Undoubtedly, the precinct around the offices and colony of the South Eastern Railway (SER) at Garden Reach, Kolkata is the most historic railway property in India. Its legacy predates the period of the 1890's, when this area was handed over to the erstwhile Bengal Nagpur Railway (BNR) the predessor of SER, for its headquarters. In the mansions and bungalows of the railway colony one can find the residence of Sir William Jones, founder of the Asiatic Society, the riverside abode of Rudyard Kipling where he stayed and wrote for a while and the building which once upon a time, housed the offices of the iconic Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. The present residence of the General Manager of SER (BNR House) was once the home of the exiled Nawab of Oudh, Wajid Ali Shah!
Saibal Bose, the author,a heritage loving railway officer, lived in one of these houses. Along with haunting black and white photos of these relics, spanning almost two centuries of the railway and earlier, he regales the tales of those times and those of today.