Although the march of time is restoring Bengali names to Kolkata’s streets and landmarks, changing the name of its most beloved monument remains unthinkable. The white marble Victoria Memorial, with its striking cleanliness amid the palls of Kolkatan smog, set amid landscaped grounds, is a monolithic monument commemorating a monarch whose legacy is nothing if not divisive in these parts.
Visit the Victoria Memorial Hall Gardens
Entering through the VM North Gate, you’ll pass an enthroned and bemused-looking Queen Victoria statue, gowns draped wide about her. Behind, a majestic marble central dome towers above the memorial, with four square towers at each corner topped by Mughal-style cupolas. Sculpted gardens surround the structure, which was commissioned by Lord Curzon following the queen’s death in 1901. Reflecting pools and ponds shimmer at each of the four corners.
Meet the Young Queen Vic
Enter the Victoria Memorial on the building’s north side, passing through the Entrance Hall and Royal Gallery to the circular Queen's Hall. A sculpture of a young Victoria on her accession to the throne stands beneath the mighty central dome. Head through the southeast passage into the Durbar Hall, where paintings of the pomp and ceremony of empire include an impressive canvas of Edward VII atop a mighty, lavishly dressed elephant.
Up to the New Owners
To balance out the Raj-era pageantry, the upper floor’s galleries are turned over to an exhibition about the Indian Wars of Independence, as the struggles beginning in 1857 are termed, and the revolutionaries who spearheaded the movement.
