Victoria Memorial Museum

On his princely excursion to Kolkata (Calcutta) in 1906, George V laid the foundation stone of this fascinating piece of architecture. The idea behind this monument was by Lord Curzon, in memory of Queen Victoria. The Memorial, which has Italian style of statue designs and Mughal styled domes was designed by Sir William Emerson. The structure got completed in 1921. Special white Makrana marbles from Jodhpur were brought for the building. The dome of the building is made of bronze and it symbolizes victory. The total cost of construction of this monument crossed the figure of Rupees one crore but was entirely derived from their voluntary subscriptions. The building got converted to a museum later. The museum hosts some of the classical Western and Indian paintings, old Lithographs and postal stamps, Mughal miniatures, rare books, manuscripts, armours, coins, sketches and sculpture. The 25 galleries in a chamber beneath the dome, house several statues and busts of Queen Mary, George V and Queen Victoria.

The Architecture
The 184 ft high building makes the base for the dome of Victory, which is another 16 ft high. The other figures represent Motherhood, Prudence, Learning, Art, Architecture, Justice, Charity etc. The memorial spans around a 64 acres of land, comprising of lawns, ponds, shrubbery and herbaceous borders, while the building covers 338 ft by 228ft. The main architect of the building, Sir William Emerson had already worked in India and had designed the famous Crawford Markets in Mumbai (1865) and the splendid All Saints Cathedral in Allahabad (1893). He took Vincent J. Esch as his assistant.

As one walk up around the museum, the bronze Victoria on her throne, or the bronze Edward VII on his horse, or the marble Curzon looking very stern can be seen. The entrance arches soar through two high storeys, with its entire rambling dominated by a colonnaded dome and capped by three tons of bronzed and victorious angel. One of the external sculptures on the north side depicts a lion's head with water flowing out of it and passing into four troughs representing the four great Indian rivers - the Ganges, the Krishna, the Indus and the Jamuna (Yamuna).

Tourist Information
Visiting Hours: 10 a.m to 4 p.m (Jan and Feb) and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (rest of year) (Remains closed Monday and on 2nd Saturdays of every month). Entry Fee: For Indians: Rs.10/-, For foreigners: Rs.150/- When to visit: Best time to visit Kolkata is October to March.

Other Attractions near the Victoria Memorial
In the city of Kolkata, the famous Indian Museum, which was established 1814, can be visited. One of oldest museum of Asia, it has the rarest collections of archeological importance. Some of the coin in the collection are about 2400 years old. India's oldest cricket ground, Eden Garden, is also in this city. Birla Planetarium, one of the largest planetariums in the world is a good place to enjoy. The auditorium has a capacity of 500 and it conducts regular shows in Hindi, English and Bengali. An excellent example of engineering techniques, the 450 m long Howrah bridge hangs over the Hooghly river without any towers. One of the busiest bridges in the world, it is a not-to-be-missed site.

Getting there:
Air: There is N.S.C. International airport at Dumdum in Kolkata. Regular flights to rest of India and world are available here. Rail: Kolkata is very well connected to rest of India through two major railway station, Sealdah and Howrah. Road: Kolkata is connected to the rest of India by excellent road network.