City Gems: On An Art Deco Trail In Kolkata

Kolkata is famous for its rich heritage of beautiful buildings that still stand to this day. It is perhaps the only metropolitan city in India that has managed to preserve its architectural past. Walking along any street in South or North Kolkata, one can witness numerous houses with retro designs and elements that have yet to be demolished for real estate purposes. Some of the most notable residences in South Kolkata follow the unique Art Deco style. Several initiatives have tried to showcase the architecture of Kolkata. For instance, Calcutta Art Deco and Calcutta Houses, a tableaux of photographs and illustrations. Then there is Calcutta Architectural Legacies which was set up by author Amit Chaudhuri as a movement to preserve the ordinary Bengali homes in South Kolkata. As he points out in C.A.L., many of these houses have Art Deco elements in common, such as “semi-circular balconies; a long, vertical strip comprising glass panes for the stairwell; porthole-shaped windows; and the famous sunrise motif on grilles and gates”.