The brainchild of the Indian Viceroy Lord Curzon, the Victoria Memorial was begun in 1906 and completed in 1921, a somewhat delayed but fitting tribute to the Empress of India. Nearly a century later, it sits pretty, impressive and surprisingly clean- despite Kolkata’s pollution- amidst sprawling gardens, gravel pathways and cool watercourses.
Explore the grounds (which are dotted with bronze sculptures of Queen Victoria, and of many of India’s governors-general), and then enter the memorial, an imposing domed structure of white marble that looks straight out of Europe.
Inside, you’ll come to what’s known as the Queen’s Hall, fringed along its walls by marble busts of colonial Calcutta’s glitterati- Warren Hastings, Clive, Cornwallis and William Makepeace Thackeray- the latter’s here by virtue of having been born in Kolkata- among others. Also displayed are French cannons seized by Clive at the decisive Battle of Plassey (1757) and theodolites used to trigonometrically measure Mt Everest.
To the right of the Queen’s Hall is the `Artist’s Eye Gallery: India 1770-1835’, a fine collection of paintings depicting India in the 65 years from 1770 onwards- when the East India Company managed to get a foothold in India, and finally succeeded in establishing British rule here. The gallery features works by a vast number of painters- William Daniell, Arthur William Devis, William Hodges, Thomas Hickey, Johann Zoffany and Tilly Kettle (Kettle’s creations here include two splendid works, one of Mughal emperor Shah Alam reviewing the East India Company’s troops at Allahabad, and the other of the Nawab of Awadh, Shuja-ud-Daulah, with his four sons). The paintings in the gallery are very varied, and depict cities, people (British and Indian, common and noble) and Indian monuments.
Beyond the Queen’s Hall is one gallery you should aim on spending time in: the Calcutta Gallery. Amazingly eclectic, it’s largely occupied by a highly detailed account of the city’s history, including illustrations, old maps, photographs, and a few lifesize models. For those who haven’t the time to read each panel, do browse through the delightful odds and ends here. Among the best are sets of original paintingof natives (a hookah-burdar or hubble-bubble bearer; a coolie, a gwallan or milkmaid, a roti-wallah or bread-seller, etc); and of Calcutta during `Company’ days- tiger and hog hunts, parades and processions, merchants, scenes from Fort William, and more.
Other must-sees: parts of the first telegraph line laid in India between Calcutta and Diamond Harbour in 1851; Lord Minto’s office box (titled: `Governor General: Private’); Lord Hastings’ cufflinks; the original copy of the oath and proclamation of Robert Clive when he took over at Calcutta as Governor of Bengal; and a shockingly long listing of the servants in the household of Alexander Macrabie, Sheriff of Calcutta (110 servants for a family of 4!).
Entry tickets cost Rs 150 for non-Indians; the Memorial’s open between 10 and 4.30.