A Garden Of Memories- an undergraduate architectural thesis by kunal

R V COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE

(Affiliated to the Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum)

Site CA-1, Banashankari 6th Stage, 4th Block, Near Chikagowdanapalya Village, Off Vajarahalli Main Road, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560062 Bangalore 560 062

CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the thesis project entitled “A Garden Of Memories” is a bonafide work carried out by Kunal (1RV13AT052) towards partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Architecture JANUARY TO MAY 2017.

Guides Ar. NAME: ANUP NAIK Ar. NAME: DEV BILDIKAR

Dr. OM PRAKASH BAWANE

Ar. NAME: NAGARAJ VASTAREY

Principal R V College of Architecture Bangalore

Ar. NAME: U SEEMA MAIYA

EXAMINERS: Signature: Date:

INTERNAL

EXTERNAL 1

EXTERNAL 2

all thanks to the one who can never be thanked enough

table of contents 01. INTRODUCTION

1-13

02. ANALYSIS

14-75

03. DESIGN

76-99

04. CONCLUSIONS

100

05. BIBLIOGRAPHY

101

01. INTRODUCTION

A GARDEN OF MEMORIES Aldo Rossi describes the city as an artefact that possesses its own history, which leaves its own trace. These traces give meaning and permanence to the city; these urban artifices preserve the history of the city as a built form. They provide a framework for a great possibility of a dialogue between the object (past and present) and the subject.

What Kolkata has experienced in the past centuries, very few cities experience even in millennia. The traces of the past are strong. This project delves deeper into the relationship of the city to one such prominent trace with much sentimental and historical value: the South Park Cemetery (a 300-year old British colonial cemetery). The project views the cemetery as container of memories and experiments with idea of a wall around the site, while accentuating its unique ethereal properties. The subject is placed in a framework of strong imagery of the past and contemporary, socially and contextually relevant inserts. The cemetery has seen and lived the story of Kolkata as a silent observer and the interaction between the object and subject works at retelling this wonderful, as well as daunting story, meanwhile trying to develop a new take on open spaces altogether. The project in a sense is an invitation for the subject to witness the dialogue between the past and present.

James Franco escaping reality in ‘Oz, The Great And The Powerful’

scaping ‘reality’ has been my favourite theme in art, literature, movies and storytelling in general. Fantasies have a certain sway over us and our imagination. Since time immemorial, man has given in to otherworldly myths and tales of world which defy logic, which can explain our affinity to religion and after-life. The surrender is beautiful. Our means are limited, but out imagination not. Fantasies force us to question. Question the nature of existence and what we mutually agree to be real. Imagination is a gift which transcends all such agreements and propels us into the world unknown, into possibilities unbound. Fantasies , if not make us acknowledge, at least give us a perspective things beyond our understanding. Out of all means available to us, movies, I would say are most potent. The act of seeing and hearing, a fellow human being in a reality different from ours somehow makes us uncomfortable, it disturbs our comfort and boredom- it makes you doubt the agreement with society, One such story which made me especially ‘uncomfortable’ was ‘The Wizard Of Oz’. I had seen the movie for the first time when I was ten and enjoyed it, for it had enchanted me. The landscape, the Yellow Brick Road, a talking lion- I was in awe, as any other child my age would be. The second time I watched it was ten years later, but it was different this time- mostly because I had stopped believing in witches and wizards, and found value in its esoteric meaning. But also a new perspective was revealed, one which made me uncomfortable with our understanding of reality. A few months later, a modern-day prequel to the classic brought back the magic. In ‘Oz, The Great and The Powerful’, wonder took flight again. In this movie, the protagonist, who is a sham of a magician in Kansas, manages to escape this plane of reality in a similar way Dorothy does in the classic. He finds himself in the magical kingdom of Oz, where he find the people of Oz identifying him to be the prophesied Wizard of Oz, who will recuse them from the evil witch- typical story fairy-tale material so far and throughout. Quite obviously he delivers. The end. But what struck me the most was, on reaching Oz he questions where he is, but once the chain of events takeoff, he finds himself in the act and his inquisitiveness takes a backseat. Initially he found himself admiring the mysterious landscape, a village whose houses and people are made up of china, a flying and talking monkey who carries his heavy bag around. But all that wonder vanishes once he finds himself to be the man in the arena, Oz loses its initial charm.

Reflecting upon this change in perception of the protagonist, one can draw many parallels. In Oz, time was sort of distorted, spacial frontiers were unknown, no clue why things were the way they were- which is exactly the same in our world. We too have lost our childlike wonder, which we had when we started our journey in the face of day-today lives. We too rarely question from where did we come, how did we end up here. We have lost the eyes to see the beauty which exists around us, which hasn’t changed one bit, only we have grown up. One can also say, we are in the Kingdom of Oz, we just need to realise it. Doesn’t seem legit? So let’s question what makes the Kingdom of Oz- is it surreal landscape, is it alien architecture, is it what we call magic? What really is it? Our world also has these qualities, but we have overlooked them. What is most obvious is often ignored. Having said this, there do exist landscapes in our world which do seem more surreal than other, there is architecture in our world which can give an otherworldly feeling, there do exist regular people who achieve extraordinary feats- this world, too, is magical. It is no surprise that when we talk about this order of architecture the first examples we think of are churches, mosques and temples. Why? Probably because the theoretical basis for such architecture is something beyond this world, something transcendental, something which can capture your imagination and give you a hint of the beyond. Even from an agnostic point of view, one can not deny that such an elevation of spirit does not take place. A similar case can be made about memorials, monuments and mausoleums. Memorials are built to signify a special moment, event or person in time, to highlight its significance- this too deserves a worthy architectural treatment. Then comes monuments- which signify the might of human effort- these are structures which are not necessarily something transcendental but something greater than mundane still. Lastly mausoleums, which are the most common and testify for the legacy of the everyday person. Mausoleums range a variety of scales, they speak a deal about the person. Out of the three, mausoleums give a much more honest picture about the currents of history than monuments or memorial, which are prone to political perversions to a greater extent. Being directly related to death, they ought to speak of the transcendental in some way or the other

The Dynamics Of Urban Elements â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Architecture Of The Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Aldo Rossi, 1966

Carlo Fontana (1720), drawings of an unbuilt intervention in the Colosseum, Rome

Two registry maps (1782 and 1809) of amphitheatre, Nimes, France.

