Dalrymple seeks law to protect city's old buildings from

Eminent Scottish historian William Dalrymple said he likes to wander through the by-lanes of Kolkata that are dotted with old buildings, many of which are crumbling and need legal protection from demolition.

On a visit here during the launch of his latest title 'The Anarchy', Dalrymple told PTI that the city's history may fade into oblivion if proper measures were not taken to preserve the old private buildings.

"I walked to see the Clive's House at Dum Dum, I walked to Victoria Memorial, I walked down Chowringhee.... I have been to Chandernagore (in Hooghly district) where my family came from. I have Bengali blood," he said.

In a 2016 interview, the historian said his great- grandfather Walter was born in Kolkata as recently as a century ago, and so he is "part-Bengali".

Dalrymple, the writer of 2009 non-fiction bestseller 'Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India', said there was never any central planning in Kolkata in the past.

The city was a chaotic place .