May 2, 2009

Life in Calcutta (Kolkata) - 1944 Part 4

From: The Hensley Collection
For more information view Part - 1

Water buffalo wash-down from foot-directed, spraying, curbside hydrant along Strand Bank Road

Shipwright uses chisel to notch boat plank

Scene along Strand Bank Road, north of Howrah Bridge

Sawing logs into planks for boat building. One man pushes up, the other pushes down on the saw

Pagoda in Eden Gardens

Oxen market somewhere near the Zoological Gardens

Negotiating a price on an ice cream freezer from a young vendor in a stall along a Calcutta street

Human conveyor belt in warehouse area along Strand Bank Road

Food sellers along Calcutta street

From: http://dsal.uchicago.edu

Life in Calcutta (Kolkata) - 1944 Part 3

From: The Hensley Collection
For more information view Part - 1

Eden Gardens or Botanical Garden

Construction workers along Strand Bank Road

Chowringee Road at Esplanade, center of Calcutta activity

Calcutta Pond

Calcutta business scene on a street northwest of Dalhousie Square

Busy scene along Strand Bank Road upstream from Howrah Bridge

Botanical Garden, Howrah

Botanical Garden or Eden Gardens

Source: http://dsal.uchicago.edu

May 1, 2009

Life in Calcutta (Kolkata) - 1944 Part 2

From: The Hensley Collection
For more information view Part - 1

Merchant and child in Market

Jute market

Jewelry craftsmen at work in sidewalk stall

Gate to Calcutta Statesman newspaper office a short distance north of the Esplanade

Water traffic in the vicinity of Kalighat

Tinware Bales in street-side stall just off Dalhousie Square

Smaller river craft near the Kali Temple

Phonographs offered for sale

Source: http://dsal.uchicago.edu

Life in Calcutta (Kolkata) - 1944 Part - 1

The Hensley Collection is a collection of photographs taken during Second World War by an American serviceman, Glenn S. Hensley. The photographs, numbering almost 600, were given to the University of Chicago Library by the photographer. The text with the images is taken from notes written by Mr. Hensley himself.

The images include a rich collection of photographs taken in Calcutta (Kolkata) during 1943-1944 by Mr. Hensley, a professional photographer participating in the surveillance of the Japanese in Burma for the U.S. Army. During his off-duty time Mr. Hensley used his ethnographer's eye to capture daily life in a number of locations around India. The majority of the images are from Calcutta and its environs. Other locations in this collection are Madras (Chennai), Kharagpur, Agra, and Burma. The photographs and notes were prepared by Hensley for his wife to use in teaching world history courses in Missouri during Second World War.

Craftsman works on pipe near Nakhoda Mosque

Craftsman at work in sidewalk stall

Christmastime decorations for sale in Calcutta's New Market, December

Carrying a piano through the Maidan. Buildings in background are along today's Esplande Row East

Calcutta (Kolkata) New Market at Christmastime

Marketplace

Construction Work

Bamboo basket maker

Balance scale in use in warehouse district not far from Howrah Bridge

Source: http://dsal.uchicago.edu

Calcutta (Kolkata) - Hooghly River Date Unknown

I have collected these Hooghly River pictures of Calcutta from Life Archive hosted by Google. Unfortunately these images have no details about date and photographer. But we can understand from the environment and surroundings that these images dated much before our Independence.