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RE: Exploring a 259-Year-Old British Cemetery at Calcutta 🇮🇳 For c/Tombstone Tourism by @grindle
Wow! Great read, odd but funny, lol. It really looks like a forgotten empire. Strange, yet it makes you wonder who these people were and why they ended up there.
New cemeteries here don’t look like that anymore. There are some old ones in London and a few around, but they’re not as densely or architecturally elaborate as that, just a few of geometric-shaped tombs. They always make me wonder when I look at them, makes you contemplate. There's one in the next village here, where apparently witches were burried and they are fenced off (I must show you some pics of that one day, as you like cemeteries)
Your post made me look into the history, and I was surprised to learn that the British established Kolkata as a trading settlement and much more. They colonised the place for over 250 years, so no wonder there are so many British establishments there.
Those surgeons died at relatively early ages, around their 60s seems young. They must have been colonial residents working for the British, and likely worked very hard. I assume many of them were colonial professionals.
What an interesting place, perfect for hide and seek… until someone hides you. Eeek 😆, vampire etc? ok my imagination's getting weird. Lol.
Glad you both treated yourselves to a lovely meal. Toni seems to be enjoying her meal, and she looks kind. :)
Great shots.
Wealthy enough to construct a 10-or-so-meter monument over their graves at the super central cemetery, lol.
Colonialism was a conquest, and a conquest isn't a fair thing and many people suffered and died, but British also created a lot from scratch. They started such big places as Bombay (Mumbai), Kolkata, Singapore, Hong Kong, and many others. Created a railway network in India, which is still in use. Constructed roads, bridges and hydropower stations which are still in use. They brought education to each distant place on Earth as well as medicine. What is more important, Britain brought the traditions of governing and the basics of liberalism to mostly Medieval nations of Asia. Thus, the British Empire was an accelerator unlike, let's say, the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans or the Timurids (who just pillaged occupied cities), etc. I am not British (obviously, considering my habit to use wrong prepositions and articles, lol) but I respect the history and input of this Empire. Good that this era ended but I appreciate this period of history.
Young for 2026, the time of fans, AC, antibiotics, lol. On Penang Island's colonial cemetery, they have like 30% of graves belonging to people below 30 - malaria mostly.
A vast vintage cemetery with huge mausoleums closed after sunset... That'd be clearly elite airbnb district for them, lol, if they existed.
Thank you!