Danish team on heritage trail...

Danish team on heritage trail...

Serampore (Hooghly): They wish to turn the clock back to a time when the ruins of Serampore used to be their very own Fredriksnagore. But it's bound to be a tall order for the Danish team that's here to dig out their glorious history, because the present hardly resembles the past.

That is evident from the sketches of the bygone era that conservation architect Flemming Aalund and historian Simon Rasten are carrying with them. The Serampore riverfront, cluttered with concrete structures of unvarying ugliness, doesn't look anything like the row of whitewashed buildings erected circa 1800 that depicts the silhouette of the heritage town in the sketches, with St Olav's Church as the most significant landmark. The steeple of St Olav's seems to be the only thin link between the past and the present. Architectural wonders have been reduced to haunted houses that serve as the perfect haven for anti-socials. Some of the crumbling buildings and monuments have been declared condemned by the PWD.

But not to be daunted by all this, the Danish team, along with a strong-willed district administration and West Bengal Heritage Commission (WBHC), has embarked upon possibly one of the most challenging assignments ever. The task is to trace out the Fredriksnagore and its picturesque white buildings with expensive porticos and Venetian blinds, from years of neglect and piles of rubble. The former Danish colony had been named after King Fredrik V who ruled between 1746 and 1766.

The National Museum of Denmark (NMD) had initiated the Serampore Initiative way back in 2008, but not much happened. But the project has now been revived with the WBHC signing an MoU with NMD to revive the glorious Indo-Danish past. Funds are flowing in from the Danish government's coffers as well as the Indian government's ministry of culture to execute the ambitious project in phases.

The Serampore Initiative, in its new avatar, involves preservation and enhancement of St Olav Church, the Government Compound, the former Danish Government House, the square in front of St Olav's Church and landscaping of the river bank area.

"This is the real beginning of this cooperation," said Flemming, "We have begun with the Government House that would be one of the greatest landmarks of Serampore. The building is testimony to the unique heritage originating from the Danish, British and Indian periods."

Inside, he pointed out the few traces left of the hugely elaborate facade as some masons worked meticulously to dig out the lime-stone tiles beneath the concrete flooring. The Danes ruled from here between 1755 and 1845, and the Government House was their epicentre. The British later added a new portion to the building, after the Danes left. There is a marked difference between this part of the building and the original structure.

"We are looking at a five-year timeframe to begin with. But more than the time, what is crucial is the sensitivity to bring out the past from the disorderly present," said Rasten, intrigued by the mishmash of architectural styles in the Danish, British and Indian eras.

Accompanying them was a WBHC team, led by chairman Shuvaprasanna. "Fredriksnagore is older than Kolkata. So we are determined to restore these derelict structures that have been camouflaged by years of insensitivity and neglect," said Shuvaprasanna. The MoU signed, WBHC is now concentrating on the Government House which will be turned into a museum portraying Serampore's rich past, the chairman said.

The labour of love is more than apparent. "Conservation is time-taking and needs a lot of patience," said conservation architect Partha Ranjan Das, who is a member of WBHC and chairman of the projects committee. "We have sent the mortar samples for testing. The lime mortar we will use should match the mix used by the Danes. Otherwise, it won't bind and cracks will develop," explained Das. WBHC has set up the lab recently to give holistic and scientific approach to conservation.

"The Serampore Initiative is not only about architecture and conservation. To execute the project, we must work in tandem with the administration and share every bit of our work. Or, everything will come to a naught," said architect and WBHC consultant Manish Chakraborty.

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Published in The Times of India

Dated: 4th Dec. 2012

By Ajanta Chakrobotry