[1][2][3] He had thought that the Lascars were a tribe or nation, like the Cherokee or Sioux: he discovered now that they came from places that were far apart, and had nothing in common, except the Indian Ocean; among them were Chinese and East Africans, Arabs and Malays, Bengalis and Goans, Tamils and Arakanese.A lascar (Lashkar, Laskar) (Persian: لشکر) and (Bengali:লস্কর) was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian Subcontinent or other countries east of the Cape of Good Hope, employed on European ships from the 16th century until the beginning of the 20th century.

A typical Indian look has been given by adding wavy lines beneath the projected balcony, which symbolises waves, along with chhajjas and trellises.

[1] The memorial built in the Indo-Mughal style by William Ingram Keir, who also designed the Kidderpore Bridge, buildings at Bengal Engineering and Science University in Shibpur, the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, and Islamia College, and also replaced the 1934 earthquake affected spire of St. Paul's Cathedral, Kolkata with a tower.

In 1994, commodore B K Mohanti spotted the ruined and neglected Lascar War Memorial overgrown with vegetation during his morning walk.

Dias, then Governor of West Bengal, switched on the illumination on 7 December 1994[1] on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of INS Netaji Subhas.

The event consisted of several book reading sections, a debate on the topic "Is Kolkata still the cultural capital of India" and a music band session.

Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival also featured the live performance of traditional baul singers and poto chitra artists.