Aerial view of amphitheatre, Arles, France

Roman amphitheatre dictating urban forms in Santa Corce, Florence

In his book ‘The Architecture of the City’, Aldo Rossi makes ample references to the city as a form itself rather than a conglomeration of forms. He establishes a relationship between the city, its urban form and memories associated with them. The most interesting part of his analysis is the dynamics of urban form. He elucidates his point by giving examples of historic urban artefacts in old cities, which are often associated with a certain image of what the city would have been. But then these are not permanent in anyway. These iconic structures, no matter how crucial to the identity of the city are subject to decay and regeneration. In this case he gives examples of Roman cities throughout Europe. The public structures which have survived physically have lost their relevance socially and therefore must be appropriated to makes sense out of them. Most structures which the Roman introduced to ‘barbaric’ cities never really suited the cultural ethos of the people and therefore started losing relevance once Rome fell to the Germanic tribes. Eventually these structures have lost their meaning in such places. In reality they never had meaning in themselves, it was a borrowed from the people of them. Therefore a case can be made about the dynamic nature of forms, typologies and our relationship to them.

A certain place exists in the heart of Kolkata, which happens to be a dusty colonial cemetery which had its first burial in the year 1767. That’s almost a two and a half centuries from the time this report was written, and almost two centuries back it saw it’s last official burial. I would like to introduce the site in the form of a story It was the Durga Puja week in Kolkata in the year of 2010, when a group of friends after a bowl full of traditional Kolkata biryani for dinner decided to break away from the traditional practice of mid-night pandal-hopping and do something adventurous. For quite sometime there had been rumours in their friends circle that the Race Course field is haunted- on a chilly Kolkata night, amidst the mist one could spot the silhouette of a headless ghost, riding his horse around looking for his head in the vast white emptiness. The vast open fields between the Victoria Memorial, Fort William and the Race Course, loving known by the Kolkatans as the Maidan, which nurtures the needs of hundreds of cricketers and footballers throughout the day does turn into a cold and spooky place to be by night. Thus the story did have a certain legitimacy amongst them. One of them said ‘why don’t we go the Race-Course tonight?’. ‘Why don;t we visit the haunted pond in Rippon Street?’, said another. ‘Okay, let’s go cemetery-hopping, too’, and the night was planned. Thus began an ordeal of receiving all that Kolkata could offer.

By quarter past midnight pretty much all the places had been pretty much disappointing, of course except the visit to the abandoned morgue in Sealdah. The mysterious orbs over Rippon Street pond were not too bad either, coupled with a live commentary by one of them about the murders and conspiracies around the dreaded pond. Next on the list was the South Park Cemetery, which was unfortunately unaccessible at that ungodly hour, but they did manage to get a sneak speak into the central avenue of the cemetery through the main gate- which in itself was surreal, nothing spooky, but just otherworldly. Over the course of the coming week, much of the night was a thing of the past except the incomplete trip to the South Park Cemetery. So, a few of them decided to pick a godly hour and visit the cemetery to see much of what was shrouded in darkness the last time.

On the first visit to the cemetery, things were clearer and they understood what was the hype was all about. On entering the cemetery their was a certain sense of mystery that engulfed them. The over-sized mausoleums of the British that once lived in the city, the curious case of their life and time. Who were these people? What bought them here, so far away to a foreign land? Naturally, they wondered how the city they have known to be Kolkata was like back then. The cemetery seemed to be a miniature city of sorts, with streets and wellplanned drainage system flanked by the mausoleums on either sides- truly a city of the dead! The entire atmosphere was one of a strange nostalgia, of one they had no memory of. A rather strange feeling to have- all this was happening in a void in middle of the hustle and bustle of the city. The cemetery truly was a void- a void between the now and the then, between the dwellers within the cemetery and the dwellers outside. The void could only be filled with ones imagination, with answers to questions which none had answers to. Such was the fate of the cemetery. It had been a wise elder among the institutions of the city, one who has quietly seen the city grow from a small business establishment to giant metropolis the world once looked up to and still cherishes. In each brick of the cemetery is embedded the story of the first dwellers of Calcutta. Every arch of the mausoleums give a view into their lives. Countless stories of love, of battles won and lost, of adopted beliefs and superstitions, of stories that became legends, of young boys and girls who never made their voyage backthe cemetery refreshed all these memories and much more. It is a treasure trove of stories, waiting to be opened. Though this was shared a experience between the friends that day and of the countless visitors, one of the though something must be done to open the trove.

And that is how the idea for this thesis was born.

