 "Rajabai Clock Tower")
It took merely Rs 2 lakh and nine years for stockbroker Premchand Roychand to have the Rajabai Clock Tower up and running in 1878. However 134 years later, the budget and the research that has gone into the restoration of this historic landmark has gone up manifold. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has already put in six years of research and committed Rs 4.2 crore towards the cost of repair of Mumbai's iconic tower. If all goes according to plan, the south Mumbai skyline will again feature a spruced up clock tower, restored to its original glory.
"The restoration of the Rajabai Clock Tower and the University Library Building began in June 2013, and we hope to complete it before the monsoon of 2014," says Brinda Somaya, whose architectural firm, Somaya & Kalappa, has been given the contract to complete the restoration project. Somaya has been extremely vocal about the need to restore historic, built-environments around the country.
The restoration work involves structural strengthening of the roof trusses, structural stitching, repairing of damaged stones, doors, windows and statues, specialised stone cleaning, waterproofing and reversal of undesirable interventions.
Being a heritage site, any kind of repair and restoration work requires permissions from the Heritage Structure Committee and the Archaeology Department. "We have received the Municipal Heritage Conservation Committee permission after several detailed and comprehensive presentations to the panel," says Somaya. As for adhering to the Ancient Monuments and Architect Act, and Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, she says, "we use the best implementable conservation methods".
The idea for restoring the 86-metre high structure, located in the Fort campus of Mumbai University, first took root in 2006, but was put off due to shortage of funds. But in January this year, TCS signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mumbai University for the restoration of the tower and the adjacent university library in collaboration with the Indian Heritage Society.
"The Rajabai Clock Tower and the library are iconic architectural landmarks of south Mumbai and TCS is proud to work with the Indian Heritage Society to restore this heritage structure," said N Chandrasekaran, CEO and managing director, TCS, at the time of signing of the MoU.
The restoration work has been very challenging, especially because of the height of the tower, "We also have to work within the time and budget as the University Library Building is a much-used facility of the Mumbai University," says Somaya.
It is said that the Rajabai Clock Tower was built so that Premchand Roychand's mother, who was losing her eyesight, would hear the chime and have her dinner before dark, according to the Jain tradition. He donated Rs 2 lakh, a hefty sum then, on the condition that the clock tower be named after his mother Rajabai.
The tower was designed by an English architect, George Gilbert Scott, who also designed iconic structures like the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London. It's no surprise then that being an Englishman he fashioned the tower along the lines of Big Ben, the clock tower at the palace of Westminster. The Rajabai Clock Tower reflects Gothic and Venetian style of architecture, and was built with Malad and Porbandar stones along with Burmese teak wood.
The Guardian rates George Gilbert Scott as "the most prolific architect of his age, and possibly of all time, and also the most unsung". He designed 800 buildings and oversaw hundreds more restorations across continents.
The Roychand family had its origins in Surat. The stockbroker's family moved to Bombay when he was still a child. Though little is known about his early life, it is said that he entered the lists as a stockbroker at the age of 18. He is recorded as the first Indian broker who could speak, read and write English. He soon became one of the most prominent personalities associated with the financial markets of his time and the business communities, especially in the cotton and bullion markets. Roychand was also one of the founder members of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Today the business he founded is clustered in the Premchand Roychand and Sons (PRS) group with interests in finance, investment and industry.
