Today morning was special. @Vibha Mitra mam in association with South Eastern Railways organized a Heritage Walk in their headquarters premises. BNR as it is popularly known is a hidden gem in Kolkata’s heritage list.
The famous BNR house which once had Wajed Ali Shah as its occupant still stands tall. It was established in 1846 and was originally owned by Maharaja of Burdwan. The GardenReach in the 1850s was the area where all the Big bungalows with Gardens were established. Governor Generals and Judges of the Supreme Court used to stay here. If you read Hickey’s book, you would see, he had mentioned big parties being thrown in these bungalows during weekends and how elites from Kolkata used to flock in.
Adjacent to BNR house is House number 11, another river-facing bungalow that once housed the agent office of BNR. Then you have the house of William Jones, the famous Orientalist, and founder of the Asiatic Society in the same complex. In my opinion, this could be the only reason why every Calcuttan should visit the BNR complex. The plaque in front of his house mentions William Jones lived here till his death on 27the April 1794 and was buried in South Park Cemetry.
The complex also had a restored ball signal consisting of a ball that used to move to act as a signal. Railway officials informed that in the old days, the entire complex had railways tracks built-in and these ball signals used to work as a railways signal machine.
If you are visiting the BNR complex, do not forget to visit the sports complex. There you will see another historical plaque from World War 2 days to commemorate 978 ballon squadron RAF. This battalion operated the helium ballons during world war 2 to protect Howrah Bridge, Victoria Memorial from Japanese bombing.
Before I conclude, I must thank the SE Railways officials for their effort to maintain these heritages. Especially the house of Willam Jones, I think it is one of the oldest buildings now in Kolkata. The high officials were so humble and patiently answered all questions asked by the group. The walk ended with a breakfast and birds’ eye view of Kolkata from the terrace of the administrative building.
But the essence of Kolkata’s heritage does not stop there. On my way back I stumbled upon a creek next to the BNR complex. This water track is none other than the Tolly’s Canal which was part of the old route of the Adi Ganga revived by William Tolly between 1772 to 1777. Stories on it.. maybe some other day.