At first sight they would appear to be uneasy bedfellows. On one side, English Heritage, the British government's advisory body with responsibility for the care and maintenance of the country's historic environment; on the other, the Marxist-led government of the Indian state of West Bengal.
But the two have, for the past few years, worked closely together drawing up plans for the restoration of the important and prolific British Raj architecture of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), capital city of the state.
The casual observer may also be surprised to learn that Kolkata has such a rich western heritage. After all, the city has, in the eyes of many, long been a by-word for poverty.
It was where Mother Teresa found her calling. Incidents during colonial rule, such as the black hole of Calcutta, laid the foundations for the negative British view of the city, and Rudyard Kipling did little to dispel it when he referred to Kolkata as the 'city of the dreadful night'.
But the real picture is somewhat subtler than the stereotypes would suggest. There is poverty, but West Bengal has one of the highest rates of literacy in the whole of India and is seen as the literary capital of the country.
As Philip Davies, the planning and development director (south) for English Heritage, says: 'In the 19th century this was known as the city of palaces and it remains one of the finest classical cities in the world. We've helped the authorities to stress its positive elements - there's been a huge change in attitude from 15 years ago.'
The government, which since independence had renamed streets and dispatched statues of British dignitaries beyond the city limits, now sees the regeneration of the city's neglected buildings as a means to promote its rich cultural and architectural traditions, as well as to project a more positive image.
'It's ironic that a Marxist government sees its colonial heritage as a way to secure the city's regeneration,' says Davies. 'But they don't have any great axe to grind and are being remarkably pragmatic and enthusiastic.'
Davies was invited to advise the city on how to best use and restore its colonial architecture. Working with colleagues at the London Rivers Association (LRA), which played a key role in the city's Millennium Park waterfront development, he has returned in the past two years to deliver workshops and strategies for regeneration.
His report, entitled Calcutta, the Gifted City, recommended tax breaks, sponsoring restoration projects, and schemes to encourage private restorations as possible fundraising methods. It also suggested the implementation of a state lottery as a means of raising the much-needed funds.
The city is, for the most part, a British creation, having been founded in 1686 by pioneers from the British East India Company. It is full of architectural gems built by its government and the British Empire that followed.
Today, more than 800 buildings are on a heritage list held by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, though the list of those under consideration tops 1,300.
There is a rare mixture of styles, tending to neo-classical, but also comprising arts and crafts movement and neo-gothic. They date to the 18th and 19th century, when Kolkata was the capital of the Raj.
But many are in disrepair, victims of the unyielding pressures of monsoon rains, factory pollution and the sheer weight of grime produced by a city of more than 11 million people. Benign neglect has compounded the problem.
There are large numbers of 18th- and 19th-century villas that have become embedded in the city's bazaars. Some form whole streets, particularly around Dalhousie Square.
Here too is the Corinthian facade of the Writers' Building, where the clerks of the East India Company once worked, and which now houses state government offices.
Other outstanding examples include the neo-gothic High Court with a tower 54-metres high. Constructed in 1872 by Walter Granville, it is one of the grandest Raj buildings in India.
The Tuscan-style town hall with its Doric features has been repaired and restored, as has Metcalfe Hall, a copy of the Temple of Winds in Athens, which was rejuvenated on a shoestring budget by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Many visitors' first impression of the area's architecture is when they arrive by train at the red brick Howrah Station, the city's singular example of a building in the style of the arts and crafts movement. Raj-era architecture has been described as a mixture of 'homesickness and arrogance'.
The homesickness is apparent in Government House - once home to the viceroys of India - which was built in the style of Kedlestone Hall in Derbyshire. Imperial guests included Winston Churchill, Noel Coward and George Mallory, on route to his fateful Everest expedition.
Inside the building is the throne of Tipu Sultan, an Indian ruler from the 18th-century who fought the power of the East India Company.
A key Victorian architectural gem is the city's Indian Museum, which is the oldest museum in India. It has more than 60 galleries, including sections on archaeology, art, anthropology, geology, zoology, industry and botany.
Built in 1874, the museum is home to some of India's finest treasures. The prevailing architectural style, again by Granville, is Italianate and the entrance hall is dominated by a Mauryan Lion Capital, the national symbol of India.
The city is also home to one of India's most important churches, St. Paul's Cathedral, which was completed in 1847. Its west window was by Birmingham-born artist Edward Burne-Jones.
More workshops from Davies are envisaged. But for now, much of the work is on hold while funds are raised. This may prove to be tricky, says Davies: 'The peculiar thing about conservation in India is that the momentum tends to come from the public sector.
To a certain extent that means digging into the public purse but we're trying to help them get the private sector involved.' Mj
Ongoing concerns
Work has taken place on the colossal Victoria Memorial (pictured). This marble monument to Queen Victoria is arguably the most dramatic of all Raj buildings in India.
Rising from a foundation stone laid by George V in 1906, it was completed in 1921 and at the time boasted the fifth largest dome in the world. It was designed in Italian Renaissance-Mughal style and built from Rajasthani white marble, taken from the same quarry that was used to build the Taj Mahal.
Today it is a museum, and exhibits include a piano that Queen Victoria played as a young girl. 'It's a huge landmark building but virtually nobody in the UK has heard of it,' says Davies. 'Some repairs have been done but it looks tired. It really needs to be cleaned and restored.'
And Robert Clive's house at Dum Dum, north of central Kolkata, is fast deteriorating into a dilapidated ruin. The house was built in 1757 following Clive's victory in the Battle of Plassey, and features the neo-classical style popular in England at the time.
Today the house stands on a hillock, surrounded by ever-encroaching development. The roof appears set to collapse at any time and trees have broken through the upper-storey windows.
