Immersive Trails-Global

19/11/2023

Our started with three wonderful experiences on a crisp morning. The led by Tathagata Neogi ; an and trail led by Rangan Datta and a led by Chelsea McGill!

Want to explore with us this winter? Find out what is on offer on immersivetrails.com

18/11/2023

What a brilliant start to the leading a South Park Street Cemetery for the students of Sri Sri Academy!

Absolutely loved the interaction and the outreach!

Want us to take kids from your school on an immersive experience? Get in touch with us on [email protected]!
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18/11/2023

Leading academics from the University of Exeter have been recognised as being amongst the world’s most influential researchers, according to a prestigious new ranking.  Fifteen scientists from Exeter, and a further three who are affiliated

17/11/2023

In the early 1800s, Lord Wellesley's government passed a resolution that made it mandatory for all ships coming into to deposit their gunpowder stock at the powder magazines in Moyapur, near Budge Budge. This was done to protect the East India Company's capital of Calcutta from enemy vessels' accidental explosions or siege from the river.

Visit the remains of the gunpowder magazines in Moyapur on our and Trail this Sunday with Rangan Datta.

Book your places here: https://immersivetrails.com/tour/6417e4a7852bd6001452b50f

17/11/2023

Attention undergraduate and postgraduate students in , and !

11.4 of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals aims to strengthen efforts to safeguard and protect the world's cultural and natural heritage. To achieve this, it is essential to sensitize and involve the local communities. One way of doing this is through gamification. In this Global Leaders Experience, Immersive Trails offers students the opportunity to study local heritage and create real-world, long-term outreach initiatives in the form of heritage scavenger hunts. You will get the chance to work with a global cohort online over four working weeks.

The cohort will be divided into groups containing students from University of Exeter's Exeter and Cornwall campuses and India to explore themes demonstrating global history's interconnectedness.

Apply here: https://immersivetrails.com/exeter

15/11/2023

Another day, another South !

Beautiful stained glass pattern on a former art deco building near Deshopriyo Park. The building has been badly modified.

Our research is in full swing. Connect with us if you want to contribute with your knowledge!

14/11/2023

The tale of two balconies in 's Lake Road!

If anyone is making a database of art deco buildings in , we are happy to host it on an open access platform and give it more visibility. Do get in touch!

13/11/2023

The splendor of South ! Walking along the Lake Road and it's neighborhoods is indeed a feast for the eyes of an Art Deco lover!

Are there Art Deco style buildings in your neighborhood? Tell us about them.

11/11/2023

Goddess Kali took on significant nationalist meaning during the Swadeshi period in Bengal. She was worshipped by revolutionaries as a symbol of mother India rampaging the English demons.

More and more Kali Pujas were organized throughout Bengal, including remote countryside to unify groups for the armed freedom struggle and establish an informal solidarity network. These Kali Pujas often became façades behind which revolutionary activities took place, including the supply of news, planning and ex*****on of political assassination of oppressive English officials or Indian officials in British administrative service.

The British intelligence in Bengal appealed and failed to put a ban on the frequent, monthly Kali Pujas throughout Bengal, as the courts did not want to risk a communal riot at a time when British position in Bengal was already tenuous after Curzon's hastily declared partition of Bengal province in 1905. The British intelligence agencies likened the proliferation of Kali Pujas in Bengal and its connection to the armed revolutionary activities to that of the circulation of Chapattis just before the Revolt of 1857.

Apart from Kalighat being a major cult centre of Kali, in Kolkata, this was how Kali Pujas took a more community form and became a very important and meaningful festival in the city and the rest of undivided Bengal.

Painting Source: Victoria and Albert Museum

07/11/2023

The statue of Goddess Minerva adorns the central pediment of Calcutta's Writers' Building. This was a Victorian era addition when she was equated with the Queen as a patroness of law, agriculture, science & trade in the colonies. Minerva holds her owl of wisdom on left palm.

