A Memorial Worth A Victorian Era

Joydip Sur

When I was a kid my mother used to say it is only in Calcutta that fairy godmothers come down to earth. I believed in all earnestness as she showed me the fairy on a marble building with a flute dancing relentlessly. I grew up wondering, till later I came to know the edifice as Victoria Memorial.

Relentlessly referred to as the Raj’s bid to rival the Taj Mahal once and for all, the Victoria Memorial takes its place of pride, as one of the greatest buildings of the modern world. Calcutta is indeed lucky to have in its possession one of the finest museum memorial buildings anywhere to be had on the planet. Victoria Memorial is considered to be one of the most elegant and restrained manifestations to initially represent colonialism in the world.

The History
On the death of Queen Victoria in January 1901, Lord Curzon, who was then Viceroy of India, placed before the public the proposal of setting up a fitting memorial to the late Queen. He suggested that the most suitable memorial would be a stately, spacious, monumental and grand building surrounded by an exquisite garden.

This was to be a historical museum where the people could see before them pictures and statues of men and women who played a prominent part in the history of this country and develop a pride in their past.

The Architecture
Sir William Emerson, President of the British Institute of Architects, designed and drew up the plan of this magnanimous building, while the work of construction was entrusted to Messrs. Martin & Co. of Calcutta. Vincent Esch was assigned to assist Emerson and supervise the construction of this historical edifice.

Following the conception and design in 1901, the construction of the memorial began when the first sod for the excavation of the foundation was turned on January 27, 1904. The visiting Prince of Wales, King George V, laid a foundation stone in 1906, but it took a further four years before work on the superstructure got under way.

The total cost of construction of this monument amounting to one crore five lakhs rupees was entirely derived from voluntary subscriptions. The building is 184 ft high up to the base of the figure of Victory, which is another 16 ft high. The groups of figures above the North porch represent motherhood, prudence and learning.

Surrounding the main dome are figures of art, architecture, justice and charity. The memorial is situated on 64 acres of land with the building covering 338 ft by 228ft of area.

On January 4, 1912, the Prince – later King George V – returned to inspect progress. In the preceding month in Delhi the royal visitor had been crowned Emperor and in his speech on that occasion, he had announced the transfer of the capital from Calcutta to Delhi.

Curzon had not foreseen this move and he much lamented it. It left his sanctum of the Empire high and dry in a provincial city even before it was completed. Vincent J. Esch was sent to England in 1919 to secure various mosaics, frescoes, bronze works et al, which would be required for the completion of the building. The main dome of the building and the tops of the corner towers up to the flat roof were completed in this year.

The building, except for the cupolas on the four corner towers was completed by 1921. King Edward VII, Prince of Wales visited India on December 28, 1921 to formally open the Victoria Memorial. Lord Ronaldshay was the Governor of Bengal at that time. The ceremony was performed with great pomp and grandeur.

The construction work of the cupolas on the four corner towers was taken up in 1934 and was completed in the following year. The construction of the marble bridge between the two front pools, the Queen’s statue pedestal, North and South entrance gates, the perimeter wall, roads, pavements and dressing grounds were completed long before that date.

Emerson’s design was much enhanced by the ornamental additions by many others. Vincent Esch’s major contribution was the redesign of the foundations on innovative principles for which he was renowned, but he also supervised the production of the allegorical sculpture groups over the entrances and designed the elegant bridge on the North side and the gates to the gardens. The gardens themselves were laid out by Lord Redesdale and Sir David Prain.

In the central hall, scenes from the life of the Queen were painted by Frank Salisbury and the marble statue of the young Queen has been sculpted by Sir Thomas Brock. A more elderly Queen in bronze created by Sir George Frampton sits enthroned on Esch’s bridge, between narrative panels by Sir Goscombe Jhon. In the paved quadrangles and elsewhere around the building, other statues were added to commemorate Hastings, Cornwallis, Clive, Wellesley, and Dalhousie.

The Queen may have enjoyed their company, but whether these statues delivered an impartial history lesson, as Curzon had intended, successive generations may judge for themselves. Curzon himself seemed to consider impartiality achieved by the exhibition within, but equally approved the unambiguous message of the external ornaments.

Much might be said about the external sculptures, one of which on the north side depicts a lion’s head with water flowing out of it and passing into four troughs representing the four great Indian rivers – the Ganges, the Krishna, the Indus and the Yamuna – thus symbolising the life-giving work of Britain in India.

Royal Gallery
The Royal Gallery consists of paintings depicting subjects connected with the life and reign of Queen Victoria. There are oil paintings depicting scenes of Queen Victoria receiving the sacrament at her coronation in the Westminster Abbey in June 1838; her marriage with Prince Albert (1840) in the Chapel Royal at St. James’ Palace; the christening of the Prince of Wales in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle (1842); marriage of the Prince of Wales (Edward VII) with Princess Alexandra (1863); Queen Victoria at the first Jubilee service in Westminster Abbey in 1887 and the Second Jubilee service of Queen Victoria at St. Paul’s Cathedral, June 1897.

The Memorial is considered to be the largest repository in India for a visual history of Calcutta. It also has a major collection of paintings, sculptures and manuscripts from the British period.

The Calcutta Gallery

The Calcutta Gallery is India’s first city gallery. It was visualised by Lord Curzon at the turn of the century. The matter was taken up in mid- 1970s by Prof. S. Nurul Hasan, then Education Minister, Government of India. The Calcutta Gallery displays the history and development of Calcutta from Job Charnok and the British rule up to 1911, when the capital was shifted to Delhi. The gallery also has a life size diorama of the view of the Chitpur Road in the late 19th century.

Tailpiece
A symbol of the unity and concord that came from Queen Victoria’s all embracing love for her people and an enduring token of the affection which all Europeans and Indians, princes and peasants – felt for Queen Victoria – the Victoria Memorial basks in grandeur and fame.

It is unique in its design and character. Its magnificent dome and its surrounding features are reminiscent of the St. Paul’s Church in London, Pantheon in Paris and S. Maria Della Salute in Venice. In dignity and impressiveness it can be favourably compared with any edifice of the modern age on the face of the earth. The Victoria Memorial will remain forever a cornerstone of a great era of social progress and rousing of political consciousness in the history of India under the British administration.

For me it will forever be my fairy godmother singing a tune and dancing endlessly.