Location : Kolkata, India.
History
The
Victoria Memorial sits pretty on the banks of the Hooghly river projecting
the British powers in pre Independence India. Built as a park, the memorial
continues to be the pride and joy of the city of Kolkata. The Victoria
memorial with its lovely gardens and water falls was conceived out of an
idea of the then Governor General Lord Curzon. The memorial was built to
show case the British Empire when it was at its best and had major powers in
its hand. The monument was mainly constructed to commemorate the glories of
Queen Victoria, who was the sole Empress of India from the period of 1876
till 1901.
Architecture & Significance
Designed by Sir William Emerson, the construction of the building was
completed in the year 1921. The monument possesses various features like
Italian styled statues at the entrances. Its main attraction is the mighty
sombre statue of the Queen protected by two ornamental tanks on both sides.
The whole memorial was constructed out of Makrana marbles specially brought
from Jodhpur. It is capped by a dome bearing a revolving round figure that
symbolizes victory.
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A total of 25 galleries are to be found in a chamber beneath the dome.
These galleries house several mementos. Pictures of the Queen in her
coronation, at the baptism of her son , the cathedral celebration, her sons
wedding, Robert Clive, French guns, the residence of Frogmore are depicted
clearly in the painter's brushes. The Bust of the Queen Mary, George V and
Queen Victoria, signify the British Imperialism in India. There is also a
black marble throne of a Nawab defeated by Lord Clive. Bronze statues of
Victoria on her throne, Edward VII on his horse or the marble built Curzon
looking stern and rude behold the passerby who had just come to loiter
around the park to gain some fresh air in to his lungs. The rectangular
shaped white cliff having souring arches and rambling storeys is featured by
three tons of bronzed angels. The monument stretching at sixty-four acres of
land, with lawns, ponds, shrubbery and herbaceous borders, is pleasing to
the open eyes
Other Attraction
» Birla Planetarium - The planetarium is counted
as one of the largest in Asia. It presents a spherical view of the astral
positions of the celestial bodies in the universe. The internal diameter of
the planetarium is 82 feet.
» Academy of Fine Arts - The Academy, born in the
year 1933, portrays some of the finest work of contemporary art by some of
the renowned artist in India. The Rabindra gallery exhibit manuscripts,
paintings as well as prized possessions of Nobel Laurette Tagore.
» Indian Museum - A lion stands guard to the
oldest museum in India, which houses some of the rare collection of
archaeological artifacts collected, gathered and built in the year 1874.
» Fort William - The huge edifice was constructed
in 1781 after the ghastly happenings of 1756 in which many British soldiers
with their families were brutally killed by Siraj-Ud-Daula. A major portion
around the village of Govindpur was cleaned of the forests jungle and the
fort was constructed, which for some time did lent its name to the city.
» Eden Garden - The famous sports hot spot,
specially in cricket that comes alive to its greatest shrieks, shrills and
crackers during the much talked about India -Pakistan cricket matches.
Located in the northwest corner of the city, the ground also has a small
pleasantly laid-out garden. It was earlier a place of the elite classes of
the typical Bengali families.
North
India States