Join our Dalhousie Sq Walk to know more about this fascinating neighbourhood of Kolkata next Saturday morning.

Tickets available here: https://immersivetrails.com/tour/641451e8b8c443001404d955

Book through the Immersive Trails App to get 50% Off on this : https://bit.ly/ImmTrailsApp

07/11/2023

Can you spot a derelict here?

Bingo, you got it! Its just there on the footpath, supporting the awnings of the adjacent shops.

The memorial was one of the two that was erected in by Nawab Abdul Gunny Khan and his son and successor Ahsanullah Khan of to commemorate the 1875 visit of Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales who later succeeded Queen as King Edward VII.
The memorial is in terrible shape, but fortunately unlike its twin in , this one is still standing in its original form thanks to the tea seller who sets up shop underneath it and makes basic repairs and maintenance.

Have you spotted this during your explorations in ?

Explore with us via the Immersive Trails App. Download here: https://bit.ly/ImmTrailsApp

06/11/2023

Probably one of the first grand architectures in 's Dalhosuie Square by the British Raj- meant to awe people and stamp their new found authority on the Colonial capital.

Explore with us this Saturday morning. Tickets are available here: https://immersivetrails.com/tour/641451e8b8c443001404d955

Book through Immersive Trails App to get a 50% Discount on the walk. Download App here: https://bit.ly/ImmTrailsApp

05/11/2023

Have you seen this brass line on the steps of the General Post Office in ?

These lines demarcate the location of the southeastern bastion of the old Fort William in . The fort was damaged beyond repair when Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah attacked the British East India Company in Calcutta in the summer of 1756.

What happened that day in 1756? How did Siraj's army attack the fort?

Find out on our Dalhousie Sq next Sunday morning. Book your tickets here: https://immersivetrails.com/tour/641451e8b8c443001404d955

04/11/2023

On 4th August 1921, Tramways Company declared that they are introducing a new form of public transport to the city- Motor Driven Buses. The first buses would run every ten minutes from Ballygunge to Dalhousie Square, and each would be able to carry 30 passengers, who must all sit. The minimum fare was to be 4 annas.

This was the beginning of the bus services in . Soon buses would become so popular that new routes were launched and other private companies were allowed to operate them in the city.

Explore Kolkata with us on immersivetrails.com

Image: Representational

03/11/2023

নভেম্বর ১৮৯২।

জোব চারনক-এর মৃত্যুর পর, কেটেগেছে ১৯৯ বছর। অবহেলায়ে পড়ে আছে কলকাতার সেন্ট জন্স চার্চ-এ তার পারিবারিক স্মৃতিসৌধ। এই চার্চ-এর প্রধান পাদ্রি তখন রেভারেন্ড H. B. Hyde. তার আবেদনে কলকাতা পৌরসভা এই স্মৃতিসৌধের সংরক্ষণের কাজ শুরু করে, PWD-এর ইঞ্জিনিয়ার এবং শ্রমিক-দের সাহায্যে। ঠিক করা হয় যে সংরক্ষণের সময় তারা এই শুধের মেঝে-র তলায়ে ৪-ফুট মতন খুঁড়ে দেখবেন কোন সমাধিগৃহ অথবা ক্রিপ্ট খুঁজে পাওয়া যায়ে কি না।

