In repairing this grand building, we are doing what Seth Byramjee Jeejeebhoy would have expected of his heirs,” says Rustom Byramjee, trustee, Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Parsee Charitable Institution (BJPCI), about the recently restored school building in Gothic Revival style that has stood opposite Charni Road Railway Station since 1908.

Founded by late Seth Jeejeebhoy in 1891, it was principally to promote education among the economically weaker sections. The campus designed by Khan Bahadur Muncherji C Murzban, master builder of landmark public buildings, is a lesson in visionary zeal. “He was a sensitive engineer who factored in the site’s proximity to the sea and created sufficient open space around,” shares Vikas Dilawari, the conservation architect behind the effort. During our walkthrough, Dilawari and school coordinator Vaishali Mhatre, recall the challenges.