Victoria

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Winter’s Kolkata

Full of restfulness

On the Memorial’s greens;

Some are active,

Busy clicking -

The marbled wonder

Wrapped in Makrana,

Victoria Memorial – our eastern Taj

(The professionals seek its reflection

In the Memorial tank)

 

But you fixate

At the very top –

The wings

The trumpet,

The laurel

Ah, the Goddess of Victory

You understand my curiosity

‘She alone was allowed

To disturb the illusion of symmetry’

Angel wings moving with the wind

 

‘But once in a while

Even the goddess is stuck

Against the whims of the universe’

I could see the angel reflected

In your shimmering eyes

‘But she stays –

Wings spread out,

Ushering hope in the metro’

Perhaps, the seraph smiles

That only few of us can see…


 

14th March, 2026

 

The Victoria Memorial in Kolkata was conceived after Queen Victoria’s death in 1901 by Lord Curzon, drawing inspiration from the Italian Renaissance style and the Taj Mahal. A magnificent example of Indo-Saracenic architecture built with Makrana marble, it beautifully blends grandeur with local artistry. Crowning the central dome is the Angel of Victory, a 16-foot, 3-ton bronze statue by British sculptor Lindsay Clarke. Representing Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory (the Greek Nike’s equivalent), she symbolizes triumph and peace. Though designed to rotate with the wind, the angel occasionally get stuck, from lightning though still silently watching over the city.


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