It was in 1777 that this cemetery, located at 105 Abul Kalam Azad Sarani, had started to function. Curiously enough, the earliest grave belongs to that a Greek businessman named Alexander! In 1771, Alexander Argeery was sent to Cairo by Warren Hastings on a diplomatic mission to obtain permission for British merchants to trade with Egypt. Once he managed to do that, he was rewarded by Hastings with a permission to build a Greek church in Amratollah Street. Eventually, he shifted his business to Dhaka, where he died on August 5, 1777. Later, his body was buried at this Phoolbagan cemetery on August 7, 1777. Built on 26 cottah of land, this cemetery is now home to some 300 odd graves. Caretaker Basanta Das, whose grandfather and father also worked here, says this includes even those that don’t have a tombstone. Even when some Greeks died in other India cities and were buried there, their tombstones were erected here. That has been done so that memorial services for all Greeks in India could be collectively held here,” says Raphael. #greekchurch #kolkatabuzz #kolkataarchitecture #sokolkata #onlykolkata #hellokolkata #calcutta_ig #ig_calcutta #kolkatasutra #calcuttacacophony (at Kankurgachhi, Kolkata) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFhTSXTF8Rj/?igshid=b1opvlk96sdx
