Episode 7 | From Wellesley to Curzon: History of the Government House (Raj Bhavan), Calcutta

The history of the Government House, now the residence of the Governor of West Bengal, is a history of the British Empire in India condensed into 26 acres of land at the heart of the "white town" of Calcutta. Amongst its maidan, gardens, and cannons, the Government House stands tall in typical neoclassical fashion--conservative, traditional, and imperial. In this episode, we discuss how a building came to be conceived as the domestic face of an empire and a monument to imperial success, yet, in its use, reuse, and misuse (by birds, animals, and even gardeners of India) stands today as an apt metaphor for colonialism in the Indian subcontinent.

PHOTO GALLERY:

(Copyright for all images of the Government House in the photo gallery belongs to British Library. www.bl.uk)

Photographic Print, Samuel Bourne, 1865

View from the East, Aquatint, Henry Fraser, 1826

Lithograph, Frederick Feibig, 1857

Principal Storey Plan, Ink and Paper, James Best, 1804

Basement Storey Plan, Ink and Paper, James Best, 1804

South-east view, Moffat, 1803

Photographic Print, 1875

George Curzon, Viceroy of India, 1899-1905

Keddleston Hall, Derbyshire, England, 1759

SHOW NOTES

The following discussion points are included in the podcast

• Introduction

  • Political significance of the Government House

  • Government House as a representation of the Empire

  • Controversy

• Gardens surrounding Government House

  • Soirees, parties, and nocturnal animals

  • The politics of the garden - as a space of recording British conquest

• Architectural history

  • Resemblance to Keddleston Hall in Derbyshire, England

  • Familial connections to Governor General Curzon

  • Characteristic features

• Celebrating political and military achievements at the Government House

  • Some events

  • Trophy room

• Criticism of the Government House

• Conclusion

  • Nostalgia

  • Monumentality

  • Historical marker

REFERENCES:

Blechynden, Kathleen, and Nisith Ranjan Ray. 2013. Calcutta: past and present. Kolkata: Aruna Prakashan.
Carey, W. H. 1964. The good old days of Honorable John Company; being curious reminiscences during the rule of the East India Company from 1600-1858. Calcutta: Quins Book Co.

Cotton, Evan. 1907. Calcutta, old and new; a historical & descriptive handbook to the city. Calcutta: W. Newman.

Curzon, George Nathaniel. 1925. British Government in India: the story of the viceroys and government houses. London: Cassell.

India. 1926. British India from Queen Elizabeth to Lord Reading. By an Indian Mahomedan, etc. [With portraits.]. London: Sir I. Pitman & Sons.
Pearson, R. 1954. Eastern interlude; a social history of the European community in Calcutta. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink.