An oasis of tranquility
just off the busy Park Street, this place is a repository of stories … and of
resilience. The ambience of the place is more impressive than the grandiose
structures and illustrious names. As I left the cemetery, I carried the stories
with me as a reminder, that even in death, life endures. South Park Street
Cemetery is not merely a burial ground; it is a chronicle of an age that is
gone but strangely endures, it boldly declares the presence of the British in
Calcutta: “we were here; we served; we are important; even death will not erase
us”
Thus ended my last post, “Beyond
Burials”. Now, the most interesting stories …
The most imposing obelisk
is the tomb of Sir William Jones, the renowned Orientalist who founded the ‘Asiatic Society of Bengal’. He arrived in India in 1783 as a Supreme Court
Judge but was quite disappointed with interpretation of the Hindu laws by the court-appointed Sanskrit pundits. Jones learned Sanskrit himself to read the original texts
himself. He was a linguistic genius proficient in 28 languages and had a
working knowledge of 12 others. His vision included translating Sanskrit
compendiums into Persian and Arabic. However, he passed away before he could
complete self-appointed task.
A large pylon shaped pale monument was restored by Asiatic Society in 1954 and is presently maintained by them. It is the tallest structure in the cemetery and looks impressive.
The most intriguing tomb in the overwhelmingly Gothic cemetery resembles an ancient Hindu temple! It is the grave of Major General Charles Stuart (known as ‘Hindoo Stuart’). Like William Jones, Charles Stuart wanted to understand the mysteries of Hinduism. He was a British army officer of the East India Company who rose through the ranks to become a Lieutenant-Colonel by 1803. He adopted Hindu culture, married a Hindu lady and worshipped Hindu deities. He wrote articles in newspapers urging the British to adopt the Hindu culture. It is believed to have advised British ladies to wear saris which he felt was “the most alluring dress in the world”. He even published a book, The Vindication of the Hindoo (1808), to challenge the negative portrayals of Hinduism by Christian missionaries. General Stuart wrote, “Wherever I look around me, in the vast ocean of Hindu mythology, I discover Piety … Morality… and as far as I can rely on my judgment, it appears the most complete and ample system of Moral Allegory the world has ever produced.” The British in Calcutta considered him an eccentric who had “gone native”. Stuart was buried in South Park Street Cemetery, accompanied by his beloved deities. His life and his final resting place - a ‘pancha-ratana’ temple architecture style grave - show his assimilation into the culture of the land he considered home.
Another European who considered India his homeland, who rests in this cemetery and whose memorial-bust is a revered spot for students / teachers of English literature, is Henry Louis Vivian Derozio. Derozio was a poet and a radical thinker, who wrote To India – My Native Land, the first written verse about Indian nationalism. Derozio died young but his influence lived on among the youth of Bengal. As per some historical accounts, Derozio was initially denied burial here and had to be buried outside the cemetery gates. However, his remains were later laid to rest within the consecrated grounds – and his tomb is a landmark within the heritage site today.
Among other people with a literary connection laid to rest here, are Walter Landor Dickens, son of Victorian novelist Charles Dickens, named after Walter Savage Landor; and Rose Aylmer, the fiancĂ©e of the same British poet. Walter Dickens wanted to be an author like his father, but Charles Dickens discouraged him. So, Walter became a cadet in the East India Company army, and left for India in 1857, at the age of sixteen. By 1861 he became a lieutenant. However, in 1863, on his 52nd birthday, Charles Dickens received the news of Walter’s death from an aortic aneurysm and his significant gambling debts incurred during military service. Walter was initially buried in the military cemetery at Bhowanipore but his tombstone was shifted to the South Park Street Cemetery in 1987 and placed among other European memorials by a group of Jadavpur University students as a tribute to the author and his son.
Rose Aylmer, a Welsh girl, the daughter of Sir Henry Aylmer, sailed to India in 1798 and died two years later at the age of twenty. She loved pineapples and was believed to have died of food poisoning caused by a spoiled pineapple. Her unusual memorial in the cemetery is a tall cylindrical obelisk with an obliquely fluted surface rising from lotus petals ... like a pineapple cone. Walter was devastated and immortalized Rose in his poem which is inscribed on the base of her unique tomb:
What was her fate? Long, long before her hour,
Death called her tender soul, by break of bliss.
