Calcutta (Kolkata), the City of Palaces, not too long ago lacked any heritage law which could ensure the protection of historical buildings.
Thus many such buildings did not survive the passage of time. Not because they had become structurally weak but because people who had no sense or care for history decided to vandalize them by pulling them down. The city lost many majestic buildings. Calcutta University Senate Hall, the Bank of Bengal building on Strand Road and the Bengal Club on Chowringhee disappeared within a span of two decades!
Bank of Bengal
When the turn of the historic Town Hall came, people who cared for Calcutta and her heritage rallied around Professor Nisith Ranjan Ray, the then Secretary & Curator, Victoria Memorial Hall, to build up public opinion against the demolition. Eminent personalities like Satyajit Ray, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Professor Bhabatosh Datta extended their support to the cause. The authorities had no other choice but to abandon the move.
Professor Nisith Ranjan Ray
And so was born the Society for Preservation of Archival Materials and Monuments of Calcutta in 1980 with Hiranmay Banerjee, I.C.S. (Retd.) as its first President. Professor Ray, the man behind the spirit, became its first Secretary. He later became its President and held the position till his demise in 1994. Professor Nemai Sadhan Bose, Amiya Gooptu and Professor Pradip Sinha succeeded him as President.
The Society’s logo is a symbol of what it stands for – protecting and preserving the city’s historic past and its values.