06 July 2014; Colonial history peckings...

This Sunday, the Swains were at St. John's, Kolkata. this trip as has been the previous ones was no less exciting and it gave its ample share of historical blows. 1783 or 1784, the two years mentioned in the original plaques does not make any difference when we discuss the vintage of more than 250 years. It is mentioned in few sources that the church is the first ever establishment of the Britishers in India.

 I could not take a better photograph of the frescos on the right hand side of the main altar. To the right is a staircase which leads to the private room where the ceremonies related to birth, death, baptism and weddings are held. I tried capturing that too.

 It remained as only a church for some time and later additional areas were used to build fabulous  memorials. Inside the church, one can see an admirable frontage, the chairs, the chambers, the prayer hall all replete with a tinge of history. There was a different smell in the air too; am sure it was not because of the moisture or anything else (no one else was present while we were inside the same) but it was because of the vintage, the creakiness of the wood, the chemical reaction happening with the marble slates and the fresco. I could not take better pictures of the fresco because of my limited photography skills.

The famous Last Supper painting is by John Zoffany. It was his original painting which was exhibited in the National portrait Gallery, London since 1761. It was presented as an altar-piece to St. John;’s church in 1787 and it has been there since.

One of the key caretakers Shri Sudarshan (from Balia) mentioned that he has been in the service of the church for the past 4 generations. Infact, I also saw his son there. 

While entering itself, we have a small room to the right which also houses many interesting things. There is the chair which was once meant for Warren Hastings; the room is replete with many rare photographs. Important ones are the first Principal of La Martiniere’s School, the artist of famous Last Supper painting, group photographs of the various Bishops of North India Church of 1910, some restored photographs and many more.

Sambhab had a small tryst with history; the below picture is taken of him sitting next to Warren Hasting's chair.  

There was an epitaph which mentioned exactly the following,"The sum of Fifty Thousand Sicca rupees is a gift granted by Major General Claud Martin To the poor of Calcutta; the interest of which is to be daily distributed in perpetuity". Though this is not being done daily, bu the interest comes in every quarter and it now comes at approximately INR 21000.

The caretaker also mentions that below the church, there are secret ways of reaching GPO and Fort William which were built to be used in case of war or an emergency. Interesting to know these things today. 

When one step out of the church, one find the Black Hole Memorial; that is one of the few recorded cases where we have a mass murder of 123 Britishers. This is denied by few Indologists, though. Nevertheless, the names are mentioned with impeccable details, the engravings are still visible and the very fact (which is also mentioned) that it was installed by Curzon adds to the importance to the event and the memorial.

We also have the Rohilla War memorial which also saw the demise of few Britishers. Now, these are silent reminders of the past; the valour long forgotten, the memorials and the epitaphs have lost their sheen (few cracks and blurriness are visible despite maintenance) and we have very (infact very very few) visitors. This is the only one memorial present there which is non-white; though I could not possible place a reason for the same.

The famed Job Charnock’s memorial is no less impressive. It is surrounded by many more burials (including his wife) though none of them have substantial height as his memoir.

At the far end, we have the memorial of Mrs Francis Johnson popularly known as Begum Johnson. Surprisingly each of the monument in the complex has a direction board but not this one. Her epitaphs is the most elaborate one. It talks of her lineage, her 4 marriages, the kids from each of the marriage and it ends with, “The oldest British resident in Bengal; universally beloved, respected and revered.”

Lady Canning (wife of Governor General Canning) has a rather open tomb but at the backyard of the Church’s premises itself. The tomb is visible and it bears a symbol probably similar to that of the British Crown. No other structure have such a mark.

History has got its importance; its time that we start pausing and reflect at it before we become one with it. Off to the next site next Sunday....