The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry: When capital was king. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

Calcutta may have reigned supreme as the country’s cultural capital from the 1930s to the early 1960s (a fact that we Calcuttans refuse to stop crowing about) but the British, who established the city, saw it as a money-spinning proposition.

The wonderful exhibition, Business in Old Calcutta, put up last week by the Society for Preservation, Calcutta, reminds us of this truth through a display of rare photographs and publicity material with informative captions.

Through the power of visuals, the exhibition builds a clear, if not complete, picture of commerce in a city which is desperately trying to gain back its place in the commercial pecking order. It begins with the establishment of the Dutch factory at Chinsurah in 1665, salt being transported from Hijli and Tamluk to Calcutta, a Hindu indigo factory, and tradespeople in a market where besides Europeans and “natives”, the Chinese have a noticeable presence. The illustrations are by Solvyns.

This is, of course, preceded by a short introduction on how the focus of trade shifted to eastern India, the Portuguese, Dutch, French, Jews, Armenians and the Danes gravitated to the city, but ultimately how the Brits succeeded in milking the country’s resources, thanks to their sharp business acumen.

The exhibition is divided into several sections, such as banians and entrepreneurs, business houses, banking, electricity and gas, hotels and restaurants and transport and communications. Dwarkanath Tagore, Rajendra Nath Mookerjee, whose home facing Harrington Street will be turned into a five-star hotel, and Motilal Seal — all well-known figures — feature prominently here. Managing agencies are covered extensively, but Indian businessmen such as GD Birla are given equal prominence.

We are reminded of indigenous enterprises such as Bengal Chemical by Acharya PC Ray, Bengal Immunity, Dwarkin (inventor of the small hand harmonium), Bhim Chandra Nag, KC Das, Ganguram and the photographic studio of TP Sen on Waterloo Street.

Among the rare pictures are a photograph of Metropolitan Building with Whiteway & Laidlaw inscribed under it, a clear shot of Continental Hotel, where Mark Twain stayed, and colour posters of Firpo’s and Peliti’s. The show is an eye-opener for those who grew up at a time when capital had fled Calcutta.