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| At the gate of Victoria Memorial |
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| Victoria Memorial, the dream of Lord Curzon |
Exploring the various facets of the Memorial, reading various statues and plaques installed there, admiring its architecture, feasting our eyes on the well-maintained garden and blooming flowers around the memorial and trying to relive history of modern India was quite a memorable experience which got etched in my mind.
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| The bronze statue of Queen Victoria on a throne made by Sir George Frampton |
When Victoria, the Queen of Great Britain died in January 1901, Lord Curzon, who was then Viceroy of India, decided to build a grand memorial in her memory. He appealed to the people of India and the public and the royalties who donated funds to the tune of Rupees one crore five lacs which was the cost of this monument. The British Govt. surprisingly did not spend a single penny on the construction of this building.
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| Presented to Victoria Memorial Executive Committee by Dowager Countess of Minto |
The 184 feet high building,
made of white marble was designed by Sir William Emerson who was President of the British Institute of Architects by using British as well as Mughal architecture
principles. Some of the other buildings which Emerson designed in India are the
Crawford Market in Mumbai in the year 1865, All Saints Cathedral in Allahabad
(UP) during 1869-’93 and Muir College in Allahabad in 1873.
The construction of this awesome building was undertaken by Martin & Co of Calcutta under the supervision of Vincent J. Esch who was appointed as the Project’s Superintending Architect. Esch also designed the Bengal Club, Duncan Building and Allahabad Bank building in Kolkata. Later, he designed many large buildings for the Nizam of Hyderabad, viz,the Railway Station, the High Court, the City High School and the Osmania Hospital.
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| One of the towers around the Memorial |
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| The entry to main hall Victoria Memorial |
The top of the building has a number of figurines which represent Motherhood, Prudence and Learning. The main dome is surrounded
by figures of Art, Architecture, Charity and Justice. At the entrance, there is
a magnificent bronze statue of the Queen made by Sir George Frampton, enthroned
on Esch's bridge, between narrative panels by Sir Goscombe John.
The magnificent gardens and
lush green lawns sprawled in 64 acres of land surrounding the memorial were
designed by Lord Redesdale and Sir David Prain.
This we found to be one of the best-kept gardens of Kolkata, flowers blooming in every part, ambience relaxing and extremely soothing. Families sitting and singles lying on lawns was quite a sight. 
The construction of this monument started in the year 1906 and it took 15 years for it to complete. It was thrown open to public in the year 1921 by the Prince of Wales who visited India then.
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| A close-up of pillars on the four corners of the Memorial |
It is interesting to find
similarities between Victoria memorial and Taj Mahal in Agra. Both are made in
the memory of people after they have expired. Both are constructed with white
Makrana marble from Rajsthan and both have almost similar Mughal type of
designs with a dome, chhatris and four pillars etc.
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| The figurines of Motherhood, Prudence & Learning atop the building |
Wondering whether the Queen would have appreciated the company of the freedom-fighters in the same building as Her majesty!
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1 comment:
Seems to be a tranquil,peaceful and beautiful place. The building seems to be quite huge.The difference between Taj and Victoria memorial is that the Taj is the actual burial place, whereas this is only a Memorial. The gardens appear to be well maintained.The British did leave beautiful buildings behind.
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