Raj Bhavan Kolkata

Raj Bhavan Kolkata

India slowly came under colonial rule from the battle of Plassey in 1757. Lord Wellesley, the Governor General of British India from 1798 to 1805 demanded a palace to be built befitting for this new empire while saying "India should be governed from a palace, not from a country house." So, between the years of 1799-1803 this majestic and historic building or palace was built. It is what we know as the famous Raj Bhavan, Kolkata also earlier known as Government House.
Raj Bhavan became the seat of British imperial power during the British Raj. It was the official residence of the Governor General and Viceroy of India until 1912 when the capital of British India was shifted to Delhi. From 1912 it became the official residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal till India’s independence in 1947. From 1947 till now is the official residence of the Governor of West Bengal. The blueprint for this palace was made by Captain Charles Wyatt (1759-1819), an officer of the Bengal Engineers.

The foundation was laid on 5th February 1799 at a cost of two million rupees and was completed on January 18, 1803 . Raj Bhavan, Kolkata is a three storied building with a huge central area of halls which has curved corridors on all four sides leading to detached wings. The whole building was a copy of the Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire but in a much grander scale. Another interesting point is that the Kedleston Hall is also the ancestral house of Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India (1899-1904) and lived in this same palace exactly 100 years after Lord Wellesley.

The residential area is divided into four suites the Prince of Wales, Dufferin, Wellesley and Anderson. The Prince of Wales suite is used for official dignitaries. Other important places in the building are the magnificent Marble Hall on the ground floor which is used for meetings, the Council Chamber, the Brown Drawing Room, the Blue Drawing Room, The Throne Room where durbars were held and princes were welcomed earlier, the banquet Hall and the famous Ball Room.

According to Lord Metcalfe's imperial vision this building was created far from the metropolis and magnificently placed among acres of formal gardens. It occupies 27 acres and has 84000 sq.ft of floor space. The Raj Bhavan has six huge entrances with intricate wrought iron gates. Atop the entrances are massive lions in regal posture and below on either side are two squatting half human and half lion creatures. At the north gate is a gun mounted on a dragon. It was taken from the Chinese as a commemoration for the Treaty Of Nanking by Vice Admiral Sir William Parkar and Lieutenant –General Sir Hugh Gough of the Naval and Military forces of England and India.

The Raj Bhavan, Kolkata is an important historical, architectural and heritage structure not only in India but also in world history. In 2003 it celebrated its 200 years with a release of a picturesque coffee table book and exhibitions. You just can’t miss this breathtaking and elegant lady!

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