CHRISTMAS SPECIAL.. MASS APPEAL

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL MASS APPEAL

Kolkata, it must be at St Paul’s, India’s oldest Anglican cathedral, a space that blends beauty, tradition and faith

BFor 93-year-old Olga Anklesaria, one of the distinct memories of St Paul’s Cathedral, Calcutta, from the early years – she has been attending the service here for six decades – is that the women always wore hats. “About 60% of the congregation was still foreigners at the time. It changed as the British started leaving and the congregation became more local,” she says.

While there is an abundance of beautiful Raj-era churches in India, when the cornerstone for St Paul’s was laid in 1839 – in 2019, it will be 180 years since work on the cathedral began – it was with the idea of building the first Anglican cathedral in India. As such, it was meant to represent the glory of the lord, as well as the grandeur of the British colonial rulers.

It was a dream close to the heart of Bishop Daniel Wilson, the fifth bishop of Calcutta, who arrived there in 1832. Like his predecessors, Wilson presided at St John’s Church, consecrated in 1787. But that church was too small and never meant to be a cathedral, says Mary Ann Dasgupta, a former American citizen who came to Calcutta in 1963 and is currently putting together the history of the cathedral. There were also churches in Bombay and Madras that had subsequently been designated cathedrals, but none had been built for that purpose.

A DREAM COMES TRUE

On June 12, 1839, seven acres of land were handed over to Bishop Wilson for the cathedral he wanted so badly.

The East India Company, in 1840, gave a grant of ₹1.50 lakh for its construction, stipulating that the seating should be for 800 to 1,000 people. Bishop Wilson himself donated another ₹1 lakh and left a further endowment of ₹1 lakh to the church in his will. Construction began in 1839 and the cathedral was consecrated in 1847. So iconic was this cathedral in the east that in 1845, Queen Victoria presented 10 pieces of silver-gilt plate to Bishop Wilson for it.

No effort was spared in ensuring the majesty of St Paul’s. The main structure is predominantly brick masonry, built in the English Gothic architectural style. Some of the best British and Indian talent has, over the years, helped in its beautification. The cathedral clock, for example, was made by the famous Vulliamy’s of London, and is similar to the one at Christ Church, Oxford. Behind the London-made high altar on the east wall are mosaic panels depicting the life of St Paul. In 1875, the Maharaja of Kashmir presented ₹2,000 towards the first mosaic panels. All the designs were by Sir Arthur William Bloomfield of London. Then there are the exquisite stained-glass windows on the east and the west. “In February 1942, the Great West Window was dismantled and the pieces were stored in the main support pillars of the tower as a precaution against possible Japanese bombings,” Dasgupta says. The writer Rudyard Kipling’s uncle, Edward Burne-Jones, was the principal artist on that window. Near the cathedral entrance is a statue of the second bishop of Calcutta, Reginald Heber, which is a replica of one at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London.

PRIDE OF PLACE

The cathedral enjoyed immense social prestige. “The viceroy attended service at St Paul’s,” says a member of the church. Among those who married at St Paul’s was a grand nephew of the bard Rabindranath Tagore –Gyanendramohan –who in 1852 wed the daughter of a reverend.

The cathedral doesn’t have a cemetery attached to it - only two Bishops are buried on the grounds, while Rev Wilson had his own burial vault built inside – but there are many memorial tablets inside. A panel inside the cathedral reminds visitors that this was the metropolitical and mother church of the Anglican Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon until 1970 (Church of India, Burma and Ceylon before 1947) , when it became a part of the Church of North India.

TRANSCENDING TIME

But the draw of St Paul’s Cathedral goes beyond its religious significance. Declared a historic monument by the Indian government in 1975, it is one of the main tourist attractions in Kolkata. People of all faiths visit, whether drawn by its majestic beauty or to kneel in prayer.

Time has left its dark smudge on the white exteriors. There are cracks on the walls inside. The church was last renovated in 1992-94. The process for another renovation has been initiated, says Rev. Abir Adhikari, presbyter-in-charge, St Paul’s. For now, the Christmas lights have been strung up and the Nativity scene laid out. The throng of visitors for the midnight service on Christmas Eve will spill out beyond the cathedral walls into the lawns. Even West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is known to attend.

·         Poulomi Banerjee poulomi.banerjee@htlive.com

·         T23DEC18