Thursday, November 6, 2014

Prince of Wales Museum building completes 100 yrs

Prince of Wales Museum building completes 100 yrs



One of the most beautiful public buildings in the city, a feather in the cap of Mumbai’s architectural landscape, is celebrating its centenary year. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum, does not ask or receive a penny from the government, yet it is one of the best maintained heritage buildings in the city. The celebrations start on Friday, November 7, with a lecture ‘Continuity and Change’ by British architect John McAslan CBE.
It was British architect George Wittet, who designed the Gateway of India, who crafted this marvel in 1914. Its pearly round dome was inspired by the Gol Gumbaz of Bijapur, the expansive gardens reminiscent of Mughal royalty, while the octagonal wooden arched pavilion was part of an 18th century wada (mansion) near Nashik.
Director Sabyasachi Mukherjee, who has been at the helm of affairs for eight years, says, “The museum is one of the finest examples of Indo-Saracenic architecture, a style that is a blend of Hindu, Islamic and Western elements. The building is similarly secular in spirit given that we continue to receive support from various communities. The governor of Bombay had agreed to give this semi-circular Crescent Site on condition that an autonomous body of citizens would take responsibility for its maintenance.” Over a million visitors from all parts of India arrive each year. It is a challenge to maintain a building of its age and scale, particularly since it houses precious paintings and artefacts, yet the structure and surroundings remain original. Conservation architects and corporate houses all combine forces.
Over the years, Mumbaikars have had reason to cheer the museum. The authorities have painstakingly restored worn-out paintings, opened a gallery on the Indus Valley Civilisation and exhibited an Egyptian mummy. “It is a pleasure to see this old building hit a century in a time when new structures are not likely to last half as long,” says conservation architect Vikas Dilawari.

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