DOCUMENTS FOUND AT CEMETERY ARCHIVES:

‘An Introduction to the South Park Cemetery’ Ranajoy Bose

The Christian Burial Board (CBB), Kolkata welcomes you to the South Park Cemetery (SPSC) as its official custodian. The cemetery was restored from its ruins by CBB with the exclusive initiatives and total support of BACSA, UK, from 1978 to 1981 after which it was declared a Heritage Site. It is maintained under the advice of an Archaeologist and his team. It is a consecrated Christian cemetery with the mortal remains underneath each of the 1600 plus vaults but the remarkable tombs on top a cross section of the colonial sentiments of vrious civilizations across the globe ranging a time-space of more than 3500 years (sarcophagus, Ionian and fluted columns, Gothic architecture, mausoleums, Islamic domes, Hindu temples, urns etc). These were built by the masons and master craftsmen of Bengal under the guidance of European architects at a time when Calcutta was considered the second city of the British Empire. The cemetery Interment Records are digitalized and a Register of Standing Tombs published by BACSA, UK, under the copyright is available at the Gate office for the International and other tourist ( reprinted locally by the CBB) at a token cost of Rs. 100/- together with other publications. The Notice Board inside the cemetery gives you some interesting information and the CBB has a reasonably detailed website (www.christianburialboardkolkata.com). The cemetery experts like Dr. R. L. Jones are of the opinion that, there is perhaps no other (non-church) exclusive colonial cemetery of this variety and dimension anywhere else in the world! There are many other features added to this unique cemetery- religious, historic sentiments, architectural designs, thanatology etc. which attracts research scholars across the world.

History of the South Park Cemetery by Dr. Rosie Llewellyn-Jones

The history of the South Park cemetery is closely connected with the reconstruction of Calcutta (now Kolkata) after its recapture from the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-Ud-Daula. But we need to go back to the early 18th century to learn why thus famous cemetery was established where it stands today, on the corner of Park Street and Lower Circular Road in the area called Mullick Bazaar. Following the completions of old Fort William, a handsome church called St. Anne’s was consecrated in 1709. Later the church with its high steeple and distinctive apse faced the east gate of the old fort. Its extensive grounds already held the two-storeyed octagonal tomb of Job Charnock, who had dies in 1693. This is the earliest known English funerary structure in the city and it is surrounded today by flat tombstones of the first Calcutta inhabitants, some of their inscriptions being in Latin. The proximity of St. Anne’s Church was exploited by Siraj-Ud-Duala’s soldiers who could fire directly into the fort from the openings in its steeple. Calls to demolish the church and fierce fighting. The Maratha Ditch, dug some forty years earlier as a defensive measure around the city, and its numerous palisades, had proved useless. The Nawab and his men simple marched down Chitpur Road to Fort William. The bodies of those who dies in the subsequent ‘Black Hole’ incident were thrown unceremoniously by the Nawab’s men into a defensive, but useless, ditch put up across The Avenue, the wide street that ran in front of todays Writers’ Buildings. After Robert Clive’s capture of Calcutta, radical plans were implemented to ensure the city would not fall into enemy hands again. And it should be said that it was not just the Nawab or the Marathas who were seen as a threat, but other East India Companies too, the French in particular. St. Anne’s Church, badly damaged, was subsequently demolished and this left the English Company without any place of worship. A Portuguese church was borrowed, and a room within what remained of the old city fort was also used. But this meant that there was now no church with attached graveyard. Prominent victims of Clive’s triumphant recapture of Calcutta, like Admiral Watson, were buried next to Job Charnock’s Tomb, which must have been a forlorn site with the ruins of the blackened church to one side. We don not know where the Protestants dead were buried between the recapture of the city in 1757 and the establishment of the cemetery known today as South Park Cemetery i 1767. Clearly deaths did occur during this periodmortality rates among Europeans were so high that it was sometimes said that the life of an Englishman, or woman, was ‘two monsoons’ or two years at most. There are occasional reports of ‘garden burials’ but it was clear something else was needed.

The Maratha ditch is believed to have followed the line of the Lower Circular Road and the new cemetery was tucked just inside it. The ditch has quickly become a dumping ground for rubbish and dead animals, as ditches often do when their original purpose has gone. The site chosen for the cemetery was some way from the heart of British Calcutta yet still within walking distance. It was approached through marshy land with bamboo and trees growing thickly on either side of the raised path, which was called Burial Ground Road. Only later, with the establishment of a deer park did the road become known as Park Street. Because there was no Protestant church at the time around which a graveyard should grow, a decision was taken ( probably by the Governor of the time, Sir Robert Clive) to establish a new kind of burial ground, one which was not dependent on a place of worship and was far enough out of town not to pose a threat of contamination to the natural springs in Tank Square. This meant that the first funeral would be conducted in whatever temporary room or borrowed chapel was available in central Calcutta. The funeral procession would then proceed down Chowringhee, still a tiger-infested area to the south, before turning sharply left along Burial Ground Road. The cortege, lit by torches of oil-soaked rags on poles usually made its melancholy journey at night. It was thought too demoralizing for the British residents to see their fellow countrymen and women borne with distressing frequency to their last resting place. Although today South Park Street appears well-ordered with its broad, well-kept paths and impressive tombs fronting these paths, in fact the earliest burials, starting in 1768, tended to be jumbled together without any discernible pattern. Family graves would usually be placed near each other. Cemeteries fill up first from the main entrance, where the oldest tombs are usually found. In this case the entrance was on Park Street. Later, as more room was needed, the cemetery was extended, both southwards and eastwards, with another entrance on Rawdon Road. There twp extensions contain tombs in regular rows, quite different from the haphazard arrangements i the original burial ground. Before examining some of the tombs, it is important to place the cemetery in context. Although the first to be established here, it was followed by others so that the whole of this area formed a very substantial European necropolis. On the north of Park Street was the Roman Catholic cemetery known as Tiretta’s Burial Ground, after the Italian who bought it to lay his young wife in. Sometimes called the French Cemetery, it was opened about 1798. When it was cleared in 1977, some of the tombstones were rescued and placed in South Park cemetery. Adjacent to the Catholic cemetery was North Park cemetery cleared in 1950s. Across the road, to the east, and therefore outside the old Maratha ditch is Lower Circular Cemetery, opened in 1820 and currently undergoing substantial restoration. So this was an area of the dead. The Englishwoman Sophia Goldborne, describes the ‘Bengal burial grounds’ in 1785: ‘Obelisks and pagodas are erected at great expense and the whole spot is surrounded by as well-turned a walk as these you traverse in Kensington Gardens, ornamented by a double row of aromatic tress, which afford a solemn writing in1811 had a different opinion: ‘I hate the grounds with pyramids oppressed, where ashes moulder in sepulchral rest.’ This was not strictly true, because cremation for Europeans was highly usual at that time. It was bodies that were buried, not ashes. Certainly there were plenty of pyramids, obelisks and even pagodas , the descriptive word of the day for domed tombs supported by columns. A number of people have remarked on the fact that nowhere in South Park Cemetery do we find any symbols of Christianity- no crosses or weeping angles or even gothic decoration, which were later to become associated with tombs. I the absence of any contemporary explanation, other than to record the grandiose funerary monuments, we can out forward two arguments. The Age of Enlightenment, as it is called, dominated European thinking in the 18th century and some would argue that it had roots in 17th century England. It led to a deliberate move away from established religion and the dominance of the church. People became interested in the natural world around them, in new scientific discoveries and above all in new climate of reason and rationality. The individual, freed from medieval shackles of an eternally vengeful god ad a feudal way of life, became open to different influences. There was sudden and deep fascination with the ancient classical world of Greece, Rome and Egypt, fuelled by archaeological discoveries and the Grand Tour, which rich young men would make on the European continent and through Italy in particular. D’Hancarville’s four volumes on a Collection of Etruscan, Greek and Roman Antiquities published in 1767 fostered the taste for neoclassicism which found a response among the more thoughtful Britons in Calcutta.

