Kolkata

Article: 

Pagoda in Kolkata
Since 19th century

     When we talk about Eden Gardens 99.9% times we refer to the internationally famous Cricket stadium but what we ignore is the fact that the stadium owes its name to the adjacent park, the creation of Lord Auckland, Governor General of India during 1836-42.

  WANDERLUST brings before you the story of a 150 years old BURMESE PAGODA, situated in the Eden Garden, unfortunately obscured from the public memory due to the never-ending renovation process.

     George Eden, the 1st Earl of Auckland, better known as Lord Auckland, served as the Governor General of India from 1836 to 1842. His father William Eden had six sons and eight daughters. His seventh daughter Emily alongwith one of her sibling Fanny, travelled to India when their brother Lord Auckland was in residence there as the Governor General. As Calcutta was the seat of the Governor General, naturally Emily & Fanny started to live here.

     Among the sisters, Emily was an Amateur Artist. She was inquisitive and showed her keenness to know the country and made it a point to meet the distinguished people of Calcutta. She wrote accounts of her time in

    India later collected in the volume Up the Country : Letters Written to Her Sister from the Upper Provinces of India (1867). She had an inborn liking and love for gardens. During their stay in Calcutta, work of Eden Garden started at the initiative of Lord Auckland. Both the sisters were responsible for personally directing and supervising the general layout of this fashionable promenade for the Calcutta Society. The Civil Architect of that time Captain Fitzgerald executed the project. Finally in 1840, the Auckland Circus Garden, later renamed as Eden Garden, in the memory of Eden Sisters, was formally opened to the public.

      Among the sisters, Emily was an Amateur Artist. She was inquisitive and showed her keenness to know the country and made it a point to meet the distinguished people of Calcutta. She wrote accounts of her time in India later collected in the volume Up the Country : Letters Written to Her Sister from the Upper Provinces of India (1867). She had an inborn liking and love for gardens. During their stay in Calcutta, work of Eden Garden started at the initiative of Lord Auckland. Both the sisters were responsible for personally directing and supervising the general layout of this fashionable promenade for the Calcutta Society. The Civil Architect of that time Captain Fitzgerald executed the project. Finally in 1840, the Auckland Circus Garden, later renamed as Eden Garden, in the memory of Eden Sisters, was formally opened to the public.

BURMESE PAGODA -

     The prominent attraction of the garden is a picturesque Burmese Pagoda, standing in the northern part of the garden, is an island, almost surrounded by a waterbody. The Pagoda, originally belonged to Myanmar or erstwhile Burma, has a intriguing story to tell.

      The decorative structure was built in Prome, Burma (now Pyay, Myanmar) sometime in 1852 by Ma Kin, the widow of Maung Honon who was the Governor of Prome. One estimate puts the original cost of the Pagoda's wood work at Rs.1500 and is said to have taken three months to complete. The Pagoda in the form a 'Tazaung' - a prayer hall or pavilion, has an image of Buddha inside with precious stones encrusted on the forehead. 'Tazaung' is a type of Buddhist Shrine having a multi-tiered roof that becomes smaller as it rises and ends in a spire. Intricate and flamboyant wood carvings can be noticed in a Tazaung. The other ornamental elements include mythical birds, figures and specially in the form of haunches of a wild ox known as 'Saing-Baung'.

    In 1853, when Lord Dalhousie visited Prome after the town was taken by the British, he decided to shift the Pagoda to Calcutta. It was dismantled and brought to the City by the East India Company ship, Shway Gong and reached Hooghly on September 29, 1854. At first it was kept in Fort William and later moved to the Garden. It was re-erected in the garden over three months - October, November and December, 1856 by a dozen Burmese artisans for Rs.6000.

      The decorative structure was built in Prome, Burma (now Pyay, Myanmar) sometime in 1852 by Ma Kin, the widow of Maung Honon who was the Governor of Prome. One estimate puts the original cost of the Pagoda's wood work at Rs.1500 and is said to have taken three months to complete. The Pagoda in the form a 'Tazaung' - a prayer hall or pavilion, has an image of Buddha inside with precious stones encrusted on the forehead. 'Tazaung' is a type of Buddhist Shrine having a multi-tiered roof that becomes smaller as it rises and ends in a spire. Intricate and flamboyant wood carvings can be noticed in a Tazaung. The other ornamental elements include mythical birds, figures and specially in the form of haunches of a wild ox known as 'Saing-Baung'.

In 1853, when Lord Dalhousie visited Prome after the town was taken by the British, he decided to shift the Pagoda to Calcutta. It was dismantled and brought to the City by the East India Company ship, Shway Gong and reached Hooghly on September 29, 1854. At first it was kept in Fort William and later moved to the Garden. It was re-erected in the garden over three months - October, November and December, 1856 by a dozen Burmese artisans for Rs.6000.