Whispers of Immortality

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Place where the photograph was captured: South Park Street Cemetery, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Date: 30th October 2023

Taken On Yashica D Medium Format Camera with Foma Pan 120 film. Somehow while handling the film during scanning, it caught dust which eventually I liked because I feel it goes with the environment.

South Park Street Cemetery, formerly known as the 'Great Christian Burial Ground', was one of the earliest non-church cemeteries in the world.The cemetery houses numerous graves and monuments belonging to British soldiers, administrators, and their families. It is also the final resting place of several prominent personalities including Henry Louis Vivian Derozio and Sir William Jones. Being a student of fine arts I have always been fascinated by architecture of various kinds, however I have been moved by architectures belonging to the colonial-era.

The cemetery is filled with Gothic-style tombs and monuments, mixed with the rich flavor of the Greek, Egyptian, and Indo-Saracenic styles. Some of the monument resembles Hindu and Islamic architecture. The 256-year-old cemetery has witnessed Calcutta through its various times, from the Great Bengal famine of 1770 to recent Covid-19 Pandemic the tombs at park street cemetery has witnessed the city being exposed to the most vulnerable times and yet bounced back to life to be termed as 'City of Joy'. From this aspect I feel South Park Street Cemetery can be regarded as a heritage of Calcutta! Through my work I have tried to capture the very essence of the place while suggesting a contrast between the ancient monuments and the modern building built outside the cemetery.