৪-ফুট খোঁড়া হল। কিন্তু কথায়ে কি? কিছুই পাওয়া গেল না। এই দেখে রেভারেন্ড Hyde হতাশ হয়ে পড়লেন। ভেবেছিলেন চারনক-এর কফিন-টি অন্তত তিনি দেখতে পাবেন। PWD-র কর্তারা বিবেচনা করলেন যে আর খুঁড়ে লাভ নেই। এখন স্ম্রিতিশউধ-টি সংরক্ষণের কাজে মন দেওয়া হক। কিন্তু তাদের এই হুকুম ঠিক সময় এসে পৌঁছলনা শ্রমিক এবং সুপারভাইজার-দের কাছে। অর্থাৎ পরেরদিন সকালে আরো ২-ফুট খোঁড়া হল। মাটি তুলে ফেলতেই দেখাগেলো একটি কঙ্কাল-এর অংশ। সবাই থতমত খেয়েগেল। কাজ গেল থেমে। একজন শ্রমিক দৌড়ে গিয়ে রেভারেন্ড Hyde-কে জানাল তাদের আবিষ্কার-এর কথা। ছুটে এলেন Hyde. কঙ্কালের ওই অংশটি তুলে আনতে বললেন। এরপর ভাল করে পরীক্ষা করে তিনি বুঝতে পারলেন এটি একটি দেহের বাঁ-হাতের অংশ। আর তার পাশে পড়ে থাকা আরও অনেক ছোট ছোট হাড়, যেগুলো ওই হাতের-ই আঙ্গুলের অংশ। এই দেখে এঁর আবেগ ধরে রাখতে পারলেন না রেভারেন্ড Hyde. কিছুক্ষণের জন্য জ্ঞান হারালেন। জ্ঞান ফিরতেই তিনি হুকুম করলেন এই "পবিত্র ভূমি" যেন এখুনি ঢেকে ফেলা হয়। এর পরেই তিনি একটি লোক-কে পাঠালেন PWD-এর অফিস এ। বিকেলের মধ্যে সারা কলকাতা শহর জেনে গেল জোব চারনক-এর দেহের অংশ আবিষ্কারের কথা।

এরকম আরও অনেক জানা-অজানা তথ্য জানতে যোগদিন আমাদের ওয়াকিং ট্যুরে- https://immersivetrails.com/
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November 1892.

199 years had elapsed after the death of Job Charnock. His family mausoleum commissioned by his son-in-law Sir Charles Eyre in 1697, lay in ruins inside the St. John's Church compound of Calcutta. Rev. H.B. Hyde, the then chief priest of the appealed to the Calcutta Municipal Corporation to restore this building. The municipal authorities agreed, and the job of restoration went to the Public Works Department. At the request of Hyde, and out of their own inquisitiveness, the PWD engineers decided that they would dig up to 4-feet under the floor of the mausoleum to see if they can find a crypt holding the remains of Charnock and his family members buried underneath the mausoleum.

The entire 4-feet was excavated within a day, before the overall restoration could commence. But NOTHING! No sign of a crypt, no sign of a shattered coffin, or even skeletons. Hyde, and the engineers were extremely disappointed. The PWD bosses ordered the engineers, supervisors and labourers to stop digging any further, fill the hole in, and start the actual restoration work. For some reason, this order did not get passed on, on time to the engineers involved in the project. As a result, the work of digging a couple of more feet commenced the next morning. AND THEN THERE IT WAS! As the soil was removed from the hole, a section of a skeleton was unveiled. The work stopped immediately. Everyone was at a state of shock. A labourer was sent running to convey the news of this discovery to Rev. Hyde, who came down instantly. He then asked the labourers to bring up the part of the skeleton from the hole, so that he could examine it properly. On examination, he found that this was a section of the left forearm of a person. He also identified several other bone fragments found around this as sections of fingers of the same arm.

Rev. Hyde lost consciousness in excitement and shock of potentially discovering and touching the remains of Job Charnock, considered by the English as the "Founder f Calcutta". On regaining consciousness, he ordered "the sacred ground" to be filled in instantly. He also sent out runners to the PWD office and all other top government officials about the discovery. By that evening, Calcutta was abuzz with the news of the discovery of Charnock's remains!

Join us to unearth more of 's cultural heritage on our walking tours: https://immersivetrails.com/

01/11/2023

A beautiful street side shrine at the entrance of an old of in .

Have you seen this?