The domes ‘chhatris’ with their Ionic or Doric columns harked back to Piranesi’s vividly imagined Appian Way in Italy. Funerary urns were the classical symbol of Roman cremation where the urn would be covered with a draped cloth representing a shroud. Catafalques were erected standing on substantial square plinths and fluted broken columns symbolized a life cut short. Pyramids and obelisks reflected the pure lines of ancient Egyptian funerary monuments, grandiose in conception, but at the same time, simple and powerful. Comparisons have been made between British in India and Romans in Britain. Both were invaders, initially after and conquest, but bringing to their colonies technology, buildings, roads, military cohesion, law and a new system of administration. British admirers of Calcutta in the late 18th century said that its handsome mansions, gleaming white in the sun, reminded them of Greece or Rome. This was a pleasing fancy for the Company men who would end their days, if unlucky, under a suitable Roman-style tomb in Calcutta. But this doesn’t quite explain the extraordinary size and ostentation of some of the tombs. The reason was that both labour and materials were extremely cheap in Bengal compared to what they were in England. Even a master mason recieved only a few rupees a month and bricks were so abundant that they could be pulverized to form an element of the ubiquitous lime mortar. Certainly if men like William Jones, and women like Rose Aylmer had died in their native country thry would not have been able to afford the extravagant tombs we see here. All of the often enormous structures in South Park were created not from marble or stone as their original would have been, but from small baked bricks covered with stucco. Some of their final were strengthened with iron rods, now apparent when the brickwork fails. The tombs were to provide inspiration for future generations and many British burial grounds outside Bengal, like Varanasi for example, have similar monuments, although because Calcutta was the capital of the Company rule, provincial monuments are proportionally somewhat less grand. There is a distinct difference between these tombs and those of Europeans in the Indian sub-continent. The 18th century Dutch cemetery of Cossimbazar has a characteristic double-storeyed tomb, no dissimilar to that of an early Dutch settler in the Narinda cemetery at Dhaka. At Chinsura, which changed hands several times between the Dutch and the English Companies, there is an interesting mixture of tombs which allow comparisons between the two nations. Not until the English Evangelical movements of the early 19th century do tombs start to shrink and become more humble, more ‘Christian’ in their symbolism and more homogenous with those of other Europeans. By the time South Park Street closed to burials in 1830 (not 1790 as the plaque on the gatepost would have it) the assurance and indeed pomposity that had characterized the early British merchants, officials, sailors, soldiers, judges, businessmen, rogues and the occasional eccentric like Hindu Stuart, had gone. Pere Lachaise in Paris may claim to be the most visited non-church in Europe, but it is a comparative newcomer (opened in 1804) against South Park Street. The vivid stories associated with many of the dead buried in Calcutta and their extraordinary tombs means that this is still one of the most awe-inspiring places in India to visit. It is now firmly established on the itinerary of foreign tour groups and is supported by various charitable groups including the British Association of Cemeteries in South Asia (BACSA), which is based in London.

Restoration of the tombs of South Park Cemetery Asit Kumar Bandhyopadhyay, Archaeological Advisor, CBB

The background- To a students of art history of Colonial Buildings in India the South Park Cemetery is singularly interesting for its wide distribution, greater variations and an association with those brave soldiers and noble scholars who dedicated their lives at a very young age in making of Kolkata. Built in bricks in lime-surkhi mortar and finished in ornamental stucco the tombs are basically a Doric (Greek) derivation of Indo-Saracenic in style. The tomb of Major General Horton Brisco and his wife Maria Brisco who died in 1802 and 1806 respectively give testimony to it. Both the structures are octagonal, built on a low olinth and opened on three sides with Ionian columns to support the architrave. The architrave is recessed at the top and decorated below with beaded patterns. Each tomb contains an octagonal dome at the top while, the rear wall shows the tombstone of the dead. The tomb of Alexander Patrick Johntone (1804) is closed on three sides and opened by and ornamental doorway in the front which is flanked on either side by an Ionian column with their capitals supporting a semicircular member decorated with ribbed patterns. The projected eaves of the architrave are resting on a pair of Ionian columns erected at the cardinal directions. Structure is topped by a circular dome.

