KOLKATA: From photographs of Air Force planes landing on the Red Road during World War II to how the Eden Garden area looked during World War I, as many as 70 photographs are on display at the Town Hall in Kolkata recently.
Titled ‘The City of Kolkata & Its Life: 1870-1920’, the exhibition, which ends on Monday, has on display photographs mostly captured by British lensmen, which were recovered from the office record room in damaged and torn condition.
Later, Biplab Roy, Administrator General & Official Trustee of West Bengal restored the photographs and organised the
exhibition, which offers a rare glimpse into Kolkata of yesteryears. “My office recovered damaged glass negatives, and damaged photographs from the ground floor record room of the New Secretariat Building and we managed to recover them,” said Roy. The photographs capture the rich history and traditions of Kolkata, from its colonial buildings to the daily life of its residents. State Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Firhad Hakim, who is also the Mayor of Kolkata, state law minister Moloy Ghatak, state tourism minister Indranil Sen, Tollywood actress Rituparna Sengupta and Roy inaugurated the exhibition recently.
At the inaugural ceremony, family members of freedom fighters were also felicitated including the great grandson of revolutionary leader Rash Behari Bose.Soumen Mitra, former Police Commissioner of Kolkata, visited the exhibition at Town Hall and said: “It was a great experience and I hope that we will be allowed to see the other treasures of the department soon.”