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  • European grandeur, Indian warmth

    European grandeur, Indian warmth
    Mansi Choksi, TNN, Feb 10, 2011, 04.35am IST



    MUMBAI: Bombay House, the stately headquarters of the Tata Group and
    the first symbol of powerful Indian entrepreneurship in British India,
    has silently watched the commercial district in Fort turboboost around
    it for more than eight decades.

    The four-storey neo-classical Edwardian structure that was built in
    Malad stone and completed in 1924 under the supervision of architect
    George Wittet (who has designed some of the city's best-known
    landmarks like the Prince of Wales Museum, the Gateway of India and
    the King Edward Memorial Hospital) was where "one could walk in to see
    the graceful rise of corporate India".

    "It had the grandeur of a European office with road bollards and
    signage, tall ceilings and spacious rooms. But it had an Indian warmth
    to it too," says city historian Deepak Rao.

    Bombay House was built after a plot of 2,365 square yards was put up
    for sale by the Bombay Municipality in 1905 and the growing Tata Group
    found it difficult to accommodate its staff in the nearby Navsari
    building.

    While Bombay House escaped the wrath of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena
    (MNS), the streets around it went through their share of name
    changing. The road on which the building stands used to be known as
    Bruce Street (after a municipal official in the 1890s), while the
    adjoining bylane was called Armenian Street (an ode to Armenian
    settlers in the area). "After independence, the main street was
    renamed Sir Homi Mody Street, and the bylane Sir Homi Mody Cross Lane
    after the founding director of the Tata group, who was also the
    governor of United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) and a dear friend of
    Nehru," says Rao.

    Till the Khalistan movement in 1980s, Bombay House was true to its
    name, open for the city. "It was a thrill to enter; the pathan at the
    door would never halt you. You could walk in, meet an old friend and
    catch up in the canteen," he says.

    Historian Sharada Dwivedi, who coauthored Bombay, the Cities Within,
    says that on the insistence of Jamsetji Tata, the building was
    designed to prioritize the comfort of employees. "The rooms are
    spacious, no part of the building is cluttered," she says, adding that
    she was surprised by Wednesday's accident as properties owned by the
    Tata group are known to be meticulously maintained.

    But according to conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah, who has
    served on the Mumbai Heritage Committee, most heritage sites are
    recipes for disasters. She remembers Bombay House for its precious
    contemporary Indian artwork and a silver tray service when it doubled
    up as a venue for the first few meetings for the Kala Ghoda
    Association.

    "Most heritage properties in this city are a living risk, they are
    fire hazards and are endangered with electrical short-circuiting," she
    says adding that when a fire broke out at the General Post Office in
    the mid-1990s, there was talk of heritage upgradation.

    "But this city suffers from short-term memory loss," she says.

    Read more: European grandeur, Indian warmth - The Times of India
    http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/European-grandeur-Indian-warmth/articleshow/7464140.cms#ixzz1De9V4Uj3




    From: A. Papazian
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