Royal Opera House restored to old glory
The Opera House is built in a baroque design featuring a blend of European and Indian architectural styles
The heritage building in Mumbai closed down years ago, now finds solace in its new avatar and an increased recognition by UNESCO.
Situated on Charni Road, near Girgaum Chowpatti Beach, the Royal Opera House in Mumbai is a British colonial structure and the only surviving opera house in India. However, the story could have been different if it was not restored to its former glory, following the public closure in 1993.
Originally, the foundation stone was laid during the British Raj in 1909 while King George V inaugurated the building in 1911. At that time, the building was still under construction. The final structure of the Royal Opera House was unveiled in 1912, although additional constructions were made to the building upto 1915.
However, years of negligence finally led to its closure in 1993 with restoration work beginning late in 2008. The exterior restoration was completed in 2011 while the entire restoration process was completed only a year back.
It was in 2017 that the Opera house in Mumbai has been conferred with an Award of Merit in the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. Ashish Doshi, Director of the heritage site, said to a local daily that they had taken up a challenge when they decided to restore the place, but pictures taken by an Australian journalist in 1914 helped them replicate the structure in toto. “The award will help us strengthen the vision we have for Mumbai and achieve our goals faster. We want to make the Royal Opera House the city’s cultural hub,” Doshi said.
Royal Opera House #Mumbai
The only surviving Opera house in Mumbai & has been honoured with @UNESCO Award for Heritage Conservation post its restoration work pic.twitter.com/fNUq7H2saX— Indian Diplomacy (@IndianDiplomacy) November 8, 2017
While restoring the building, architect Abha Narain Lambah ensured that while history was being revived, she also had to provide facilities such as modern acoustics, sound, lighting and air conditioning to visitors. Lambah said the award is a testament to the faith that the Maharaja of Gondal, who owns the building, had in the restoration process. “In a city like Mumbai, there are many heritage sites, but not enough government funding to conserve them. The owners of this place didn’t want to compromise on quality and maintain the cultural heritage as well. The award is a validation of their faith,” she added.
“Its latest addition, The Quarter, invites patrons into four sectionals that cleverly include heritage motifs in a contemporary sense,” reports Architectural Digest. The 102-year-old building has been re-designed to incorporate an art deco-style jazz bar for live jazz performances; an in-house walled vertical garden for dining; a café and a dedicated section for drinks. The sections are named, Live, Dine, Café, Drink, respectively.
Maharani Kumud Kumari of Gondal thanked Lambah’s team and said it was their efforts that yielded results. She said that she was extremely pleased to see the efforts bearing fruitful results and that the UNESCO heritage award would only prove that their efforts to preserve art, culture and education are sincere.
