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| Chowringhee |
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Heritage
as a tourist attraction
 The
year 1990 marks Kolkata's tercentenary- a major landmark in
the turbulent history of the city. There is a great and growing
interest in India's unparalleled architectural heritage. The
country has awoken to its potential for tourism and now actively
promotes its heritage as a tourist attraction. Ironically,
unlike Delhi, Agra, or Fatehpur Sikri this former imperial
capital presents a sad face to the world, but the restoration
and imaginative reuse of its great civic building would represent
an effective investment in its future by regenerating the
symbols of its glorious past. The revitalization of its inner
core through a co-ordinated strategy of architectural conservation
and environmental improvement would be a permanent social
benefit to all its citizens.
–
Philip Davies
Chapter:"Capital of the Raj"
in
Changing Visions,
Lasting Images
Kolkata
through 300 years
Edited by Pratapaditya Pal
MARG PUBLICATIONS, 1990
ISBN: 81-85026-11-4
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View
of old Chowringhee: Aquatint by Thomas and William Daniell after
a drawing by Thomas Daniell, circa 1792. 1798. Private Collection.
It
will suffice to quote from learned researchers and writers who
have documented the history of Kolkata to its present day to highlight
the condition of our city's valued treasures. In his book "The
changing face of Kolkata", David William Martin begins the
chapter "Attracting the Action - Chowringhee delivers"
with the following lines:
Yesterday
Fame
and fortune have attended Chowringhee Road for nearly three centuries.
One of Kolkata's principal arteries , throughout the length of
its history it has carried an aura of prestige and importance.
Fashionableness and colour have always been its handmaidens. To
countless Indians, and for most people familiar with India , the
singularly unique name Chowringhee immediately identifies with
Kolkata.
It represents the nearest equation in India to what Piccadilly
is to London, Fifth Avenue to New York and the Champs Elysees
to Paris. Nostalgic Londoners like to regard their Circus as the
centre of the universe. Kolkatans are more reserved in their acclaim
, although the fervour they display for their city is perhaps
unmatched.
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Chowringhee
today:Photograph taken from the Statesman building looking south.
In the foreground is Tipu Sultan's Masjid.
Today
Although
dowdier these days than its more illustrious worldlier partners,
Chowringhee no less exudes similar allure and magnetism in its
eastern setting.
In some respects the most modest of them all, Chowringhee Road
would be the youngest of the quartet, and in world terms possibly
the least known and - certainly in the last fifty years - the
least visited by foreigners. But this is not to deny it its place
in history and its considerable significance in Indian affairs.
It could be justifiably claimed, that at a spot on the nearby
river Hooghly and within sight of today's bustling Chowringhee
Road, the British Empire was born and as well, the modern Indian
nation cradled.
[...] even as late as 1824 , Chowringhee was still regarded as
an 'area' or district. One of Kolkata's leading matrons of the
day glowingly called Chowringhee the 'Regent's Park of Kolkata'.
For her at least, the royal accolade was entirely befitting.
Martin concludes the Chowringhee chapter with an optimistic note:
The
'road to Kalighat' has experienced a great deal of Kolkata's history
since the days of Clive and Hastings. Probably its best days are
yet to come.
Whether we, as the present inhabitants of this great city share
a collective responsibility to restore the reputation it once
enjoyed, is a question we need to ask ourselves before it is too
late.
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