Whether driving down Kolkata’s Chowringee Road, which cuts through the ancient city’s central business area, Esplanade, or walking along the spacious, colonial-era sidewalks that line it, it would be arguably impossible to not throw at least a cursory glance at the stately Statesman House, which has towered into the skyline since the British ruled India.
In fact, when the heritage-conscious people of Bengal discuss the iconic architecture of Kolkata, which the colonizers had chosen to make it its capital, this majestic building finds an integral mention.
The building, situated on 4 Chowringhee Square is, of course, most famously known as the headquarters of one of the country’s oldest and most respected English dailies, The Statesman.
Established in 1818 the newspaper continues to be published from here and two decades ago, has started the Bengali vernacular version, Dainik Statesman.
Few would be oblivious to the fact that Statesman House, which has been declared a heritage building, has been under renovation. The large, lime-green scaffolding sheets, covering the imposing structure from roof to ground has drawn curious comments from citizens from within the city and outside.
“Is Statesman House being renovated?” “Is Statesman House being promoted/developed?” “Is the old Statesman House going to be demolished and turned into a modern multi-story high-rise or mall?” The questions galore.
Mr Vineet Gupta, Director of The Statesman, in an attempt to quash unfounded rumors, explains that Statesman House, which has been declared a Grade IIA Heritage property as classified by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, is under renovation in accordance Heritage property rules and regulation. “For The Statesman, retaining the legacy and heritage of this property is of prime consideration,” he says. “The renovation was mandated for the preservation and restoration of the structure which has played a significant and integral role in highlighting the exquisite architectural history of the city of Kolkata.”
On 29 August, 2019, the Heritage Conservation Committee met and had approved a proposal for what has been termed an “adaptive re-use of The Statesman House as well as a new construction of 2B+G+V storied business building without changing the Heritage Status of the property”. Mr Gupta explained that the restoration and renovation has entailed that a number of exclusive and premium businesses are established within the premises in keeping with demands of modern era compulsions, both economic as well as evolutionary in terms of culture. According to sources, the country’s top retail brands have shown interest in leasing space in the building and negotiations are on to achieve the highest possible rental return per square feet.
The beeline is attributed to The Statesman House’s significant positioning. Located at what is considered the heart of the city’s center, it is effectively the locus of the juncture of the Kolkata’s famed division of north and south.
Looking at it from a historical perspective, clearly the British went for one of the most prime locations to set up a press during a time when unprecedented churnings were taking place, politically, economically, culturally, socially.
Consider the distances from the important administrative buildings of that era (a number of which continue to be used for the same purposes): It is only 800 meters from Governor House or Raj Bhavan and one and a half kilometers from the Writers’ Buildings, which was the West Bengal Secretariat and the seat of government until chief minister Mamata Banerjee shifted it to Nabanna, across the river. The Assembly House and the Calcutta High Court are situated 2 and 1.3 kilometers respectively.
Interestingly, colonial era clubs like Calcutta Club (2.9 kilometers) , The Bengal Club (1.5 kilometers), not to mention market areas like the iconic and ancient New Market (900 meters) are all in close proximity to this ancient press hub. Even the grand hotels of yore, like the erstwhile Grand Hotel (now Lalit Hotel) and Oberoi Grand Hotel (750 metrs) are within walking distance from the site of Statesman House. The more recent entry to this hallowed list of grand hotels is of course The Taj Bengal, which is 4.1 kilometers from The Statsman House. Readers who are impressed by these figures would also like to perhaps note that even the earlier transport routes and stopovers were well connected to The Statesman House with Howrah Railway Station being only 3.8 kilometers away and the central tram terminus at Esplanade being quite literally a stone’s throw away.
Interestingly, iconic colonial-era monuments like Victorial Memorial (2.9), not to mention the Maidan and Brigade Parade Ground, the locus of hundreds of political rallies, as well as Park Street (Kolkata’s Champs- Elysees are all in the vicinity of The Statesman building site.
While all this has immensely upped the commercial value of the property, for the Heritage Conservation Committee, the prime consideration obviously was the preservation of heritage and legacy of the structure. “There is no denying that The Statesman House is prime property even, or perhaps especially, today,” said a member of the Heritage Conversation Committee who was a part of the 2019 meeting when the proposal was made and the signatory to the resolution passed in a subsequent meeting in 2020. “Our prime duty is ensure the conservation of legacy and heritage; however, our discussion did take into account the importance of economic compulsions too while simultaneously keeping in mind the upholding of heritage.”
Putting it in perspective, an employee of The Statesman said, “It feels great to be a part of the heritage and work at The Statesaman House. But to be honest, one of the most attractive for those who have to commute daily is its location.” She points out that it nestles between two subway stations, Esplanade to the south and Chandni Chowk to the north and she is eagerly waiting for the east-west metro line from Howrah to Sealdah station to start. “I hear that operations are expected to commence in June this year. That’ll be a real help.”
Statesman House occupies a land area of 5,743 square meters or about 86 cottahs. It is a freehold property, which has been under single ownership ever since it was allotted by the Calcutta Improvement Trust in 1929.
Statesman House was originally designed by M/s Ballardie, Thompson and Mathews, the leading architectural firm of British India and the construction work was done by Martin Burn & Co Limited.
The Plans for adaptive reuse and refurbishment have been prepared by M/s Dulal Mukherjee and Associates, under the direct supervision of Mr Dulal Mukherjee, a leading conservation architect of the country.
The refurbishment work is being done by Merlin Projects Limited.
In November 2019 the Kolkata Municipal Corporation sanctioned the building plans submitted by The Statesman Ltd for refurbishment and adaptive re-use of the building for mercantile/retail purposes. In terms of the sanctioned plans, an area of nearly 200,000 square feet will be available for retail purposes.
The sanctioned plan has provided for about 200 car parking spaces in a new basement, plus a multi-level car parking facility. Investors looking to lease space consider this an added attraction. “We think this convenience will increase traffic flow to the building, which is good for business,” says a city businessman, Sanjay Goenka (not to confuse with industrialist Sanjeev Goenka, whose CESC building, another famous city landmark, is incidentally just across the road from Statesman House).
According to a source, the building is expected to be complete by August 2024. To quote the source, “The civil construction work which involved reinforcement of all columns and beams, replacement of old slabs, reconstruction of two staircases and refurbishment of grand staircase is in the final stages of construction. Work on installation of passenger escalators and seven elevators is also on. Civil work on the façade is nearing completion, and woodwork is complete. Glass work and flooring work has commenced, as well as AC ducting, plumbing and electrical work.”
The revolving door at the main entrance to the building will be reattached. The iconic archives will be retained if in digital form. In fact, The Statesman still retains the old newspaper clippings, mellowed and yellowed with age, brittle and fraying at the edges and takes its popular column “Hundred Years Ago” from this file. It finds pride of place in the dusty shelves of oblivion and it will still find pride of place perhaps in a new glass cased shelf.
Detractors talk about loss of legacy or heritage with modernization or commercialization. Once upon a time, the land where Chowringhee Square (where Statesman House was constructed), were part of three verdant villages Kalikata, Gobindapur and Sutanuti. Trees were chopped down and water bodies were possibly filled.
Perhaps no other witness to the city’s changing, evolving legacy and heritage is as deeply attached to the surroundings as is the ancient river, Hooghly, the part of the Ganges that flows through Bengal. Statesman House is only three kilometers away from this silent river.