Bricks of the Raj

My romance with the Bricks of the Raj began ,a few years ago, when I was influenced by a group of four to walk with them and as they explored the streets of Calcutta that housed these historic edifices.

In the day the teeming  millions shroud these magnificent structures with their purpose of business or hide them from what they were once built for. At night they stand as silent sentinels guarding their space in history. At the break of day they seem to talk to us ,almost imploring us to spend time with them, to love them as they had been loved once , to live in them and enjoy the comfort they  once offered.

These ,that were once stately homes ,stand in testimony of the true expressions of a kitsch of culture that surrounded the areas  from Bandel to Calcutta. The areas where the Portuguese, The Dutch ,the Danes ,the French and later the British established their settlements that later found their way into India. These were also the palaces and abodes of the other Raj that made up the Nawabs and rajahs, the zemindars and the knighted.

These  many pillared structures speak of an architecture that was a blend of Greco Roman, Indo Saracen and other European styles but incorporated the Indian verandah ,the courtyard, the puja dalan and the  zenana ghar, with  high ceilings,huge halls, long plazas ~the exterior coated with chunam ,that shone in the sun masquerading as marble.

Some stand today under threat of the wrecker, hoping for care and respect that they deserve, awaiting a  mindset or a needed legislation that will protect them.

The Bricks of the Raj exist in Calcutta~~
a city that never slept,
a city that never awoke,
~~waiting to be discovered. "