A Garden House turns Hospital: Making of a Public Institution

Once a garden house in quiet suburbs of Calcutta - now a major hospital upon teeming thoroughfares, this account is an attempt to reconstruct the past block by block as it narrates how the city was gifted with a public institution with a mission to serve the people of Bengal. A prominent landmark today, it redefined the city's skyline and it's topography - once and for the times to come.

Retracing the Past: A Public School & Environs

Napoleon Bonaparte once quoted - 'Public instruction should be the first object of government'. As we look back, nations building themselves from nowhere, it is public education which has always been in focus. And as Napoleon spoke this famous line, years earlier, far away in Calcutta, seeds of it were planted with a vision in mind - to encourage free public education and make it more accessible. This is a story of one such public institution and its environs which had a fascinating journey through centuries, survived it and eventually metamorphosed into a prominent school of today's Kolkata.

The Great Bungalow to the East

From marshes to metropolis - the making of Calcutta might seem to be a fairy tale. When looked at in detail - the story unfurls into the city being built block by block. Such is the story of a marshland in 17th century Calcutta, where stood a tavern or an inn for comfort staying and refreshments - albeit a famous one, went down in pages of history and led to the making of one of the epicenter of present day Kolkata with vital thoroughfares grazing past it. This is an account of what went down over the years to make way for the present.

Where Job Charnock loved to have a smoke!

As the name suggests in Bengali, Baithakkhana would mean a place well suited sitting for long hours for meetings and similar purposes in general. In some context it would also mean the outer space (bahirmahal) of a residential house.

The name which designates a neighborhood in present day Central Calcutta derives its roots from a huge Banyan tree which lied on the eastern extremes of the city in eighteenth century. It is difficult for one to imagine that before 300 years, today's BB Ganguly Street would take one off the city limits. It is here under the shade of the banyan tree that traders from Sunderbans and Salt Lakes would gather to strike a deal with European merchants.

Job Charnock (Banglapedia)

Nakhoda Mosque, Calcutta

Nakhoda Mosque, Calcutta

Nakhoda Mosque (Bari Masjid) - an architectural gem tucked away in Calcutta's principal commercial zone has underwent multiple facelifts over centuries. It was being built and maintained exclusively by Kutchi Memons. The first account points towards early nineteenth century when a wealthy Muhammadan lady, Shamsunnisa Begum, built two small mosques at the same site of the current Mosque. In 1857, Haji Noor Mohammad Zakaria (after whom Zakaria Street is named) built a larger version of the mosque after donating and acquiring some adjacent land. In 1926, another merchant, Haji Abdul Rahim Osman, pulled down portions of the larger mosque to build the current structure.

Haji Noor Mohammad Zakaria was a Nakhoda merchant of Calcutta. The term Nakhoda originates from Persia and means 'captain' of a vessel - it primarly points to the surname and profession of Kutchi Memons of 19th and early 20th century. In this context, it may be highlighted that Memons are an ethnic group tracing their roots largely to Sindh, Kutch and Kathiawar. 

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Historically Memons are a mercantile community and are generally referred to as a business community. Traditionally, the name Memon is an adaptation of Momin meaning faithful. This was used when this community converted to Islam. Kutchi Memon is one such group among the Memons which spoke Kutchi dialect. Memons generally tie to their respective local societies called “Jamat”, literally means congregation, which are generally established for the betterment and social welfare of its members which may include issuance of marriage license, matrimonial dispute resolution, adaptation and enforcement of the rules and guidelines against certain undesirable customs, establish healthcare and education centres, provide various facilities for the community need and also financial support and housing for the poor and needy members and sometime non-member.

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Currently there are around 25 families of Kutchi Memon Jamat in Calcutta. The community, however, has a strong presence of 650 families in Kochi (Cochin). The Saits of Kochi are one of the big names from this community. Though Memons embraced Islam in AD 1421, many of their celebrations like marriages still draw similarities with the Hindu culture.

The call of the Nakhoda Masjid regarding the sighting of a moon is regarded as the final one in Bengal. Ramazan starts and Id is celebrated after a month of fasting based on the announcement made from this very mosque on Zakaria Street.

References:
1. Calcutta and its Environs by Hassan Suhrawardy
2. Sects in Islam
3. The Telegraph
4. The Hindu

Images have been clicked by myself, Souvik Bhattacharya.