Editorial Archival Series

The Forgotten Kolkata Project

Documenting the vanished physical and cultural fabric of Kolkata: forgotten playhouses, horse-tram tracks buried under asphalt, lost Armenian river ghats, and crumbling merchant courtyards of the North.

The Lost River Ports and Danish Weavers of Serampore

c. 1870-1875

Hooghly • colonial-architecture

The Lost River Ports and Danish Weavers of Serampore

Journey along the meandering currents of the Hooghly River to uncover the forgotten maritime legacy of Serampore, formerly known as Frederiksnagore. In this richly detailed archival essay, Malabika Manna Banerjee explores the architectural splendors of St. Olav's Church, the industrious hum of 18th-century Danish textile looms, and the ghostly remains of bustling river ports that once rivaled Calcutta's commercial zenith before silting and the relentless march of the railway relegated them to memory.

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Bargi Nightmares and the Maratha Ditch: How an 18th-Century Threat Shaped Kolkata’s Circular Road

1784

Kolkata • colonial-architecture

Bargi Nightmares and the Maratha Ditch: How an 18th-Century Threat Shaped Kolkata’s Circular Road

When Marathi cavalry squadrons invaded Western Bengal in the 1740s, terrified Calcutta residents dug a three-mile defensive perimeter that transformed into Circular Road.

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Iron Rails and Wooden Cabins: How Horse-Drawn Trams and River Ghats Built 19th-Century Calcutta

c. 1912

Kolkata • old-calcutta

Iron Rails and Wooden Cabins: How Horse-Drawn Trams and River Ghats Built 19th-Century Calcutta

Long before metro tunneling beneath the Hooghly, Calcutta moved on iron rails pulled by imported Australian horses and river ferries steaming between Howrah and Armenian Ghat.

Malabika Manna Banerjee Read Story →