The March 2, 1901, issue of Otago Daily Times, available on the website of the National Library of New Zealand, has a report of a visit to Calcutta. The writer, not named in the entry, looks with wide-eyed wonder at the military prowess and other accomplishments of the British colonial powers.
“A visit to this large city, containing, with its suburbs, more than 861,764 inhabitants, awakens wonder at the military genius that gained the Indian Empire for England,” the report begins. “The equestrian statues of Havelock, Outram, Warren Hastings, and a score of others adorn the ‘Maidan’, or open park, and as these pass before us we recall the battles of the past. Through the courage and foresight of such generals these crowded streets are now under the control of a mere handful of Europeans compared with the Hindu populace. The trades are chiefly carried on by natives, and bright Indian silks of every description, with all the daily requisites of Eastern life, are offered in the bazaars or markets,” it says.
“Following the stream of carriages down the Chowringhee to the ‘Red road’, or carriage drive, we take seats in the mule tram car and proceed at a slow pace to the native quarter. The London Mission is at work at Bwahanipur (sic), and various colleges attest the good done among the natives. In the mission chapel on Sunday a Bengalee service is held, addressed by a native pastor, and the hymns are chanted to a Hindu melody. Several missionaries are seated in the chapel, and the white-robed girls’ school is well represented with ‘saris’, covering in part the dark faces of the wearers,” the report adds.
This is followed by a not too-flattering description of Kalighat.