From the first blossoms, to the buds of joy:
Those few our noxious fate unblasted leaves
In this inclement clime of human life.
Augustus Cleveland, a Collector and Judge of the East India Company posted in Bihar, who rests in the cemetery, embodied the complex dynamics of colonial exploitation and progressive reform. His epitaph shows his hostility to Indians: “He civilized a Savage Race of Mountaineers who for Ages had existed in a state of Barbarism…” However, Clevland educated the Santhal tribes so that they could resist the exploitation by money-lenders sparking off a civil war. His efforts earned him immense respect from the tribal people who deified Cleveland. In Bhagalpur the Santhals built a temple in his memory – the “Chilmil Temple” – as the tribes could not pronounce his name. Cleveland’s trajectory reveals the inherent contradictions of colonial rule.
One of the most
interesting personalities resting in the cemetery is Elizabeth Barwell,
daughter of a Colonel in East India Company’s army. She was the “celebrated
Miss Sanderson”, the most beautiful woman of her time in Calcutta. She was
notoriously mischievous. It is believed that once she played a prank on her
sixteen suitors by asking them to dress in pea-green costume with pink silk
trimmings for a ball. All the young men turned up dresses ridiculously to the
amusement of Elizabeth. She danced with each man and they, in good humour,
stood on both sides of the road with lit torches, and sang to her all the way
home. She did not choose any of the men but married Richard Barwell who was an
important man – he was a member of the ‘honourable East India Company’ council
and a friend of Governor-General, Warren Hastings. Sadly, she passed away
within two years at the age of twenty-three, and Richard Barwell went back to
England. The pyramid-shaped obelisk on her grave is a very tall structure,
almost reaching the skies – a display of the wealth and power of her family.
The tombs of Lady Anne
Monson and her husband, Colonel Monson lie side by side in the cemetery. Lady
Anne was a notable 18th-century botanist and the great-granddaughter of King
Charles II. She was recognized by the botanical community as a
“remarkable lady botanist” in 1760, even before she came to India. A flowering
shrub genus, Monsonias was named after her to honour her
contribution to Botany. Colonel Monson was a member of the Supreme Council of
Calcutta resulting in his wife spending most of her time in Calcutta. Lady Anne
died in Calcutta in 1775 and Colonel Monson died six months after his wife in
1776. Both graves are quite nondescript compared to the massive monuments of
the cemetery.
Lieutenant Colonel Colin
Mackenzie, a Scottish army officer who became the first Surveyor General of
India, also lies in rest in this cemetery. He is renowned for his extensive surveying of India and his monumental collection
of manuscripts, maps and artifacts related to Indian history and culture. He is
“the man who mapped India” and produced the first authentic geographical map of
southern India by mapping the Mysore-region after the British victory over Tipu
Sultan in 1799. His work was done to better understand India’s past and to aid
in the governance of the colony. His work helped bring the ruins of Hampi to
public attention in 1800 and laid the groundwork for future archaeological
studies. His collection of historical and cultural materials, as manuscripts,
inscriptions, coins, maps and drawing – the Mackenzie Collection – still
remains an invaluable source of Indian history.
Among the family graves in
the cemetery the Tulloch family, deserves a special mention as it has a
connection with the painting – The Last Supper (1787) – by Johann Zoffany in
St. John's Church. This artwork is a replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece
with a unique a colonial touch as it features real people from 18th
century Calcutta as models for Jesus and his twelve disciples. William Tulloh,
a local auctioneer, was chosen as the model for the figure of
Judas. Tulloh believed he was posing for John and outraged after the
unveiling of the painting, he filed a lawsuit against Zoffany.
The most poignant sights
are the graves of children – the four years old, Warren Hastings Larkins –whom
the parents describe lovingly as a child of uncommon intelligence, uncommon
perception. The grave of Hastings Impey, son of the first Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court, Sir Elijah Impey, evokes similar
feelings. Hastings was the medical officer to the Governor General’s Bodyguard
who later became Surgeon in 1816. He died during the Second Maratha War, and
his infant daughter passed away two months later at the age of three.