Thus a circular octagonal structure on a low plinth and provided by a back wall or covered on three sides and topped by an architrave with a circular or an octagonal domes is typical to Indo-Saracenic in character. The basic concept of it is to reduce between the lower and the upper area with the help of squinches and spandrels so that the dome can be raised in a proportionate manner at the top of an architrave. Thus, the architrave plays the key role in reductio of the lower space by multiplication of upper corners in the above process. This is borrowed from Islamic architecture where a large space is required for the prayer hall. The projected eaves of an architrave in the tombs of South Park Cemetery are found as resting on Ionic or Corinthian or Tuscan columns in the characteristic feature of Doric style. Another interesting feature is the pediment projected very often in the central facade of an architrave. Of all the Inod-Saracenic monuments at South Park Cemetery the most interesting is however, the tomb of Major General Charles Stuart, also known as Hindu Stuart (1758-1822). It is given the impression of a Pancha-Ratna temple with the miniature spire of an Orissan temple in the four corners of the central dome. The frontal facade carries a tri-foil arch in basalt while the earrings and relief figures belongs also to the Hindu faith. The tombs of Sarah Rosalie Robinson (1818) consists of a fluted urn resting on an ornate column. The column is raised on a stepped plinth. The tombs of Bently and Emmer families (1882-1891) comprise a square structure with the urn at the top. Of the urn variety the tomb of Lt. Col. Valentine Blacker (1826) is noted for its tall elegant column erected at the top of a rectangular platform. The oval shaped urn is placed at the top of an oblong capital. An inscribed marble slab of the dead is fitted against the platform raised on a recessed plinth. The tomb of Pricilla Forbes (1808) wife of James Forbes (an Attorney of Supreme Court, Kolkata) is an oblong structure known as sarcophagi. It is placed on a stepped plinth and capped by a recessed member. The inscribed oval marble slab of the dead is fixed on the shorter side in the front. The sarcophagi of Margaret Dundas (1806) is placed on a high platform and protected upward in an anthropomorphic form. The tombs of James Wade (1808) is a small square structure with pilasters in the four corners. It is topped by a crown decorated with vertical bands and lotus medallions. In a centrally recessed portion. The recessed portion is bordered with ribbed design. Adjacent to it, exists a larger version of it belonging to James Cullen (1842). The tomb of Elizabeth Jane Barwell (1755-1778) is also a square structure with pediment on each side at the centre of an uppermost part of the perpendicular wall and topped by a huge pyramidal roof. Of the tombs of Remfry families one is significant for its dignifies bearing with high square plinth from the top of which is raised in four corners tall and slender pillars to support an architrave decorated in ornamental stucco and recessed patterns. The tombs of Chas Blaney (1827) is an obelisk raised on a high platform and linear projection and containing the upper one an epitaph of the buried. The tall and round obelisk of James Frazer (1882) is raised on an octagonal plinth with the architrave decorated at the bottom by a lithic version of wooden beans. The tomb of Rose Withworth Aylmer (1780-1800) attracts one for its superb composition. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a tall rounded column fluted obliquely all over the surface and rising from the centre of lotus petals. Of the obelisks belonging to this cemetery the most imposing one is, however, the tombs of Sir William Jones (1746-1794). Placed on a high square platform the obelisk contains on each side an oblong footed urn in high relief at the base. Causes of decay: 1. Growth of wild vegetation and large trees adjacent to the tombs causing dampness and penetration of their roots into the core of structures. 2. Development of cracks and fissures at various levels of the structure and a dislocation of their original alignments. 3. The situation was worsened further by an ugly restoration work with cement at a later date. 4. Long exposure to rain water and salivation to the brick contents. 5. Absence of any infrastructure with the authority (CBB) to meet the said crisis.

Present state of preservations In 2004-05 the Christian Burial Board has requested me to submit a detailed project report on the restoration and preservation of the tombs of South Park Cemetery. During inspection it was found that the larger tombs are affected badly compared to the smaller ones. Depending upon the nature of an extent of the damage a list of the tombs was prepared to take up the repair work on priority basis. It was also decided that the repair work of all will be taken up ad completed in several phases since, the execution is a slow process and requires minute observations. It follows strictly the norms and principles of the Archaeological Works code as laid in the Conservation Manual. According to it the repair work should be carried out in a traditional method (ie, in limesurkhi mortar) and the structure should be stabilised from inside without and addition or alteration of its original character, form or texture of the content. With this aim in view the restoration work of the cemetery started in 2007 and continued in the following years with the completion of about 75% of the total work. The repair work comprises the following methodology: 1. Complete removal of dead mortars and cement coatings from the surface 2. Plinth protection with due brick work, pointing and an water tightening measure with soluble solvents. 3. Repair to the cracks and voids with grouting/injecting method of the liquid mortars. 4. Underpinning brick work to the damaged walls and structural contents. 5. Lime concrete terracing to the roof area and the pathways. 6. Filleting to the decorative stucco work to retain the original. 7. Resetting of the bulged out portion to their original alignment with due consolidation of the structural contents. Future scope of works: 1. Lying of lime concrete pathways to provide proper access to the tombs. 2. Provision of cultural and general notice boards with due signage system. 3. Landscaping the area with beautiful gardens and lawns to maintain an ambience at the site. 4. Improvement in the security and surveillance system. 5. Visitor amenities like installation of cast iron benches, drinking facility, toilets. 6. Provision of electrical outfits. 7. Introduction of Son-et-Lumiere programme. 8. Construction of an auditorium hall (to be erected in a subdued manner near the Rawdon Street) for holding periodical seminars, lectures etc.

