CALCUTTA BY GASLIGHT

Projit Bihari Mukharji

The Promethean Parsi

November 16, 2019 by Projit B. Mukharji 9 Comments

When Prometheus stole fire from the gods, we do not know in what form he actually carried the fire. Most denizens of gaslit cities, however, carried fire in their pockets. That is, in the form of a box of matches. Calcutta was no different. Though local match production in the city did not acquire significant … [Read more…]

Posted in: Businesses Past, Calcutta By Gaslight, Uncategorized

A Calcutta Christmas

September 19, 2019 by Projit B. Mukharji 1 Comment

It was in 1843, only five years after the then-young Queen Victoria first sat on the throne, that the modern Christmas Card made its debut. Sir Henry Cole and his artist friend, JC Horsley, devised the first Christmas Card. The postal rates had just been drastically reduced with the introduction of the ‘Penny Post’, and … [Read more…]

Posted in: Calcutta By Gaslight, Enigmatic Images, Festivals, Uncategorized

The New Year Murders

December 27, 2018 by Projit B. Mukharji 2 Comments

It was the 30th of December 1879 and Caesar came home on the Star of Africa. Of course it wasn’t the ancient Roman monarch, Julius. It was an humble seacunny, Trazpero Caesar. Or was it Claspero? Some even called him Trisporong, or simply Proone. Names in the gaslit by-lanes of Calcutta flickered as much as the … [Read more…]

Posted in: An Empire of Unexpected Loves, Calcutta By Gaslight, Festivals, Victorian Crimes

The First Cigarette

August 9, 2018 by Projit B. Mukharji 21 Comments

The 1860s and 70s were a difficult time for the old and noble families of Delhi. The changes ushered in after the rising of 1857 had precipitated the decline of the city that had begun with the invasion of Nadir Shah over a century ago. The grandeur of the old Mughal capital was gone and … [Read more…]

Posted in: Businesses Past, Calcutta By Gaslight, Gaslit Glamour

Glamorous Gauhar

August 8, 2018 by Projit B. Mukharji 8 Comments

Born as Angelina Yeoward in 1873 in Azamgarh, Gauhar Jaan, was one of the greatest stars of the British Raj. One of the best exponents of classical Hindustani music, Gauhar Jaan, like most other classical musicians before her, sang for kings and queens. Patronized by the grand princes and zamindars of the day she achieved … [Read more…]

Posted in: Calcutta By Gaslight, Enigmatic Images, Gaslit Glamour

Smoking Stars

August 6, 2018 by Projit B. Mukharji 3 Comments

The world of gaslights was made ever more mysterious by the swirling balls of cigarette smoke rising from the fashionable new objects that dangled from the lips of the rich and famous. They had rapidly replaced the more substantial cheroots and cigars of the earlier generation. One problem that emerged by the 1880s though was … [Read more…]

Posted in: Calcutta By Gaslight, Enigmatic Images, Gaslit Glamour

A Curious Picture

August 6, 2018 by Projit B. Mukharji 1 Comment

I bought this little poster a few years back at an old book store. The image caught my attention for two reasons. First, notwithstanding the central focus of the image upon the mazhars of two Muslim saints, i.e. Pir Shah Chand and Pir Gorachand, the image also prominently displays both the Hindu god, Shiva, and the … [Read more…]

Posted in: Calcutta By Gaslight, Enigmatic Images

The Soho Love Tragedy

May 7, 2018 by Projit B. Mukharji 2 Comments

It was an uncomfortably warm morning in central London. The thick black fog that had hung like a pall early in the morning had moved away and a muggy, hot morning followed. The newspapers wrote of an impending storm over Europe that was causing the unusually warm weather. Notwithstanding the heat, the capital of the … [Read more…]

Posted in: An Empire of Unexpected Loves, Calcutta By Gaslight

An Anonymous Murder

April 23, 2018 by Projit B. Mukharji 1 Comment

On the 30th of May 1867, a worried father walked into the Entally police station. No name, leave alone an image, of the paternal figure has survived. But it is not impossible to imagine the deep disquiet that would have hung heavily, like the mid-summer sweat, upon his aged brow. The prospect of having to … [Read more…]

Posted in: Calcutta By Gaslight, Victorian Crimes

Phantoms of the Air

September 16, 2017 by Projit B. Mukharji 6 Comments

“I am extremely disappointed to have to report ill of this officer”, wrote the Magistrate of Saran in 1868 about his young Deputy Magistrate E.E. Fisher. Fisher had had a history of getting into trouble and his superior officers were tired of him. What was most vexing for them was that the lad was exceptionally … [Read more…]

Posted in: Calcutta By Gaslight, Ghost Stories
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  • Blotting Time, Soaking History July 14, 2024
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Recent Comments

  • Projit B. Mukharji on Phantoms of the Air
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