Writers' Building

Writers' Building
মহাকরণ
Main façade of the Writers' Building
Design and construction
Owner	Government of West Bengal
Architect	Thomas Lyon
Engineer	1889

The Writers' Building (Bengali: মহাকরণ Mahakaran) is the secretariat building of the State Government of West Bengal in India. Today it houses the office of the Chief Minister of West Bengal. It is and is located in West Bengal's capital city of Kolkata.

The Writers' Building originally served as the office for writers of the British East India Company, hence the name. Designed by Thomas Lyon in 1777 the Writers' uilding has gone through several extensions over the years. In 1821 128 long verandah with ionic columns, each 32 feet high, were added on the first and second floor.

In 1821 A 128 ft-long verandah with Ionic style columns, each 32 ft high, were added on the first and second floors. From 1889 - 1906 two new blocks were added, approached by iron staircases that are still in use. Writers’ acquired its Greco-Roman look, complete with the portico in the central bay and the red surface of exposed brick. The parapet was put in place and the statues sculpted by William Fredric Woodington in 1883, that line the terrace, were installed.

The giant pediment at the centre is crowned with the statue of Minerva. The terrace also contains several other statues and notable among them are four clusters of statues, christened 'Justice' , 'Commerce' , 'Science' and 'Agriculture' , with the Greek Gods and Goddesses of these four streams (Zeus, Hermes , Athena and Demeter respectively) flanked by a European and an Indian practitioner of these vocations, adorn the building.

The 150 meter long Writers' Building covers the entire northern stretch of the a water body locally called Lal Dighi in B.B.D. Bagh area. Various departments of the West Bengal government are housed in this building. It is an edifice of great political significance and memories of the Indian Independence Movement. Writer's building is now being used as Chief Minister's Office and secretariat.

Writers' Building from across Lal Dighi in B.B.D.Bag

Writers' Building Time Line

Statue of Minerva atop Writers' Building

1776:The site of the demolished St Anne’s church and the adjoining plot were granted to Thomas Lyon, after whom Lyons Range is named, to construct buildings to accommodate the junior servants of the East India Company or the “writers”. Lyon was acting on behalf of Richard Barwell, member of the Council, when Warren Hastings was governor. Writers’ Buildings was the first three-storeyed building in Calcutta

1780:Barwell leased out the range of buildings to the Company for the rent-free accommodation of its writers “for five years by his own rate at 31,700 current rupees per annum to be paid half-yearly in advance”. Writers’ looked like a “shabby hospital, or poor-house”

1800:Fort William College, opened to train writers in Oriental languages, later moved to this building. Over the next 20 years, structural changes were made: a hostel for 32 students and an exam hall, which still exist, a lecture hall, four libraries and rooms to teach Hindi and Persian

1821:A 128 ft-long verandah with Ionic style columns, each 32 ft high, were added on the first and second floors

Cluster of Statues atop Writers' Building

1830:The College moved out of Writers’ and the building fell into the hands of private individuals who turned it into living quarters, shops and godowns. The Government College of Engineering functioned from here for some time

1871-74:George Campbell, lieutenant governor-general, felt the need for a secretariat for “quick disposal of work”. But the East India Railway Company occupied a large space at Writers’ and was unable to find alternative accommodation

1877-82:Ashley Eden, lieutenant-governor of Bengal, was told to shift the principal offices, housed on Sudder Street and Chowringhee, to Writers’. Because of the space crunch, initially three blocks were constructed

1879-1906:Two new blocks were added, approached by iron staircases that are still in use. Writers’ acquired its Greco-Roman look, complete with the portico in the central bay and the red surface of exposed brick. The parapet was put in place and the statues sculpted by William Fredric Woodington in 1883, that line the terrace, were installed. Minerva stands above the central portico And Pre-Independence, Writers’ had a large courtyard with seven blocks. By 1970, all 13 blocks were constructed. The main block, including the rotunda and five main blocks, are heritage structures.

Assassination of Colonel N S Simpson

Statue of Benoy, Badal & Dinesh

On 8 December 1930 Benoy Basu, Badal Gupta and Dinesh Gupta headed for the Writers’ Building. Dressed in European out fit they carried loaded revolvers. They shot dead the notorious Inspector General of Police Colonel N S Simpson, infamous for his brutal oppression of the prisoners in the jail.

They shot dead Col Simpson and took siege of the Writers’ Building, soon a gun battle followed in the corridors of the Writers’ Building. Unable to match up with the might force of Calcutta Police, the trio soon find themselves overpowered and cornered.

Unwilling to give themselves up Badal took Potassium Cyanide and died instantly, while his fellow comrades shot themselves. Benoy died five days later in hospital but Dinesh survived only to be hanged to death on 7 July 1931.

Today the Dalhousie Square is named after the trio and is called BBD Bagh. A statue of Benoy, Badal & Dinesh stand in front of Writers’ Building, showing Benoy, the group leader, leading his comrades for the last battle.

Picture Gallery

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  The original building with Holwell's Blackhole incident monument in the background

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  Writers' Building, c. 1915

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  Pre-Independence photograph of the facade

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  Statue of Minerva on top of the Writers' Building

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  Writers, Building with RBI Building, Kolkata

External links

• History of the Writers' Building