Six Kolkata memorials tell stories that can be missed when the city’s past is reduced to its best-known landmarks. In a 2017 account for Scroll.in, Deepanjan Ghosh profiled monuments to a young man who tried to stop fleeing robbers, a fatal rescue attempt, a colonial-era artist and reformer, and 896 lascars who died in the First World War. The report also described several memorials as obscured, neglected or difficult to find at that time; it does not establish their condition or accessibility today.
Six memorials, six different stories
The memorials range from fountains and a simple pillar to an obelisk and a 100-foot war monument. Their subjects include local residents, a public servant, an artist and reformer, and sailors whose service was commemorated far from the places they came from. The locations and conditions below reflect Ghosh’s 2017 account, not verified present-day visitor information.
| Memorial | Location named in the 2017 account | Whom or what it commemorates | Form described |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daulat Hossain Memorial | Shamsul Huda Road | Shaikh Daulat Hossain, who died trying to stop fleeing robbers | Memorial with plaques |
| McDonell Drinking Fountain | Esplanade Row West | Sir William Fraser McDonell, an Indian Civil Service officer and Victoria Cross recipient | Neo-Gothic fountain |
| Nafar Kundu Memorial | Chakraberia Road (South) | Nafar Chandra Kundu, who died attempting to rescue two sewage workers | Masonry pillar |
| Colesworthy Grant Memorial | In front of the Writers’ Building | Artist and animal-welfare campaigner Colesworthy Grant | Obelisk and animal drinking trough |
| Panioty Fountain | Esplanade Row East, near Old Court House Street | Demetrius Panioty | Drinking fountain |
| Lascar War Memorial | Napier Road | 896 lascars who fought and died on European ships in the First World War | 100-foot Indo-Saracenic monument |
Daulat Hossain: an attempt to stop a robbery
Ghosh’s account says armed robbers struck a shop near Park Circus on 7 October 1931. As they fled by car, 18-year-old Shaikh Daulat Hossain reportedly jumped onto the moving vehicle and tried to steer it into an open drain. He was shot and killed. The memorial’s plaques placed the incident about 20 yards northeast of the monument.
The article reports that Justice T. Ameer Ali laid the foundation stone on 29 May 1932, with nearly 500 people attending. It also reports a government gratuity of Rs 1,500 for Daulat Hossain’s mother. Ghosh cites the Calcutta Municipal Gazette for the foundation-stone record; these details are reported through his article rather than independently checked here.
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In 2017, Ghosh described the memorial as hidden behind makeshift pavement stalls and wrote that local people seemed unaware of the incident or Daulat Hossain’s family. Those are observations from his publication-era visit, not a description of current conditions.
McDonell Fountain: a Victoria Cross recipient remembered in stone
The McDonell Drinking Fountain commemorates Sir William Fraser McDonell, an Indian Civil Service officer and Victoria Cross recipient. Ghosh described its design as Neo-Gothic, with a lion-head spout and a brass trough for horses. By 2017, he reported, the brass trough and marble plaque were gone, though the dates 1850 and 1886 and McDonell’s initials remained visible.
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Ghosh reproduced two phrases attributed to the London Gazette of 17 February 1860: “During the retreat of the British Troops from Arrah” and “with considerable difficulty cut through the lashing which secured it to the side of the boat”. In the account, the wording describes McDonell cutting a boat’s rudder lashings while under fire. The article also said the Victoria Cross was displayed at the Lord Ashcroft Gallery, Imperial War Museum, London; that location is reported as of 2017, not confirmed as current.
Nafar Kundu: a rescue that cost a life
On 12 May 1907, 26-year-old Nafar Chandra Kundu heard two Muslim sewage workers calling for help from a manhole, according to Ghosh. Kundu entered in an attempt to save them and died. The article describes a simple masonry pillar with an inscription, funded by public subscription.
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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Ghosh reported the memorial neglected in 2017, while noting that local people and older residents still knew the story. He drew attention to the intercommunal dimension of a Hindu man’s attempt to save two Muslim workers. That interpretation belongs to the article; the underlying account is specific about the people, date and fatal rescue attempt.
Colesworthy Grant: art, animal welfare and a missing trough
Colesworthy Grant came to Calcutta in the mid-19th century and made the book of sketches Rural Life in Bengal. Ghosh says Grant founded the Calcutta Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (CSPCA) in 1861 and helped provide water for draught animals. A year after Grant’s death in 1880, an obelisk and animal drinking trough were erected in front of the Writers’ Building, then used as the Bengal Secretariat.
In his 2017 account, Ghosh said the water had dried up, the trough had disappeared and paint obscured parts of the plaque. He also reported that CSPCA continued to function at that time; its present status is not established here. Rural Life in Bengal offers context on Grant’s work, but it is not a guide to the memorials, and current editions or availability are not established.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Panioty Fountain: a public servant’s family legacy
Ghosh traces the Panioty family to Greece and says it moved to India as traders in 1750. Demetrius Panioty began work as a writer at the Bengal Secretariat at age 16 and later served as Assistant Private Secretary to Governor General Ripon and several successors. In 1898, three years after Demetrius’s death in 1895, Lord Curzon had a drinking fountain installed near the junction of Esplanade Row East and Old Court House Street.
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At the time of Ghosh’s 2017 visit, the fountain was difficult to locate in an overgrown garden and lacked an identifying plaque. That is a time-bound observation, not a statement about its condition today.
Lascar War Memorial: 896 sailors commemorated
The Lascar War Memorial commemorates 896 lascars—sailors from the Indian subcontinent—who fought and died on European ships in the First World War, according to Ghosh. The article describes the monument as 100 feet tall and Indo-Saracenic, designed by William Ingram Kier. Lord Lytton unveiled it on 6 February 1924.
Ghosh reports that Commodore Bibhu K. Mohanti noticed the memorial’s deteriorated state in 1994, arranged restoration and lighting, and reopened it to the public in December of that year. He also wrote that the site was within an area under naval control and that changing rules on access and photography made visits difficult. Those access details are from 2017; anyone planning a visit should confirm current arrangements with the responsible authority.
What the monuments reveal—and what a 2017 account cannot tell us
The six profiles resist a single definition of civic memory. Daulat Hossain and Nafar Kundu are remembered for acts of courage; the Panioty and McDonell fountains connect public works to individuals; Grant’s memorial joined animal welfare to the provision of water; and the Lascar monument commemorates a large group of sailors. Their forms and stories differ, but each links a physical place to a life or community that can otherwise fade from view.
Ghosh’s article is a record of those memorials and his observations in 2017. It documents reported losses and signs of neglect at that time, but does not verify current physical condition, site access, or photography rules. Treating those questions as open is essential for anyone using the article as a guide to the city today.
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