Kolkata’s treasure hunt

There is no way you come to know a place unless you walk around there. This is true if the time you’ve on hand is less and you’re more inclined to visit spots that disclose the history of the place rather than only seeing the exotic destinations.

Like many Kolkattans I too cannot claim to know the city’s history from the exhibits that can still be seen.

True, I haven’t had the drive to go around, but what is no less true is that the city’s custodians have made the metropolis messy and at times uninviting that makes it impossible to get inspired.

With that as perspective, it is indeed a wonder that the city is soon going to see perhaps the first Heritage Treasure Hunt competition this month.

Modeled on similar games elsewhere, treasure hunting can be both fictional or a real life activity. Similar examples of riddle solving are Sudoku and crossword puzzles.

In all these instances, some real knowledge can be had by participating in them. Kolkata’s Heritage Treasure Hunt can’t be any different. Here is a selected excerpt of what it would be like, taken from Times of India.

The idea is to spread awareness and create heritage enthusiasts among residents so that the latter can, in turn, become activists and help preserve and restore these magnificent structures, many of which need to be revamped.

The teams – each comprising four members in cars – will start on the hunt from Red Road. Following the trail of clues, they would then travel to the lanes and bylanes of north Kolkata, Dalhousie and finally Chowringhee.

Unwilling to divulge the nature of the clues yet, GM Kapur, state convener of Intach, said, “Lets’ say, from Red Road you have to go to Victoria Memorial, where you have to locate a Doyly oil painting, which depicts a famous Church that replaced the court that tried Raja Nanda Kumar. You will have to rush to the Church for the next clue that could lead to a search for an obelisk (Holwell’s monument) constructed at the site of Old Fort William (today’s GPO). This came up to commemorate the survivors of the Black Hole Tragedy.”

Tracking down the obelisk might not be easy, as it was moved to the city’s oldest church in 1821. So as you hunt down the clues, you also get to know what the Black Hole Tragedy is and where the city’s oldest church is located.

Pirates in early days burying treasure in a virgin island.
[Image source]