Auckland Circus Gardens

Hello friends. I don't know how many of you are watching, but a very good test series between India and Australia is going on. I believe India has a great opportunity to win a test series in Australia for the first time. This cricketing nation Australia has a great relationship with kolkata and with it's Auckland Circus Gardens. Some memories are sweet and some are not. But, wait you probably thinking: Where is this place called Auckland Circus Gardens in Kolkata? Well then brace yourself for a story which I always cherish whenever I go to this place. For that you need to know something about a painting by a very famous British painter Elizabeth Thompson.

In the right side of the painting you can see a soilder. Exhausted from war, even his horse is not looks very well. There is not much energy left in him. In the left side you can see a fort and some charioteers are rushing towords that soilder. This painting is called "Remnants of an Army". The fort is Jalalabad Fort and the soilder was William Briden. In 1839, 16000 soilders of British Army attacked Afganistan. After 3 years in 1842, only one came back. But what is the connection between this painting and Kolkata? Well you need to know about that person for whom Briden faced this situation. He was the Governor General of India at that time, Lord Auckland. British Government made a huge mistake by appointing him as the Governor General of India. It is because he had no interest in this country and in it's culture. When a terrible famine broke out in the country he was enjoying Shakespeare with his two sisters Emily and Fanny in Shimla. At that time through out central Asia a great political warfare was going on which we know as "The Great Game". Russia and England were expanding their territories and a chance of clash between this two great nations in Afghanistan is just a matter of time. British wants to takedown King of Afganistan, Dost Mohammad and put Sah Suja instead of him, so that they can use Afganistan as a buffer. Both the nations deployed their spys in Afghanistan. One of the greatest British spy, Alexander Burns was writing reports constantly to Kolkata that there is no need of war because Dost Mohammad wants to become friend (Dost in hindi) with the British. But who cares about what Burns is saying. Lord Auckland said war and there was war. The British were soundly defeated by the Afgans. So this is the connection with Kolkata. But Auckland Circus Gardens? Well Lord Auckland used to live at today's Raj Bhavan. There was a big ground beside it which was decorated under the authority of Emily and Fanny. They named it "Auckland Circus Gardens". But after some years they gave it to Kolkata cricket club and they changed the name. It is because Lord Auckland's actual name was George Eden and that's why the ground later named "Eden Gardens". 

Whether it is 1987 WorldCup final or India vs Australia historical test match in 2001. Whether it is 199th test match of great Sachin Tendulkar or the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup final, doesn't matter. Believe me, Eden Gardens always surprises us and we are being mesmerized by it, like it's own story.

The first three storeyed building of Kolkata.

After a long absence I am back again. When I was a child my father told me that Kolkata is a city of palaces. The reason is simple. In Chowringhee we had plenty of houses which was like palaces. But do you know about the firtsfthree storeyed building of Kolkata? Perhaps not. For that we need to go back to 1756.

In 1756, when Nawab Siraj-Ud-Doulah attacked Kolkata. In that attack the 1st Anglican Church and St. Anne Church had been demolished . This St. Anne's Church was in the northern side of Lal Dighi. After the war, no church was founded there in the place of St Anne's Church . Instead of it East India Company decided to build a building for living for their junior clerks, who were called 'Writers'. East India Company was so much niggard that they gave less amount of salary to this clerks that can't afford to ear if they had to rent an appartement. Ok, a building had to be founded. But who will found it? A mysterious person. I am calling him mysterious because I don't have much information about this man. But I can tell you this , he was not  wel known for his architecture. Infact he came to India to train Indian carpenters so they can produce furniture of European style. His name is Tomas Lyon. He founded a building without any architectural significance. That was actually EIC saying through him to It's junoir clerks ," You boys are lucky that we provided you somewhere to live in. Now don't complain whether it is well decorated or not". Well as you know it's  EIC. Now I have to fast forward a bit . In 1800 , college of Fort Williams moved in Writers to teach the students some notion of Farsi language. For that they  built a hostel and an exam hall. After 30 years college desserted the building and then it became a warehouse, imagine. After 40 years the British Government decided to consolidate all the offices of Bengal Secretaris at  Sadar St, within Writers. This work was finally done in 1882. To expand the size of the building they put 13 new blocks  and also gave the well known look of the building. Like the pillars infront or the statue on the roof . Today also the Roman Goddess Minarva is standing infront of the gate. In 1930, 8th of December Writer's Building was being attacked by Binay Bosu, Badal Bosu and Dinesh Gupta. Their target was the Inspector General of Police col. N.S.Simson. After executing him in the corridor of Writer's Building they fought valientlv and bravely. To show respect to their sacrifice Dalhousie Square is nowadays B.B.D.BAG. Although the name of Tomas Lyon isn't just vanished at all. The road behind the building is named as "Lyon's range". You can go there on a Sunday morning and can taste Malai toast, Corn toast etc. I have heard that in Writers one can see SAHEB ghost . Although it doesn't seem to me as a hounted place. I have also heard that in the building we will have a swimming pool . But I have great doubts what will be the reactions of the SAHEB ghosts when they see Indians( native in their eyes) swimming near by.