Amid the outpourings of grief and glowing tributes being offered to Queen Elizabeth II from across the world, a few Kolkatans have been nurturing fond memories of catching a glimpse of the graceful British Monarch during her visit to the City of Joy in 1961, a little over 13 years after Independence.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh began their State Visit to India in January 1961, at the start of an extensive tour of India and Pakistan and State Visits to Nepal and Iran, which eventually ended in March. Starting from Delhi, the royal couple visited the Taj Mahal in Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur, (then) Bombay, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Madras, (then) Calcutta and Benares in a series of engagements full of parades, banquets, processions and receptions amid cheering crowds.
Two Kolkatans share with My Kolkata their memories of what was, no doubt, an experience of a lifetime.
Teenage adulation
Warm memories of a late winter afternoon in 1961 still haunt Ranjana Karmakar (nee Dhar), an 80-year-old retired school teacher. And why wouldn’t they? After all, she was one among the lucky Calcuttans to watch the passing cavalcade of the 34-year-old British Monarch and her dashing Royal Consort, the Duke of Edinburgh, in north Calcutta.
“In 1961, I was pursuing my bachelor’s degree in Botany honours from North City College on Amherst Street after completing my Senior Cambridge. One afternoon in February, word got around that the Royal Couple would be passing in a grand parade down the then Central Avenue (later renamed Chittaranjan Avenue), which lay barely metres away from our hostel on Vivekananda Road. They were en route from the Dum Dum airport to the Great Eastern Hotel in Dalhousie.
“That very moment, my hostel roommates and I knew it was a now-or-never opportunity. Almost sprinting down to Central Avenue, we realised that we stood little chance of spotting the Queen properly amid the surging crowds flanking the avenue. One of us luckily spotted a corner house with a portico standing diagonally opposite the Vivekananda Road-Central Avenue crossing, which could be no less than a perfect vantage point.
Central Avenue (later renamed Chittaranjan Avenue) in Kolkata Wikimedia Commons
“Making our way across the road, we knocked on the main door. A domestic opened it. ‘Baarir Ma-er saathe dekha korte chai aamra (We want to meet the mistress of the house).’ She disappeared and a minute later, an elderly sari-clad lady appeared at the door. ‘Mashima, aamra Rani ke dekhte chai aapnaar uporer baranda theke. Aapnarao dekhben toh (We want to watch the Queen’s cavalcade from your first-floor verandah. Can we join your family?)’ Mashima was gracious enough to welcome and lead us upstairs.
“Almost an hour passed, which seemed ages to us. Suddenly, Her Royal Highness and the Duke of Edinburgh appeared on the horizon riding the passenger seat of a light-coloured convertible with an open hood from the Shyambazar end on our right-hand side. Clad in a pale green silk gown with a matching hat and sporting white elbow-length gloves, Elizabeth was a picture of poise and grace. She stood at the back of the car holding on to a T-shaped gleaming metal bar with her left hand to maintain balance and waving to the cheering crowds on both flanks of the avenue with her right hand. The Duke had stylishly perched himself on the folded hood of the convertible and waved with, believe it or not, both hands. The car moved at a comfortable pace through the crowds, which gave our gang of giggly girls enough time and opportunity to relish and capture the moment deep in our hearts and make it into a lifetime of memories.
Family outing
Ashoke K. Mitter was barely a lad of 17 when he had the opportunity to spot the royal couple as they were headed to the Dum Dum airport rounding up their visit to Calcutta.
“I was in my final year at St. Xavier’s Collegiate School in early 1961, when the HRH and her Royal Consort came visiting the city. My father had bought a stake in Kajal Kali from Hiten Nandi around that time. So, he decided to take our family to catch a glimpse of the royal couple from the ink factory premises, which was located near the Belgachhia Milk Colony on Jessore Road.
“In those days, the EM Bypass did not exist in its current form. And all air travellers had to take Jessore Road via Shyambazar to or from the Dum Dum airport.
“After a quick lunch, we reached the Kajal Kali factory from our south Calcutta home, well before the Queen’s cavalcade was scheduled to pass Jessore Road. The factory premises stood slightly below the road level. We took up our positions under a shed on the terrace of the building to get a fair view. A wait of a little over an hour and we got lucky! Seated at the back of a convertible, the Queen and the Duke kept waving at the crowds lining up the road in the afternoon sun. The royal sighting made the day for my mother, who was an ardent admirer of the Queen for more reasons than one. For me, of course, it was one more reason to brag about among the boys at school.”
