The crumbling facade of Tagore Castle behind a tenement block; (below) a close-up of one of the new structures. Pictures by Bishwarup Dutta

Tagore Castle with its fairy tale turrets in Pathuriaghat in north Calcutta may be the only building of its kind all over the country, but it never made it to the heritage list of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation.

One obvious reason for its exclusion was that by the time the list was drawn up in the 1990s, the castle with a clock tower straight out of Disneyland was already in need of serious restoration.

To make matters worse, a tenement of about 27 to 28 buildings had sprouted in what used to be the garden of the castle, obliterating the quaint character of this huge property on Prasanna Coomar Tagore Street opposite Prasad. This mansion is the residence of a branch of the Pathuriaghat Tagore family, now headed by Sreejit Tagore. What was once a fantastic palace has turned into a death trap with only two entrances.

The “township” sandwiched between a narrow street and an alleyway is a rabbit’s warren of houses. Tagore Castle was constructed in the 1820s, and was remodelled in 1896 by Jatindramohan Tagore incorporating the house constructed by his uncle, Prasanna Coomar, to accommodate and entertain his guests. Prasanna Coomar had disinherited his son, Gyanendra Mohan, for marrying a Christian, and bequeathed all his property in India to his nephew, Jatindra Mohan, says Sreejit Tagore.

Gyanendra Mohan shifted to the UK and lived there. He filed a case against Jatindra Mohan, his contention being that the single son a Hindu family could not be disinherited. The case went right up to the Privy Council and was decided in favour of Jatindra Mohan. The latter’s grandson, Prabirendra, had leased out Tagore Castle to Tulsidas Mundra for 56 years and the rent was a princely sum of Rs 3,000 a month. Prabirendra’s adoptive son, Sreejit Tagore, sold off Tagore Castle about six to seven years ago to Mundra’s daughter, Veena Lohia.

Eateries, garment and hosiery goods factories, shops and tailoring shops thrive in the chaos of mean buildings with narrow entrances bustling with people at all hours of the day. The houses — three to five storeys high — are cement boxes lined with rooms, and some of them are interconnected.

A few of the better-maintained houses sport air-conditioners. Two schools are located inside. Neighbouring Natun Bazar has encroached on PC Tagore Street, and in the mornings and evenings it becomes impossible for vehicles to pass through it owing to the crush of people.

What was originally Tagore Castle still stands at the entrance and has a carved wooden staircase that goes up to the top floor. At the bottom of the stairwell are the electric meter boxes amid a tangle of wires. Next to these is a telecom power system humming angrily. Stephen Court is at least fronted by wide Park Street. In front of Tagore Castle with its tenement there is only an alley.