Victoria Memorial, a splendid architectural structure in white marble is one of the most fascinating landmarks in Kolkata. This Memorial was built in the year 1921, in the memory of Queen Victoria and was formerly inaugurated by the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VIII.

 

The idea behind this beautiful piece of architecture was by by Lord Curzon, the then Viceroy of India, who wanted to pay tribute to the respected memories of Queen Victoria, who passed away in 1901. The Prince of Wales, King George V laid the foundation stone on January 04, 1906. Victoria Memorial which has Italian style of statue designs and Mughal styled domes was designed by Sir William, then President of the British Institute of Architects. It is said that a 27 km long goods train would have been required to bring the entire building materials needed for the memorial. The total weight has been calculated to be around 80,300 ton and the quantity of marble for it measured 16,080 cubic feet. The same quarries of  Makrana in Rajasthan from where Shah Jahan had obtained marble for the Taj Mahal were excavated.  Scholars and Historians refer Victoria Memorial as an unhappy attempt by the Britishers to build better Taj Mahal.

 

A black bronze angel holding a bugle in her hand was placed at the apex of the dome above the Memorial and has always been regarded as a curious addition to the monument. The statue, five meters tall and weighing 3,500 kg is fixed to its pedestal with ball bearings and can rotate when the wind speed is high enough. Italian craftsmen sculpted the various statues that adorn the large garden of this monument.

 

The impressive Victoria Memorial houses a collection of the British colonial period. Visitors are greeted by a life-size statue of young Victoria ( By Sir Thomas Brock). There are enormous oil paintings in the Royal Gallery, illustrating episodes from queen Victoria's long, eventful life and reign and a large painting titled "The Entry of King Edward VII into Jaipur in 1876" (by a Russian artist). Also on display are books on the 'Raj', sculptures of Clive and other Governor Generals and a superb collection of paintings.

 

Victoria Memorial has been built in a sprawling 26 hectares of land and a visit to Victoria Memorial is the best education of the British East India Company's rule in India. Here you will come face to face with miniature paintings and images of Queen Mary, King George V and Queen Victoria. What is more, you will be mesmerized by the three thousand five hundred articles associated with the everlasting memory of Queen Victoria.

 

Being a Raj era monument, the Victoria Memorial Garden too has its share of Raj era statues like that of the Queen with the star of India or for that matter the statues of British luminaries like Lord Bentinck and Lord Ripon.

 

As night descends on Kolkata, the Victoria Hall is illuminated and the magical lighting effect brings the charm and beauty of the structure and gives it a fairy tale look. The spectacular Son-et-Lumiere which is held every day of the week, except Monday. The Son-et-Lumiere vividly portrays the British East India Company setting up base in Kolkata, India's freedom movement and the 300 year old evolution of the city of Kolkata from a fishing village to one of India's largest metropolitan cities.

 

Victoria Memorial, thus a living testimony of the British regime in India, The spectacular miniature paintings and images of Queen Mary, King George V and Queen Victoria are the noteworthy representations in this regard.

 

It is evident that Western collections, have made a place for themselves in the "Major Collections" of the Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata. The Victoria Memorial Hall facilitates the visitor with an enormously informative as well as sight-catching repertory of Indian history through the exhibition of paintings, sculptures and manuscripts belonging to the British era, primarily and to other objects of historical as well as aesthetic significance also.

The various sections classified under the banner of Chief Items of Collections, are Western Paintings, Indian Paintings, Archive, Mughal Miniatures, Manuscripts, Rare Books, Postage and Stamps, Lithographs (kind of prints) and Aquatints (kind of engravings), Company School Drawings (natural history paintings), Sculptures, Sketches and weapons .

 

 

Tags: Victoria Memorial, Kolkata Victoria Memorial, Queeen Victoria, Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan, Kolkata Victoria Memorial Garden, Kolkata Victoria Memorial Hall

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