Who would have guessed that underneath the deceptive milky veneer of pain on Shahid Minar lies a bronze metal structure? Kolkata's Pride, Shahid Minar is the city's oldest monument bearing an age of 184 years.

This rediscovery of the monument's dome being built in bronze had happened a fortnight ago while the dome showed hints of blue on the dome. However the people who noticed it thought it was being renovated to make CM Mamatha Banerjee's dream of a blue city come true. But the workers who were employed in the renovation were shocked to discover the metal when paint from the monument was scraped off as a part of the renovations.

Many people reacted to the appalling discovery of the "new crown” of the city. One Arijit Das Gupta excitedly spoke about the dome saying that it looked fabulous. He wondered “ who could have thought of painting the metal white and distort the natural color and lustre".

For a common man to not know about the history of the minar is not surprising but even historians like Barun De and writer Shanker were equally shocked to learn of the bronze cap that belied the white paint. 80-year old De has quoted that “Rediscovering heritage is a joy and this incident reminds me of discovering the hidden first floor of town hall during its renovation".

AW- Anil