The Hindu Business Line : Kipling’s birth place to get a new lease of life

Mumbai, Oct 7 Rudyard Kipling’s legacy lives on. The century-and-a-half-old wood and stone building tucked away in the dense green sprawl of Sir J.J. School of Art, where he was born, is slated for restoration and conversion into a museum, courtesy a steel-maker.

In the midst of an urban concrete now, the school, in existence since 1857, was started with the donation of Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy. And, has been imparting quality education of fine arts in India for over 150 years.

John Lockwood Kipling occupied the Dean’s bungalow, where Kipling was born, when in charge of the modelling department from 1865 to 1880. A tablet on the building, says Rudyard Kipling was born on December 30, 1865.

Adding a twist to the tale, it is said that on May 12, 1917, the first historic meeting was held in its confines, then known as ‘Mr King’s Bungalow’ (associated with H. Foster King - then Principal of the School and later partner with the firm of Gregson, Batley, King), to mark the beginning of what is today’s Indian Institute of Architects. The bungalow is an excellent example of how the British attempted to blend English architecture with the local building style, says conservation architect, Vikas Dilawari, who is in charge of the restoration job.

The bungalow was designed in the English Vernacular Gothic style, a prevalent style of domestic architecture in England in the 1850s. The Gothic elements are seen in the pointed arch openings and the windows. Quatrefoil decorations adorn the porches. The Vernacular Gothic aspect is seen in the half-timber construction. The profuse use of exposed structural elements almost gives it a ‘carpenter style’ look.

The European style incorporated some Indian elements such as Mangalore tiled roofs, the deep overhangs and lattice work on the verandahs. Also, instead of the usual Gothic tracery, intricate wooden jalis were utilised, no doubt in response to the tropical sun. In alignment with the longitudinal centre line of the building, two fountains are on either side.

In disuse

With the vagaries of weather taking its toll, the building has fallen into disuse. Dilawari says for any historic building an adaptive reuse is the best form of prolonging its life. In case of this building, it is best to have a museum as that respects the “fabric”. Jindal South West Foundation, the social development arm of the steel maker, JSW Steel Ltd, first helped restart the foundry at the school. It has now come forward to foot a Rs 4-crore bill for the restoration exercise.

Popular artist, Suhas Bahulkar, an ex-faculty of the school, has been assigned the task of documenting the invaluable collection of sculptures and paintings at the school, which include works of Satawlekar, Laxman Shreshtha Abalal Rehman and Deuskar, besides those of Mhatre, Jog, Khanvilkar, Vithal and Kamat.

Sangita Jindal, Chairperson, JSW Foundation, said over 2,000 paintings required restoration. They would be displayed in the museum.

The restoration work would be completed in two years and the museum would have a separate enclosure to showcase some artefacts of Kipling such as a bust, besides the paintings.

With JJ School coming under the Maharashtra Government’s heritage regulation for Greater Bombay 1995, the State has agreed to permit JSW to carry out the job within the regulatory framework.

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