For 32 days between September 9 and October 11, 1900, Karl, some other crew members and 230 Waler horses travelled on the SS Bezwada cargo steamship from Australia to India.
The Bezwada navigated the River Hooghly to the port of Garden Reach, a southwestern neighbourhood of Kolkata. Upon arrival in India, Karl and the other hostlers were kept busy during the discharge duties with the horses, leaving their personal belongings unattended.
In a letter to the Montreal Star, Karl writes:
“Arrived at Garden Reach 5 miles from Calcutta On October 11th and immediately started getting the horses ashore and was sent to the compound just near the wharf to keep the animals separated from some that were already there and when noontime came, I was relieved and went on board again, going to where I had my bicycle tied up. I found some young Hindus from ashore had taken my straps out and divided all my belongings amongst them. Some of the lads had left the ship taking their share along, the others were about to go with theirs also when I discovered them. Of course I kept what was left and looking over the lot I was able to see what the other boys had taken. Half of my clothes were gone (all my socks, shirts, ties, collars etc.), also a lot of nick-nacks consisting of a collection of coins, two new inner tubes for the bicycle and some other things. I made a visit to the tailor* and was able to go into the city soon after.”
The horses that Karl cared for were moved to “Waler Corner”, where the Indian Army officials and Australian horse traders would meet next to the Grand Hotel in Kolkata. And while Karl arrived in India and promptly needed to find a Tailor,* my luggage arrived with me in India, so I made my way to the Grand Hotel.
The Grand Hotel is now the Oberoi Grand Hotel and was going to be my home base while exploring Kolkata. Before it was the Grand Hotel, it was a series of boarding houses owned by a stout Irish woman named Mrs Annie Monk. Annie arrived in Kolkata in the 1870s, and identifying an opportunity to offer housing for anyone staying in town on a temporary basis, she set up her business. Starting with the property at Number 13, Chowringhee road, her boarding house. Then she expanded her business to include number 14, 15 and later again, number 16 and 17. Mrs. Monk eventually retired back to Ireland in 1894 a very wealthy woman, but left the buildings to fall into disrepair.
The property— now considered a mansion— was purchased in 1911 by an investor from Armenia who transformed the boarding house into a hotel, calling it the Grand Hotel. The improvements were to enhance the hotel to be a luxurious location. After 25 years, the hotel was sold to Arathoon Stephen, a jeweller from Isfahan, Iran. The story is that Mr. Stephen could see diamonds in the rough and bought the property, keen to elevate it to be worthy of the name Grand Hotel.
Stephen died in 1927, but the hotel continued running successfully. That was until 1937, when the drainage system at the hotel was the source of a typhoid epidemic resulting in the death of six people at the hotel, including Stephen’s widow. The hotel was shut down. Two years later, Mohan Singh Oberoi —an Indian hotelier and the Oberoi Hotels & Resorts founder — bought the property.
After dropping my luggage in my room, my first order of business is to meet the hotel concierge. A good concierge is a gold mine of information; a reservoir of insider tips. Establishing this relationship has not only been critical of my travels following Karl’s journey, but is always a positive interaction that I relish.
Mr. Amitava Sarkar has been the concierge at the Grand Hotel for 41 years. He is as legendary in Kolkata as the Oberoi Grand Hotel is iconic. As dapper as he looks, wearing his trademark long back coat, his “Clef’s d’Or” pin on his lapel —two crossed golden keys— distinguishes Mr Sarkar as an elite concierge. Les Clefs d’Or translates to the “keys of gold”, signifying that the keys can open any door.
I arranged a personal tour of the property with Mr Sarkar as I was eager to learn more about the stories and history of the Oberoi Grand Hotel. We started at the bust of Arathoon Stephen, who set the vision for luxury at this property, employing the great woodworking artisans from Armenia to craft the Grand stairs of imported Burma teak. Mr Sarkar then guided me to a sitting area in the hotel and told me how the Grand Hotel was the first to serve ice! Sent to Kolkata from America, ice was used in hospitals but served as “ice water” for the wealthy guests of the Grand Hotel. We continued to stroll around the hotel, stopping to admire the marble fountain and Belgian handmade mouth-blown glass chandelier and take a photo together in an original Victorian mirror.
Mr. Sarkar’s pride in his place of work was evident in his knowledge of the property and the details in the interior design. But I was able to add new information to his repertoire concerning Walers Corner and Karl’s job as a hostler from Australia.
Today, Walers Corner is now part of the Chowringhee Road Market, a bustling intersection of hawkers, small shops, and food stands selling souvenirs, bags, designer knockoff clothing and snacks. The energy and chaos are overwhelming, and an utterly fascinating glimpse into life in Kolkata, foreshadowing our adventures to come.
*In India, having clothes made by a tailor is still common. Despite not needing new clothes, I wanted to experience this and found a shop recommended by my Uber driver. I was wearing an Indian tunic-style shirt and requested two more identical in style and size. I also asked for a complementary pair of pants. Choosing fabric was difficult as there were shelves of beautiful materials, so the owner suggested I buy more! So I made some decisions, and after the Tailor took some swift measurements, I was told to return two hours later to pick up my new perfectly fitted clothes.
Check out my recent travel feature about the Jems of Jordan
If you are new to the Karl Chronicles, get caught up on our expedition around the world! Start here with: 100 highlights from 100 Chronicles