‘We could go to the zoo; that’s one way to find out. Or we could go via Corporation Street. The municipal building has its crest on the front wall. There’s a picture of a scavenger bird in it. I can show it to you.’

‘Do you still call it Corporation Street?’ Lalmohan Babu asked with a smile.

‘Oh sorry. It’s got a new name, hasn’t it? I meant Suren Banerjee ...’.

Feluda stopped. The look in his eyes had changed. He fished out his notebook from his pocket and took a quick look. Then he began to fidget as the waiter had not yet brought our bill. ‘Waiter!’ Feluda called impatiently, which was rather unusual for him.

When the bill had been finally brought and paid, we got back to the car at once. Feluda told the driver where to go. As soon as we reached Suren Banerjee Road, Feluda began looking at the number of each building. Not all of them had a number clearly displayed—an unfortunate feature of houses in Calcutta. ‘Keep going,’ he told the driver, ‘Topshe, if you can spot 141, tell me immediately.’

Suddenly, I remembered something. 141 SNB. Surendra Nath Banerjee. My heart began beating faster.

‘Look! There’s 141.’

The car stopped. There was a sign outside the building. ‘Bourne & Shepherd,’ it said. BS! We had found it.

Lalmohan Babu and I went in with Feluda. There was a lift to go upstairs. As we emerged, we found ourselves in a reception area on the first floor. One of the staff came forward to greet us. Feluda hesitated a little before he asked a question. Whatever he said was bound to sound foolish.

‘Er ... do you have any pictures of Victoria?’ he said finally.

‘The Victoria Memorial?’

‘No, Queen Victoria.’

‘I’m afraid not. We’ve got pictures of only those who came to India. There’s Edward VIII, when he was the Prince of Wales, and George V, the Delhi Durbar ...’

‘Their photos are still available?’

‘Yes, but there’s no ready-made print. We have the negatives, so prints can be made from those if anyone places an order. We’ve got all the negatives of photos taken since 1854.’

‘What! 1854?’

‘Bourne & Shepherd is the world’s second oldest photographic studio.’

‘But that means you’ve got thousands and thousands of negatives!’

‘Yes. If you come with me, sir, I can show you everything. See that photo hanging on the wall? It was taken from the top of the Monument in 1880.’

I hadn’t noticed it so far, but now my eyes went straight to it. The photo probably measured 1’ x 5’. It showed Calcutta as she had appeared almost a hundred years ago from the Monument. There was Dalhousie Square, the Esplanade, and then it stretched northward, offering an unbroken view. The church spires rose over every other building. Not a single highrise was anywhere in sight. It was a quiet and peaceful city, there could be no doubt about that.