CEMETERY AS A CONTAINER OF MEMORIES

INTENT: - primarily, this project intends to intervene in the South Park Cemetery in a manner which brings outs its historic and cultural value to the city -to evoke memories of the colonial era -it intends provide a substitute for an enclosure, in the form of a structure which responds to the city -to leave all the mausoleums untouched, once all of them have been repaired -it intends to redefine the meaning of an open space and alter the attitude towards both colonial monuments and exhausted cemeteries -generate activity around the cemetery to stitch the cemetery to the fabric of the city, while not disturbing its characteristic atmosphere -recognise the cemetery as an active green space and contribute to a healthier public square -cut trees whose roots pose a threat to the mausoleums, and in doing so allow sunlight to enter and reducing moisture deposition on the structures -formalising reasonable claims of the citizens over the cemetery

LIMITATIONS: - the project does not look into or tries to tackle any social problem directly - it does not address any issue or concern in general, but tries to fill in the voids of urban needs of Kolkata as a historic and cultural centre of India - it does not use passive cooling techniques as other site forces over power this aspect

02. ANALYSIS

MAP OF CALCUTTA 1858

BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA BACK GROUND During the time period of early 1700, the British in had few trading posts set up in India and Calcutta was yet to realize her potential as a geographically strategic centre of trade. Years after the death of Job Charnock, whose personal vision of foreseeing the site as full-fledged community, not merely a trading post (Chaudhari, 1990), found Calcutta growing around the old Fort William precinct (present day Dalhousie Square or BBD Bag) with competition from the Portuguese posts in Chittagong (Porto Grande or Great Harbour and Saptagram (Porto Piqueno or Little Harbour), the Dutch in Dhaka, Chinsurah, Cosimbazar, Malda, Pipili (in Orissa) and Murshidabad (the capital of Bengal under Aurangazeb), but the most fierce rivalry was between British and the French (centred in Chandernagore, about 35 kilometers north of the old Fort William). Among other reasons, intensity of the Anglo-French rivalry, the British East India Company was compelled to built a fortress for trading purposes.

‘You are merchants , what use you have of a fortress? Being under my protection you have no enemies to fear?’Alivardi Khan, Nawab of Bengal from 1740 to 1756 have told the British and French in Bengal

Shiraj-ud-duala, Alivardhi’s successor didn’t quite feel so. He felt threatened by the growing involvement of the Europeans in the Bengal region in both trade and politics. He anticipated that allowing fortresses within his dominion would hamper his de facto sovereignty. Due to the British noncooperation on these matters, the Nawab decided to march towards Fort William with a 30,000 strong army. SACK OF CALCUTTA The Nawab halted in a merchant’s mansion, Umichand, right outside the Maratha Ditch, which defined the boundaries of Calcutta back then. Inevitable the Bengali army was able to capture the fort. With the Governor Drake escaping the day before the seize with women and children by boat, the fort was eventually surrendered by J. Z. Holwell, the magistrate-collector, with only 170 white men remaining, despite been given a chance by Nawab to flee. Though there was no damage was rendered to the contiguous villages of Gobindapur, Sutanuti and Chitpur, only Kalikata suffered major damage, the British accounts have been exaggerated. The clash took place near the churchyard of St. John’s, where the mausoleum of Job Charnock laid untouched. THE BLACK HOLE TRAGEDY What followed the brief clash was to be infamously known as the Black Hole Of Calcutta Tragedy- 146 prisoners of war (Holwell’s source) were stuffed in dungeon room measuring 18 feet by 14 feet 10 inches, on June 20, 1756. The probable number was around 60, of which only 23 walked out alive, rest died from suffocation and heat exhaustion.

HOLWELL’S ACCOUNT ‘The dungeon was a strongly barred room, and was not intended for the confinement of more than two or three men at a time. There were only two windows, and a projecting veranda outside, and thick iron bars within impeded the ventilation, while fires, raging in different parts of the fort, suggested an atmosphere of further oppressiveness. The prisoners were packed so tightly that the door was difficult to close. One of the soldiers stationed in the veranda was offered 1,000 rupees to have them removed to a larger room. He went away, but returned saying it was impossible. The bribe was then doubled, and he made a second attempt with a like result; the nawab was asleep, and no one dared wake him. By nine o’clock several had died, and many more were delirious. A frantic cry for water now became general, and one of the guards, more compassionate than his fellows, caused some [water] to be brought to the bars, where Mr. Holwell and two or three others received it in their hats, and passed it on to the men behind. In their impatience to secure it nearly all was spilt, and the little they drank seemed only to increase their thirst. Self-control was soon lost; those in remote parts of the room struggled to reach the window, and a fearful tumult ensued, in which the weakest were trampled or pressed to death. They raved, fought, prayed, blasphemed, and many then fell exhausted on the floor, where suffocation put an end to their torments. About 11 o’clock the prisoners began to drop off, fast. At length, at six in the morning, Siraj-ud-Daulah awoke, and ordered the door to be opened. Of the 146 only 23, including Mr. Holwell [from whose narrative, published in the Annual Register for 1758, this account is partly derived], remained alive, and they were either stupefied or raving. Fresh air soon revived them, and the commander was then taken before the nawab, who expressed no regret for what had occurred, and gave no other sign of sympathy than ordering the Englishman a chair and a glass of water. Notwithstanding this indifference, Mr. Holwell and some others acquit him of any intention of causing the catastrophe, and ascribe it to the malice of certain inferior officers, but many think this opinion unfounded.’