Explore with us for more such hidden gems. Find out what is coming up on immersivetrails.com or the Immersive Trails App. Download the App here: https://bit.ly/ImmTrailsApp

31/10/2023

One of our favourite stories at St John’s in is this amazing “Last Supper” painted by Johann Zoffany in 1787. The painting is intriguing in its many layers of meanings! Find out more about it this Saturday on our St. John's Church Walk.

Book your tickets here: https://immersivetrails.com/tour/648ab44d0db52400140c3c23


Book through the Immersive Trails App to get up to 50% discount on in-person experiences. Download here: https://bit.ly/ImmTrailsApp

29/10/2023

Our in-person November Experiences are now LIVE and OPEN for booking.

Book on: https://immersivetrails.com/

Get up to 50% discount on experiences booking through the Immersive Trails App. Download here: https://bit.ly/ImmTrailsApp

We look forward to having you explore with us!

28/10/2023

A full house in today's Colonial Business Houses . Thanks everyone for joining us and look forward to see you all again soon.

Find out about our upcoming tours on immersivetrails.com or via Immersive Trails App: https://bit.ly/ImmTrailsApp

Book through the Immersive Trails App to get a discounted price.

27/10/2023

Houses trail is now SOLD OUT!

Thank you for showing your love!

Check out what in-person are coming up here: https://immersivetrails.com/ or by downloading the : https://bit.ly/ImmTrailsApp

27/10/2023

The time you've all been waiting for!

Here are the answers for Heritage Hunt!

How many did you get correct?

Winners will be announced next week.

27/10/2023

In 1786, the British innkeeper James Parr opened "The Denmark Tavern and Hotel" in this building. An advertisement in the Calcutta Gazette announced that " gentlemen passing up and down the river maybe accommodated with breakfast, dinner supper and lodging; also liquors sold by the single dozen and a good Gillard table and a coffee room with newspapers".

Explore with us, along with the heritage of and this .

Book your places here: https://immersivetrails.com/tour/649b444142a7480014a8148b

27/10/2023

In the early morning of 1st April 1868, an Anglo-Indian woman named Rose Brown, clad in an expensive saree and in the finest of jewelry was found murdered on Amherst Street in north Calcutta. It appeared to the police that nothing was stolen from her except for one of her shoes. This bewildering murder led to a city-wide manhunt by the Calcutta Police. Due to little circumstantial evidence and a lack of modern forensic science, the police failed to nab the murderer. Here's a short report we found in the Friend of India and Statesman on 16th April 1868 about the murder and the frustration about the failure of the police department to catch the criminal.

Want to know more about the murders of Kolkata? Join us this Sunday for the Murder and Mayhem Walk!

Book tickets here: https://www.immersivetrails.com/tour/64145a7843a55a0014768731

26/10/2023

Students leave the l'Eglise du Sacré Cœur (Sacred Heart Church) in Chandannagar after the Sunday mass. or was a officially established in 1688, a few years before the founding of the Settlement in !

Join our Other Colonies Day Tour this Sunday to explore more: https://immersivetrails.com/tour/649b444142a7480014a8148b

Photo Credit: Joydip Banerjee

26/10/2023

Thank you for your overwhelming response in participating in our Heritage Hunt! The answers will be revealed tomorrow at 7pm on Instagram and Facebook Stories!

The winners will be declared next week!

All the best!

26/10/2023

This now derelict redbrick structure on Waterloo Street-Dacres Lane intersection across the Great Eastern Hotel was the office for Harrisons & Crosfield Ltd, a major British tea and coffee trading firm who had business spread south & Southeast Asia!

Join us this Saturday morning to explore the story of tea, jute, cotton and insurances on our Calcutta Business Houses Trail.

Book your places here: https://immersivetrails.com/tour/646041e60d80c70014dc7efa

25/10/2023

We are excited to partner up with Meeras-e-Bangalah and Rangan Datta to launch our first tour in our series. In this tour, take a deep dive into the rich of .

