About

The Golghar is a massive granary devised by Captain John Garstin of Bengal Engineers and constructed in 1786 in Patna, the capital city of Bihar. The depository, having a capacity of 140000 tonnes, was built after the orders of Warren Hastings who was the Governor-General of India at that time. It was just part of a plan to store grains in case of famines with the idea of building a chain of storehouses, but ultimately only one was made, the Golghar.

It is a dome shaped structure reaching up to a height of 29 metres. The top of the Golghar can be reached using one of two 145-step spiral staircases. The access to the apex is made spiral in order to make it easier and faster for workers to reach there. There is only one door to the building, on the south.

The structure was constructed using brick and lime mortar. It stands on a platform about 40cm in height. The wall thickness at the base is 3.6m. The pillar-less beehive-shaped structure was designed by John Garstin of the Bengal Engineers, part of the East India Company's Bengal Army.

Apart from being a repository, this simple yet stunning structure presents an amazing panoramic view of the entire city and the nearby Ganges.

Constructed in:	18th century CE
Height:	29 m
Base:	39.9m x 39.9m

History

Bengal and Bihar have been subject to frequent famines and droughts from the eighteenth century through to the mid twentieth century, with the famine of 1943 being the most recent crisis.

A devastating drought, followed by an outbreak of smallpox in 1768, decimated the population of the Bengal and Bihar provinces by an estimated ten million. The situation was exacerbated by the prevailing taxation policies and customs restrictions.

The granary was constructed under the General Plan ordered by the Governor-General and Council on 20th of January, 1784.

The intent was to develop a series of such granaries, but only one was ever built.

Trivia

John Garstin later designed the Town Hall in Calcutta.

An incomplete inscription on the granary wall states "First filled and publickly closed by". The name and date for that are not included in the inscription.

John Garstin later designed the Town Hall in Calcutta.

The structure of the building led it to becoming a fantastic whispering gallery where the tiniest of whispers was acoustically amplified by echoes.