It was a couple of days after the end of the Durga Puja festivities in 2021. I was involved in the making of a Bengali web series. The first day of shoot was on Monday, October 18. Someone from the production team had shared the location. It was a closed hospital on Rabindra Sarani. As I walked down one of Kolkata’s oldest roads, a strange sensation passed over me and made me think of all the history this road and the buildings on both sides have witnessed. And just then, my destination came into view – it quite blew my breath away. I was pretty sure that such an imposing mansion must have a fascinating backstory. I made a mental note to try and learn more about the structure once the day’s engagement was over. While I was prepared for some interesting anecdotes, what I learnt was way beyond anything I had imagined.
In the 19th century, a wealthy Bengali babu, by the name of Sri Krishna Mallick, acquired the plot and decided to build a grand mansion there. Mallick did not spare any expense to make his home a landmark for all to see and admire. He was also an admirer of the British suzerainty, and inspired by the magnificent gates of Government House (present day Raj Bhavan), modeled the entrance to his mansion on similar lines.
Another view of the front of the mansion
The effect though was not what he expected. The British rulers were far from impressed and a case was filed against him for using that design. Mallick was not one to back down though and the case went up for hearing where unfortunately he was defeated. But undeterred, Mallick filed for an appeal in the Privy Council in London. Eventually, Mallick was adjudged the winner and retained the rights to maintain the grand entrance he had constructed.
But the long litigation process had taken its toll. Mallick’s finances were irreparably damaged and he was forced to sell his beloved mansion. The new owners of the place were the Seal family. One of them was Harendranath. He had a great passion for music. In his time, the immense courtyard became the site of great jalsas (musical soirees) every evening. Renowned musicians and singers from all over India were invited to come and perform. The hallways and staircases reverberated to the strains of music.
The grand entrance
By the early 1920s, however, Harendranath Seal was struggling financially. Eventually, the house passed on to Pradyumna Kumar Mullick of the famous Mullick family. The Mullick family was one of the wealthiest of the time. Pradyumna’s uncle, Manmatha Nath, was well known for riding in a carriage drawn by two zebras!
Pradyumna’s passion was motor cars. By a conservative estimate, he owned 35 imported cars – 10 of them Rolls Royces. These majestic automobiles lined the garages of the new house Mullick had acquired. But good times eluded him as well. In Pradyumna, the profligacy of his ancestors was dialed up multiple times. But the business acumen had been rather compromised. With time, Pradyumna Mullick got mired into lawsuits with family members and his debts kept mounting.
The massive doric columns
Eventually, the magnificent mansion, built by Krishna Mallick, passed over to the Lohia family. They opened a maternity hospital on the premises by the name of Lohia Matri Sewa Sadan. But in the early years of this century, the hospital also downed its shutters.
It is said that if a man desires something with all his heart, but does not get it, his unfulfilled desires haunt the object of his affection. Krishna Mallick must have been devastated by having to sell off his beloved mansion. Did the pangs of his sorrow impose a curse on the subsequent owners of the place?
It is impossible to make a conclusion.
Maybe, it is best to leave the last word to the great bard – “There are more things in heaven and earth Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy”