The Bookings are now OPEN. See itinerary and book here: https://immersivetrails.com/tour/653926564bb7f20014962f36

25/10/2023

On the midnight of 23rd December 1788, as Calcutta's Old Court House (now St. Andrews Church) was getting decked up and prepared for Governor General Lord Cornwallis' gala ball and dinner, a gang of 25-30 heavily armed dacoits were slowly making there way through the narrow alleys of in north .With the pitch black and chilly winter night as their cover, they moved without a noise and surrounded the house of Ramkanta, a rich salt merchant in the city.

Once all of the gang members had gathered, the dacoits leapt out of the darkness, overpowered the unsuspecting guards in Ramkanta's front and back doors, and barged in the mansion from all directions. A few of them held the men of the house, including Ramkanta, hostage as the rest of them turned the house upside down in search of money and jewelry. Finally, as alarm was raised through the neighbourhood and the East India Company's troops were sent for, the entire gang fled, carrying with them 4,000 rupees (about ₹400,000 in today's value) worth of money and other valuables from Ramkanta's house.

The news spread like wild fire and the people of Calcutta, Europeans and Indians, woke up with horror. The gentry of the city was so terrified and tired of such armed robberies that this cast a pall of gloom and controversy at Cornwallis' showpiece Christmas event. The Government would then be forced to agree to form an unofficial police department to keep the robbers at bay and break up such large gangs. The seeds of the future Calcutta police lay in this Christmas-time robbery.

Here's a short newspaper report published on the Calcutta Gazette on Christmas Day of 1788 about the same.

Join us on the trail of 18th and 19th C True Crime this Sunday morning. Book Murder and Mayhem Walk here: https://immersivetrails.com/tour/64145a7843a55a0014768731

Source: Calcutta Gazette Archives

25/10/2023

Midnight Heritage Tour in collaboration with Letusgo India Walks is BACK on 18th November. Bookings are Open here: https://immersivetrails.com/tour/6440d561d773290014cf3e5e

25/10/2023

This is our Top 6 this year!

What are yours?

Photo: Priyodorshi Mustafi

25/10/2023

In January of 1940, amidst the chaos of World War II in Europe, the Calcutta Safe Deposit Vault opened up in the city. Founded by businessman Amritlal Ojha as one of the very few private safe deposit vaults in the country, it would go on to become an incredible success. The Vault was crucial during the resistance movement in the 1950s and 60s.

To learn more, join our Business Houses this Saturday morning.

Book your tickets here: https://immersivetrails.com/tour/646041e60d80c70014dc7efa

24/10/2023

শুভ বিজয়া | Subho Bijoya

Hope you all had an incredible ! Here is wishing you all a great rest of the festive season!

Original Painting: William Prinsep (1830s) from Yale

24/10/2023

Happy to everyone celebrating!

Before cinemas, modern theatres and televisions retold out myths, there was another kind of visual storytelling. The kind where the stories from our epics were etched on to temples, not only telling their story, but also as a show of faith form their builders- the local kings and landlords.

Here's an example of a recurring theme in the late-medieval of - the ultimate battle in the - the battle between and . This one is from a Maluti temple in the border.

Join us this December on a Road Trip of . Bookings are OPEN here: https://immersivetrails.com/tour/6468c137bb0d060014c57a9d

24/10/2023

Can you answer this question?

YOUR LAST CHANCE to join our and get a chance to win ₹10,000!

Register here: https://immersivetrails.com/heritageHunt

23/10/2023

Can you answer this question?

Sweet! Join our and get a chance to win ₹10,000!

Register here: https://immersivetrails.com/heritageHunt

23/10/2023

শুভ মহানবমী | Subho Mahanabami

Aww don't be sad already! How many pandals did you see this year? Any favourites?

29/04/2022

is a virtual experiences platform that will enable you to explore & learn about far away places from home. We are starting from , and would soon be spreading out to other places. Explore this beta website and let us know what you think!

Dekko is a virtual experiences platform that enables you to explore and learn about far away places from the comfort of your home.