He was around 250 years old and has witnessed the history of India like no one. If he could talk, he would have told many stories, but unfortunately he was a tortoise. Robert Clive’s pet tortoise, Addwaitya died in Calcutta this week.
“Historical records show he was a pet of British general Robert Clive of the East India Company and had spent several years in his sprawling estate before he was brought to the zoo about 130 years ago,” West Bengal Forest Minister Jogesh Barman said.
“We have documents to prove that he was more than 150 years old, but we have pieced together other evidence like statements from authentic sources and it seems that he is more than 250 years old,” he said.
The minister said details about Addwaitya’s early life showed that British sailors had brought him from the Seychelles islands and presented him to Clive, who was rising fast in the East India Company’s military hierarchy. [Tortoise that saw Sepoy Mutiny dies]
Amazing news. But one wonders why Calcutta is the centre for things from a different age