AFTERMATH The series of events that followed the Black Hole incident can not be understated. The impact the aftermath had shaped course of Calcutta’s history and inturn the history of India and the world. A whirlpool of events followed and Calcutta was to be the center of the it, witnessing the currents of history, with the Black Hole as her navel center. The crushing defeat humiliated the pride of the British Empire, the ground beneath the British Parliament shifted, with all of the West left shock of the inhumane act. In response, the company in response sent Robert Clive to sail to Calcutta from Madras with an army and engage in battle for economic supremacy. The arrival of Clive, famously known as Clive of India, marked a new era in the colonial history of India. As an able commander, and with the help of Mir Jafar who betrayed the Nawab, he won the Battle of Plassey (1757) with an army of 3,000 over an army of 50,000 of Shiraj, which made British the undisputed masters of Bengal. The Nawab was killed. Now Calcutta was ready to propel forward to become the city she was destined to be. The Black Hole of Calcutta was later used as a warehouse; and in memoriam of the dead, the British erected a 15-metre-high obelisk; it now is in the graveyard of (Anglican) St. John’s Church. The incident also became a part of much household conversations in Britain. It also had a lasting impact on the social memory of Europeans in terms of popular culture. -Edgar Allan Poe makes reference to the “stifling” of the prisoners in the introduction to “The Premature Burial” (1844). -Pynchon satirically refers to the long-running musical revue Oh! Calcutta!, which was played on Broadway for more than 7,000 performances. -Eugene O’Neill, in Long Day’s Journey into Night, Act 4, Jamie says, “Can’t expect us to live in the Black Hole of Calcutta.” -Jeremiah Dixon visits New York City, and attends a secret “Broad-Way” production of the “musical drama”, The Black Hole of Calcutta, or, the Peevish Wazir, “executed with such a fine respect for detail. . . .” -According to Hong-Yee Chiu, a long-time astrophysicist at NASA, the Black Hole of Calcutta was the inspiration for the term black hole referring to regions of space-time resulting from the gravitational collapse of very heavy stars. He recalled hearing physicist Robert Dicke in the early 1960s compare such gravitationally collapsed objects to the infamous prison. (Siegfried, Tom, “50 years later, it’s hard to say who named black holes”, Science News)

PARK STREET

ROAD CONNECTION

METRO NETWORK 24

Kolkata is known for its literary, artistic, and revolutionary heritage; as the former capital of India, it was the birthplace of modern Indian literary and artistic thought. Kolkata has been called the “City of Furious, Creative Energy”as well as the “cultural [or literary] capital of India”. The presence of paras, which are neighbourhoods that possess a strong sense of community, is characteristic of the city. Typically, each para has its own community club and, on occasion, a playing field. Residents engage in addas, or leisurely chats, that often take the form of freestyle intellectual conversation. The city has a tradition of political graffiti depicting everything from outrageous slander to witty banter and limericks, caricatures, and propaganda. In recent years, Kolkata has fallen behind in term of urban development, yet it has maintained a certain old-world charm about it with rigorous urban growth in the periphery.

PARK STREET

IMAGE OF PARK STREET

city-scape around the site 70

site context APJ SCHOOL (site of Terretta Cemetery)

ON ST

REET

AJCS SCHOOL, CHURCH AND HOSPITAL (site of North Park Cemetery) PARK STREE T

RAWD

SOUTH PARK CEMETERY

R ROA D

CIRCU LA

RAWDON SQUARE

entrance

The South Park Cemetery is an urban artefact of utmost importance in the city of Kolkata. in 1767 the first tomb was erected when the churchyard of St. Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Church could not accommodate any further burials, signifying the growing European population in Calcutta. The last burial took place in 1. The cemetery contains mortal remains of mostly British immigrants, with a few other Europeans too. The site is bound by Park Street on the north, Rawdon Street on the west, Rawdon Square (equal historic importance) tank on the south and the Circular Road on the east. During the early years of the cemetery, the site was surrounded by the North Park Cemetery (built after the South Park Cemetery, demolished now), Terretta Cemetery (French, demolished) , Scottish Cemetery and the Mullick Bazaar Cemetery (Indian burials, and the only active one now); form a network of colonial cemeteries in Calcutta, bound by the city on one side and a deer park on the other, hence the name Park Street. The cemetery was closed in 1790, but a few burials took place as late as 1825). Housing about 1500 tombs, of which only about 1200 remains standing as of now due to neglect during the immediate post-independence era, the cemetery is one of a kind- the only Anglo cemetery of this size and quality in the world outside Britain. The architectural detailing of the tombs bring together British ideas of Greek and Roman revival and a colloquial vocabulary together. Also it one the very of non-church cemeteries of this size in Asia, reflecting the European ideas of Enlightenment Era during the early 1700s. The cemetery is owned by the Christian Burial Board, Kolkata and is funded, maintained and restored by a associations in Kolkata and London. In todays context, the cemetery is gaining prominence as an active open space in the heart of a city devoid of such space, yet much social stigma remains. One can often find people seeking for silence and serenity, away from the fast paced city life. The tombs and premise is more or less well maintained, and has a certain power to make people wonder about the lives of the people who built Calcutta from three villages to the city as it stands. One could enhance this quality of the cemetery to help visitors better understand the memory of the city which the mausoleums have so well preserved over the centuries. One an average the cemetery receives about a 100-150 visitors, some even make a trip all the way from Britain to page homage to their ancestors who took the trade winds and sailed into the unknown- such spirit, such enthusiasm, and all of them are etched on the stone tablets of the mausoleums! 72

