Colonial Architecture In Kolkata Essay

Founding of Calcutta

Kolkata as a city had its genesis in the Maurya and Gupta period; and was an established trading post long before the Slave Dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals, the Portuguese, the French or the British established a modern township there.

Going back centuries, when the British invasion was limited to their expanding trade in the subcontinent; Job Charnock, a servant and administrator of the English East India Company; founded what was to be the seat of power for the English empire in Bengal and all of India.

Charnock was regarded "always a faithful man to the Company", which rated his services very highly. He won the Company's esteem by stamping out smuggling among his less scrupulous co-workers. Although this

There is the Neo-classical; inspired by the Roman-Greek manner of construction with lightly slanted roofs, pedestals, huge cylindrical pillars along with the emphasis of shades of white along with planar, rather than sculpted features. Then there was the neo-gothic; or gothic revival architecture which in contrast to neoclassical; draws features from the original Gothic style, including decorative patterns, finials, scalloping, lancet windows, hood moldings, and label stops. The last of the three; Indo-sarcenic; was an original creation of the colonial era; and was promoted by British architects as the premiere form of beauty achieved through fusion of different strains of cultural influences. It drew elements from native Indo-Islamic and Indian architecture, and combined it with the Gothic revival and Neo-Classical styles favored in Victorian

OF all of these; we bring you three of the most outstanding structures according to us; The Victoria memorial, St. Paul’s Cathedral and the government house (Raj