Davies acknowledges it is unlikely to be restored to its full former glory: 'Even with the best will in the world, we are talking about keeping it as a consolidated ruin.'
But the two have, for the past few years, worked closely together drawing up plans for the restoration of the important and prolific British Raj architecture of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), capital city of the state.
The casual observer may also be surprised to learn that Kolkata has such a rich western heritage. After all, the city has, in the eyes of many, long been a by-word for poverty.
It was where Mother Teresa found her calling. Incidents during colonial rule, such as the black hole of Calcutta, laid the foundations for the negative British view of the city, and Rudyard Kipling did little to dispel it when he referred to Kolkata as the 'city of the dreadful night'.
But the real picture is somewhat subtler than the stereotypes would suggest. There is poverty, but West Bengal has one of the highest rates of literacy in the whole of India and is seen as the literary capital of the country.
As Philip Davies, the planning and development director (south) for English Heritage, says: 'In the 19th century this was known as the city of palaces and it remains one of the finest classical cities in the world. We've helped the authorities to stress its positive elements - there's been a huge change in attitude from 15 years ago.'
The government, which since independence had renamed streets and dispatched statues of British dignitaries beyond the city limits, now sees the regeneration of the city's neglected buildings as a means to promote its rich cultural and architectural traditions, as well as to project a more positive image.
'It's ironic that a Marxist government sees its colonial heritage as a way to secure the city's regeneration,' says Davies. 'But they don't have any great axe to grind and are being remarkably pragmatic and enthusiastic.'
Davies was invited to advise the city on how to best use and restore its colonial architecture. Working with colleagues at the London Rivers Association (LRA), which played a key role in the city's Millennium Park waterfront development, he has returned in the past two years to deliver workshops and strategies for regeneration.
His report, entitled Calcutta, the Gifted City, recommended tax breaks, sponsoring restoration projects, and schemes to encourage private restorations as possible fundraising methods. It also suggested the implementation of a state lottery as a means of raising the much-needed funds.
The city is, for the most part, a British creation, having been founded in 1686 by pioneers from the British East India Company. It is full of architectural gems built by its government and the British Empire that followed.
Today, more than 800 buildings are on a heritage list held by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, though the list of those under consideration tops 1,300.
There is a rare mixture of styles, tending to neo-classical, but also comprising arts and crafts movement and neo-gothic. They date to the 18th and 19th century, when Kolkata was the capital of the Raj.
But many are in disrepair, victims of the unyielding pressures of monsoon rains, factory pollution and the sheer weight of grime produced by a city of more than 11 million people. Benign neglect has compounded the problem.
There are large numbers of 18th- and 19th-century villas that have become embedded in the city's bazaars. Some form whole streets, particularly around Dalhousie Square.
Here too is the Corinthian facade of the Writers' Building, where the clerks of the East India Company once worked, and which now houses state government offices.
Other outstanding examples include the neo-gothic High Court with a tower 54-metres high. Constructed in 1872 by Walter Granville, it is one of the grandest Raj buildings in India.
The Tuscan-style town hall with its Doric features has been repaired and restored, as has Metcalfe Hall, a copy of the Temple of Winds in Athens, which was rejuvenated on a shoestring budget by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Many visitors' first impression of the area's architecture is when they arrive by train at the red brick Howrah Station, the city's singular example of a building in the style of the arts and crafts movement. Raj-era architecture has been described as a mixture of 'homesickness and arrogance'.
The homesickness is apparent in Government House - once home to the viceroys of India - which was built in the style of Kedlestone Hall in Derbyshire. Imperial guests included Winston Churchill, Noel Coward and George Mallory, on route to his fateful Everest expedition.
Inside the building is the throne of Tipu Sultan, an Indian ruler from the 18th-century who fought the power of the East India Company.
A key Victorian architectural gem is the city's Indian Museum, which is the oldest museum in India. It has more than 60 galleries, including sections on archaeology, art, anthropology, geology, zoology, industry and botany.
Built in 1874, the museum is home to some of India's finest treasures. The prevailing architectural style, again by Granville, is Italianate and the entrance hall is dominated by a Mauryan Lion Capital, the national symbol of India.
The city is also home to one of India's most important churches, St. Paul's Cathedral, which was completed in 1847. Its west window was by Birmingham-born artist Edward Burne-Jones.
More workshops from Davies are envisaged. But for now, much of the work is on hold while funds are raised. This may prove to be tricky, says Davies: 'The peculiar thing about conservation in India is that the momentum tends to come from the public sector.
To a certain extent that means digging into the public purse but we're trying to help them get the private sector involved.' Mj
Ongoing concerns
Work has taken place on the colossal Victoria Memorial (pictured). This marble monument to Queen Victoria is arguably the most dramatic of all Raj buildings in India.
Rising from a foundation stone laid by George V in 1906, it was completed in 1921 and at the time boasted the fifth largest dome in the world. It was designed in Italian Renaissance-Mughal style and built from Rajasthani white marble, taken from the same quarry that was used to build the Taj Mahal.
Today it is a museum, and exhibits include a piano that Queen Victoria played as a young girl. 'It's a huge landmark building but virtually nobody in the UK has heard of it,' says Davies. 'Some repairs have been done but it looks tired. It really needs to be cleaned and restored.'
And Robert Clive's house at Dum Dum, north of central Kolkata, is fast deteriorating into a dilapidated ruin. The house was built in 1757 following Clive's victory in the Battle of Plassey, and features the neo-classical style popular in England at the time.
Today the house stands on a hillock, surrounded by ever-encroaching development. The roof appears set to collapse at any time and trees have broken through the upper-storey windows.
Davies acknowledges it is unlikely to be restored to its full former glory: 'Even with the best will in the world, we are talking about keeping it as a consolidated ruin.'