typology of mausoleums

elevation

plan

plan cut at 0.5m

section

view from main entrance

view of rear ES-axis

view of rear ES-axis AJCS

SOUTH PARK CEMETERY

CHURCH

5-FLOOR PARKING STRUCTURE

AJCS SCHOOL

view with context

HIGH DENSITY RESIDENCES

RAWDON SQUARE

RAWDON STREET

HIGH DENSITY, HIGH RISE MIXED USE

MERCY HOSPITAL

PARK STREET 74

elements

atmosphere

activity 75

03. DESIGN

FINAL DESIGN IDEATION

MATERIAL Weathering steel is the material used for cladding the project over concrete supported by a steel frame. The reason is mostly aesthetic and also because of the unique visual experience of weathering steel. Though not most appropriate for the hit and humid weather of Kolkata, the material provides a rustic look and colour which sharply contrasts the mausoleum. The material further is used to give an overall effect to the structure which seems not of this time, despite being contemporary- a sense of disorientation in time perception. Being a thin sheet, the weathering steel is appropriate to create punctures which will form jallis which can be seen as a visual reference to the traditional terracota jallis of Bengal

perforated weathering steel

terracotta jalli work of Bengal

DETAILS

CASE STUDIES Ricardo Legorreta: facade, fenestration and form relationship

Drawing courtesy Legorreta + Legorreta

Sheraton Abandoibarra Hotel. Photo: JosĂŠ Latova

Central Library, San Antonio- Legoretta+Legoretta

www.bluffton.edu

[ME]morial- M.Arch thesis project by Beomki Lee a study on nature of memorials and their relationship to people

INFERENCE AND CONCLUSION In this project Lee takes a different approach to memorials ad how we perceive them. Instead of an obelisk like memorial which provides the same experience to the subject, here the focus is more on personalised experienceshow can the experience be more deeply connected to an individual rather than the collective (hence the name [ME]morial). This project was proposed on a site which was destroyed by an earthquake in Sendai, Japan and the modules are built over the ruins. In many was the site is similar to mine, as in it creates and atmosphere which disconnects you from its immediate surroundings and also in the way the facilitate individual experiences through meandering and exploration rather than a monotonous collective experience. 83

project title: [ME]morial location: boston, MA school: massachusetts institute of technology critic: antĂłn garcĂa-abril

DESIGN ITERATION 1: Concept: 1.

2. london

london

line is a directional one, symbolizing the arrival of a person/event; a stimulus

line connecting two points symbolizes the growth of both the cities; it freezes location of the cemetery in context to its builders

kolkata

3. South Park Cemetery as: - a container of memories - a silent observer of the story of three villages (now known as Kolkata) -testimony to what Kolkata is, even though not apparent -an urban artefact which triggers thoughts pertaining to memory, nostalgia, loss, mystery

4. Physical manifestation of a symbolic element

series of columns indication a line

AS A BACKDROP: - giving hints of context which doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t exist anymore, a memory - ambiguous, open to interpretation, just like the memory of a city -RED as a colour that demands attention, in contrast to the worn out texture of the mausoleums, something fresh

to be used in design both structurally and as free standing elements

AS STRUCTURE

PHYSICALLY: Defines the boundaries of the site after boundaries are removed METAPHORICALLY: indicative of something that was, memory

5. Form-finding and programmatic insertion

ARRIVAL: gateway

COLLISION: exhibiting impact, reflection

PRE-COLLISION: dynamic

DECAY: static, resting back, cemetery or a metaphor for the cemetery itself

STAGES OF LINE’S LIFE:

PROGRAMMATIC INTERPRETATION:

-BIRTH/ARRIVAL

-ingesting information/ gestation

-library, mediatheque

-PRE-COLLISION

-process of creation

-workshop/studio

-COLLISION

-post creation, while it’s still fresh, temporary, ephemeral

-exhibition/auditorium

-DECAY

-decay, permanence

-museum

DESIGN ITERATION 1- DRAWINGS

FINAL DESIGN

05. CONCLUSIONS

CONCLUSIONS: - during the course of this project, the connection of the city and its memories to the past in the form of urban artefacts. - a new approach to urban public spaces was experimented with. A public space which had a didactic component to it. - further development of the project would include: -making the mausoleums more visible to the city, more porosity -landscaping to supplement the experience -use soft architecture to supplement various subtle aspects of claims to the site by the city -including the municipal buildings along the site boundary into the design programme

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05. BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES

REFERENCES: i) Park Street, Kolkata analysis: PARK STREET (ETH Studio Basel: Luca Pestalozzi, Matthias Stucheli) ii) The Dynamics of Urban Artefacts: The Architecture Of The City (Aldo Rossi, 1966; MIT Press) iii) [ME]morial- Beomki Lee (designboom.com) iv) Screen-shots from â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Oz- The Great And The Powerfulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (Walt Disney Pictures, Roth Films, Curti-Donen Productions) (v) Weathering steel details-https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/18/11/75/181175e19f32456a7a5568bae e695ef5.jpg -http://www.centriaperformance.com/products/wall/insulated_metal_back-up_panels/metalwrap/hor/300.aspx -https://in.pinterest.com/pin/457326537142155836/ -http://www.archdaily.com/806716/6-eye-catching-corten-steel-construction-details vi) Sheraton Abandoibarra Hotel, Legorreta + Legorreta (http://www.arcspace.com/features/legorreta--legorreta/sheraton-abandoibarra-hotel/) vii) Aldo Rossi- Memory And Architecture- Seungko Jo, Professor, Tongmyong University Of Information Technology, Korea viii) Booklet on South Park Cemetery- British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia ix) Old maps of South Park Cemetery- British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia, and Bengal Obituary Records x) Calcutta- A Living City (Sakunta Chaudhari)

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