Calcutta's rich legacy of colonial architecture and callousness towards maintaining it was the recurrent theme at a recent seminar at the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, attended by architects from across the country.
Architect G. Shankar from Kerala said Calcutta's architectural legacy had always fascinated him but a general apathy in maintaining it has been "a matter of concern". "The British must have raised the edifices and other imposing structures to subdue the native and assert their authority. The city's building landscape must have been shaped by the British. But at the same time, over the centuries, they have become an inextricable part of our culture," said Shankar.
Calcutta-based conservation architect Partha Ranjan Das felt very little effort had been made to preserve the architectural legacy of Calcutta, which has been primarily influenced by the British. Das cited the abundance of architectural beauty on Strand Road to make his point.
"The stretch is lined with heritage structures. But what have we done to preserve them? The stink of urine will greet you if you pass by. In the absence of proper upkeep, all these heritage structures are vulnerable against the nexus of developers, who are in league with politicians and other vested-interest groups," said Das.
Das said one of the problems is that no proper list is maintained of the heritage structures.
The head of IIEST's architecture department, Keya Mitra, said efforts had been made to maintain and restore structures like Prinsep Ghat and GPO, but not for the upkeep of the less-known buildings in north Calcutta or Bhowanipore in south Calcutta that also represent the colonial legacy.
"Even a para represents the great legacy of a city. Since the British built the city, the buildings on vast stretches of north Calcutta or Bhowanipore represent a slice of colonial legacy. But it is really sad to see that we are handing over this legacy to the real-estate sharks who are demolishing the structures to replace them with skyscrapers," said Mitra.
The seminar was held alongside the zonal round of the Council of Architecture-National Institute of Advanced Studies in Architecture National Awards for Excellence in Architectural Thesis & JK AYA Best Architecture Student of the Year Award, which saw architecture students from several states presenting theses before a three-member panel.
The panel comprised Shankar, Balbir Verma, former president of the Indian Institute of Architecture, and conservation architect Shalini Dasgupta.#
