Sketch Of An Anglo-Indian

Anindita Mazumder

On the streets of Calcutta there are innumerable relics and monuments reminding us of our Colonial past but these have sunk in oblivion of public memory, obscured by parked vehicles or the tarpaulin sheets of the roadside vendor. There is hardly any signage to indicate either their background or historical value. We stumbled upon one such interesting relic, an obelisk dedicated to Colesworthy Grant (1813-1880) – a man of many parts who left us a priceless collection of information and sketches of contemporary life in the later part of 19th Century.

On a leisurely stroll near the grand looking Writers’ Buildings at Dalhousie Square you may notice a simple obelisk painted in white with a plaque, presumably of marble, standing in contrast to the red edifice. A closer look is barred because the gun totting commando surrounded by sand bags would not let you go nearer and hence satisfy your curiosity from the opposite footpath. The obelisk has a rectangular base with a tapering pointed pinnacle. Heads of lions adorn the either sides of the base.

The plaque tells you that erected in 1881, it was a tribute to Colesworthy Grant – the founder of the Calcutta Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (CSPCA). But do not make the mistake of dismissing Grant as only an advocate of animal rights. He left behind wonderful sketches of eminent personalities and an account of contemporary life in Rural Life in Bengal which is actually a series of letters to his sisters in England about life in Bengal aptly illustrated by his sketches. Grant sailed up the river visiting Agarpara, Dakshineswar (accompanied by sketches of the Hindu pagodas), Barrackpore, Bandel, Chinsurah and so on. He also gave a detailed account of the life of an Indigo planter – the processes and surroundings of planting and manufacture of blue dye.

A compilation of delightful letters written to his mother and published as an Anglo-Indian Domestic Sketch makes interesting reading with Grant devoting several pages to a hierarchically ranked list of all the domestic servants in a colonial home described according to their race and social standing. But the most delightful description is that of Burrabazar where Grant witnessed mingling of “Oriental traffic, Oriental tongues and Oriental heads”. In a wonderful sketch, titled Merchants Grant illustrated the traders who came to the market- Persians, Arabs, Jews, Marwaris, Armenians, Madrasees, Sikhs, Turks, Parsees, Chinese, Burmese and Bengalees who traded in jewels of Golconda and Bundelkhand, shawls of Cashmere, silks of Murshidabad, Benaras, Muslins of Dacca and many more.

Grant, a Londoner came to India in 1832 at the age of 19. He earned his name as an artist and draftsman. Remember, at that time Anglo-Indian referred to an Englishman residing in India without suggesting any mix ancestry.  A self taught artist at a time when photography and half tones were yet to be popularised, his sketches are the only indications of how notable Calcuttans- both British and Indian- looked like. Grant made lithographic sketches including that of Charles Metcalfe, George Eden or the Earl of Auckland, Sir Charles Napier, Bishop Wilson – founder of the St Paul’s Cathedral, John Prinsep. His talent stands out from the outline sketches and drawings since these were more lifelike despite the use of few strokes then even oil portraits which could scarcely reproduce such close resemblances. His lithographed sketches and illustrations were published in many contemporary magazines both English and vernacular including India Review, India Medical, Calcutta Monthly, Bengali Sporting Journal, Calcutta Christian Observer and Indian Sporting Review. During a trip to Rangoon in 1849 as an artist and draftsman his accounts of the place are available in Rough Pencillings of a rough trip to Rangoon.

HEA Cotton, the chronicler of Calcutta quoted freely from Grant’s delightful letters to his mother written in 1849 including his little “rhapsody” on getting a steady supply of ice shipped from America’s frozen lakes. His language was lyrical providing a deep insight of life around to people who had never set their eyes to this land.

Grant was an animal lover who is said to have helped animals drink water from a fountain in the north eastern corner of Laldighi. During his morning walks Grant was moved by the hideous wounds, galls, dislocation and mutilation, inflicted often by the keepers and established the CSPCA – the first such society in India or even in Asia on October 4, 1861. Together with Baboo Peary Charan Mitra, a member of the Bengal Council, Grant was able to get the first act in India for prevention of cruelty to animals passed by the Bengal Council on October 28, 1869.

The slipshod whitewash has rendered the inscription on the plaque illegible but one can still make out the words from Shakespeare summing up Grant’s love for the brute:

“Wilt thou draw near the nature of Gods
Draw near them then in being merciful
Swift mercy is nobility’s true badge.”