World Heritage Week: Mumbai's historic sites in need of preservation

Ghadiyal GodiMumbai is laden with some of the most sophisticated innovative and beautiful clock towers Each clock has a story to tell Many treasures are scattered and hidden across the urbanscape They need to be conserved and rehabilitated to continue to serve the city as beacons of time and also as spaces that can be preserved and adaptively reused by peopleOnce such lost treasure lies in the Victoria and Prince Docks on P DrsquoMello Road locally called Ghadiyal Godi Erected in 1891 this clocktower is unique as it contained a lsquotimeballrsquo a timesignalling device in maritime navigation used by navigators to check and set their chronometers The timeball stopped functioning the day of the Bombay Dock Explosions in 1944To restore and bring back to working order the lsquotimeballrsquo would resurrect and celebrate its significance in Bombay maritime history Restoration of the Malad stone and Basalt building from its dilapidated and neglected state to a museum space containing Mumbai maritime history would reestablish its role as a city landmark and the role it played in the development of the port city and as a gateway to IndiaNandini Somaya Sampat principal architectSNK Somaya amp Kalappa ConsultantsPrecinctsFlora Fountain or Hutatma Chowk in Bombay India by Bourne and Shephard1880s Pics CourtesyWikimedia CommonsWe cannot save the heritage of a city if we only look at individual buildings Mumbai like the best of heritage cities in the world is a city of precincts Each precinct is distinguished by the specific style of its architecture and its urban characteristics mdash the uniformity of its building lines its footprint the heights of the buildings and the floor heights We look at precincts as loosely connected horizontals and therein we see the urban harmoniesThis makes it a very fragile ensemble given the ravages of the ravenous realestate monster One building gone and the entire precinct loses its character forever Look at the building lines on the eastern side of the Flora Fountain Plaza and you can see the beginning of the end Marine Drive despite its UNESCO World Heritage Site status is one building away from disfigurement Sometimes one gets the feeling that there is no Heritage Oversight Committee in MumbaiMustansir Dalvi architect professor of architecture poetAlso ReadBombay Rewind Replay Silent sentinels of World War I in the cityOld Cinema HallsItrsquos essential to remember Mumbairsquos status as the cinema capital of India Irsquom especially nostalgic about its Art Deco theatres Some of these have evolved into multiplexes restaurants or shopping centres to survive and therersquos nothing wrong with that Fortunately venues like the Royal Opera House Eros Liberty and Regal have been restored and maintainedCapitol cinema in Fort a view of Paradise cinema in Mahim File PicsI recently visited Capitol cinema and was struck by its current state imagining its past splendour Unfortunately government regulations restrict its use for alternative purposes Sadly some old cinemas like Deepak Cinema Matterden in Lower Parel and Paradise Cinema in Mahim had to bring their curtains down Preserving these historical venues is crucial for maintaining Mumbairsquos cinematic heritageAnother deserving monument is the Ghadiyal Godi Clock Tower which unfortunately stands in a state of neglect and disrepair Restoring it would not only preserve our heritage but also celebrate our cityrsquos rich maritime historyBrinda Miller fine artist Honorary chairKala Ghoda Association Honorary festival director Kala Ghoda Arts FestivalDadar TT Circle and Sion CircleMumbairsquos earliest planned suburbs boast three major roundabouts the Dadar TT circle Kingrsquos Circle and Sion Circle These junctions are defining landmarks and buzzing public plazas boasting wide footpaths lined with shops and restaurantsKingrsquos Circle Pic CourtesyJehangir Sorabjee Above BombayThe Reinforced Concrete Cement RCCframed buildings defining the edges of each of these junctions are of identical design with their heights and facades regulated by the Bombay City Improvement Trust thus lending a distinct character and massing to each junction As a significant urban design exercise in the 1930s these circles serve as crucial landmarks even todayOver time these buildings have been subject to insensitive and indiscriminate interventions which have disrupted the sense of order in the buildings surrounding each of these junctions and have diluted their character particularly at Kingrsquos Circle and Sion CircleThese three roundabouts could be taken up for sensitive regeneration to reestablish their suburban preeminence In contrast Horniman Circle which was a similar urban design exercise from an earlier historical period sees its 19th Century buildings well preserved today Mumbairsquos modern 20th Century heritage deserves the same level of sensitivityAtul Kumar founderArt Deco MumbaiWatsonrsquos HotelThe faccedilade of Watsonrsquos HotelFollowing the listing of the Victorian Gothic Oval Maidan and Art Deco precinct as a UNESCO World Heritage Site there is one structure which stands just behind the Victorian Gothic ensemble desperately in need of restoration the former Watsonrsquos Hotel Esplanade Mansion It was listed with a high grade as far back as 1995 for its uniqueness as Indiarsquos first castiron structureAmazingly the columns and beams were shipped in from the UK and the building was more or less assembled as you would a prefabricated structure today In its time it was also not only elegant but patronised as the finest hotel in Bombay until it was eclipsed by the newlybuilt Taj Mahal Hotel Sadly the building has been misused abused and fallen into disrepair Bringing it back to life is not only urgent but would add another jewel to the crown of the Victorian Gothic ensemble which it adjoinsCyrus Guzder entrepreneur culture and arts philanthropist