A decrepit wooden bungalow that stands in the heart of Mumbai’s JJ School of Art holds a special pride of place in the sprawling campus. Apart from being amongst the oldest surviving structures in Mumbai, it is also associated with the Kipling family, which spent a significant part of its life in the city. Most importantly, The Jungle Book author Rudyard Kipling once confirmed during his later trips to Mumbai that he was born “a few yards away” from where the house stands today. This connection with the Nobel Prize-winning author has made the home a frequent talking point. Every now and then, the future of the over 100-year-old ‘Kipling Bungalow’, as it is commonly referred to, gets called into question. The structure has bravely stood the test of time as plans for its restoration have fallen through time and again.

Over the past few weeks, talk of putting the house to good use has been revived. State education and cultural affairs minister Vinod Tawde told a city tabloid that he plans to pump in funds to convert Kipling Bungalow into a tourist attraction. There may be another plan in the works as well. Smita Parikh, who recently organised Lit-o-Fest, a literature event, at JJ School, has a plan of her own. “Why not use this space to have events on literature, art and music? We can have free book readings for authors as well. I have spoken to the JJ School faculty and they are on board. This is also a great opportunity to highlight the JJ School as a heritage building,” she says, adding that she will be putting forth her proposal to the state culture department in the next few days.

There isn’t much enthusiasm about these plans within the college campus. “There’s just one speculation after another,” says one of the teachers. Given the number of plans that have fallen through, the scepticism is understandable. Professor M Dalvi of the architecture department points out that none of these plans are of any worth till the crumbling structure is conserved — a process that requires a fair amount of time, effort and money. “No matter what you wish to make of it, what comes first is conservation. It’s a matter of preserving it as it was. You have to get the building in shape, as close to its original design and intent. Only when that is done in the best manner possible can one see what use it can be put to,” he says.

A few years ago, conservation architect Vikas Dilawari was commissioned the responsibility to restore the property. The plan was to convert it into a museum, which would showcase the hundreds of rare paintings and artefacts lying with the arts department. The initiative even received financial support from Jindal Steel. Dilawari says he had started the groundwork, but the project never took off. He doesn’t comment on the exact reasons for the hold-up, but it is said there were issues with getting the requisite permissions. “It is unfortunate that no one has attended to the property. When something is not used in so long, the decay is much faster. It’ll be really sad if the building breaks down,” says Dilawari.

For years now the vacant bungalow has been under lock and key. Though one can occasionally spot foreign tourists surveying the property or a few students painting nearby, there isn’t much activity around it. It wasn’t always so. Till the late ’90s, the spacious bungalow was reserved for the dean of JJ’s fine arts department and his family. The deteriorating condition of the bungalow may have caused the break with this tradition.

Constructed in 1882, Kipling Bungalow is a rare example of the buildings of the time. “It is one of the last surviving examples of what we call the bungalow or ‘bangla’ style of architecture. The house has an internal core of stone or brick but is wrapped around by wood framework. It has deep, sloping roofs which protect it against our kind of tropical climate — harsh sun, lot of rain — and at the same time allows for sea breeze to pass through. Because of the manner in which it is designed, it’s already stood for 130 years,” explains Dalvi.

The front verandah of the two-storey structure is fitted with a bust of Rudyard Kipling and a plaque honouring him. This often misleads people into believing the home was the author’s birthplace. Various books on him confirm that while he did live on the campus after his father John Lockwood Kipling was appointed Master of Architectural Ornament, the family moved out years before the bungalow came up. Some teachers and students feel that if not for the Kipling connection, no one would have spared a thought about its fate.

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