend of the
siege itself, which was real enough). On your way to the Nakhoda Mosque which
is the largest Mohammedan mosque in Calcutta.
(Excellent view of the city). To the Nimtalla Burning Ghats
where the Hindus dispose of their dead by burning them in a sacred ceremony;
the ashes are thrown into the sacred river, and the mourners go down river to
purify themselves. Off to the Jain
Temple which was erected
in 1867. There is a lamp here which has been burning for 76 years. Then to the Temple to the Monkey God.
Here you will see 24 Jain Gods. Jainism is the only one of the almost primeval
monastic orders of India
which has survived to the present day.
Other
tours arranged by the ARC Clubs include river tours, a jute mill tour, and a
visit to the Thieves Market. The Puri tour lasting for eight days and taking
you to Puri, a nearby beach, is a darn good bet for E.M. and officers on
furlough or leave. Recreation and sightseeing are planned for you; or you may
spend the days lolling around. Suit yourself. For all particulars and for tour
tickets call at, or write, the American Red Cross Burra Club, 8 Dalhousie Square.
(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)
Sightseeing in Calcutta was endless
Of
the more orthodox sights in Calcutta,
there was the Maidan and its great buildings - a quiet oasis in a busy, noisy
city and here too were the Botanical Gardens with a wonderful Banyan tree. In
the 1940s it was about hundred and forty years old. The circumference of its
trunk was 51 feet, that of its crown 1140 feet. It had over 600 aerial roots
planted in the ground. These roots come down from the branches and take root
themselves. I doubt whether it still survives intact. Of various temples I
visited the Jain Temple was one of the most interesting.
Another that appealed in a rather gruesome way was the Temple of Kali
at Kalighat. Kali, consort of Siba the destroyer is the patron Goddess of Calcutta Hindus. The
temple was built in 1809 and in the sanctuary reigns the Goddess Kali, a black
figure with four arms, red eyes and a protruding scarlet tongue, garlanded with
a chain of human heads and flowers, while prostrate at her feet is her consort
Siba. However, I think what fascinated me most at the time was the burning
Ghat. The bodies were placed on piles of wood in trenches and burned. An almost
completely consumed body would still have two feet sticking out which hadn't
yet been consumed.
Harry Tweedale, RAF Signals Section, Calcutta, 1942-44
(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)
Life was to go on like this
in Calcutta for
several weeks more
My first impression of "CAL", as we were to call it, was quite
good. I wrote this at the time just after we had arrived. In the afternoon we
all went to have a look at Calcutta, we got lost a bit but soon found our way
through the native quarter to the more select European District. What a big
surprise, marvellous wide streets, big buildings, lovely parks, all reminded me
back home of Leeds and good old England. I had 2 eggs, bacon and chips followed
by ice cream, bread and tea in the Services Club opposite Government House, all
for one rupee 2 annas, about 2 shillings in English money, what a treat! Later
we saw a beautiful white building, which turned out to be the Queen Victoria
Memorial Building.
In the evening we went to the Lighthouse cinema in Chowringhi, which was the Main Street. It was
so beautiful inside and delightfully air conditioned and so nice to come out
after the show into the warmth of a balmy night, mosquitoes, crickets and all,
instead of into the cold, as we would have done in England. Life was to go on like
this in Calcutta
for several weeks more, visiting service canteens, usually manned by British
expatriates who did every thing they could to make our lives more bearable. We
saw a lot of films and visited local Christian Church and Chapel Services
usually with a free meal and a chat afterwards. We also were kept busy doing
fatigues, guard duties and keeping up with all the wireless and procedure
instruction, in readiness for what was to follow. By the way I've never seen so
many people on the streets, there were tens of thousands of them with
overcrowding on public transport, it was just like Bombay but only worse with people riding
precariously on tops of trains, hanging on for dear life, and cattle were
everywhere. I've never seen so many hideously deformed beggars all crying out
for "Baksheesh", they lived and died in their dozens here with the
cattle in CAL.
This was the other side of Calcutta,
the squalor, the degradation, the poverty and poor living standards, like I've
never experienced since. I did manage to fit in the sight of the infamous
“Black Hole “ of Calcutta"
where dozens of British wives and families met their cruel deaths during the
Indian Mutiny of 1857 [sic.].
Cliford Wood, RAF Wireles operator, Calcutta, 1942
(source: A4254059 AN RAF
WIRELESS OPERATOR ON THE BURMA
FRONT (Part 2 of 3) 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)
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