Posts
HM Aravind, TNN Oct 31, 2012, 09.07PM IST
MYSORE: The University of Mysore is making amends. After years of neglect, the ornate Oriental Research Institute (ORI) building is getting a facelift. The powerhouse of oriental knowledge that is in disarray with leaky roof and mossy walls is being fixed by the varsity.
The 111-years-old classical building's restoration has a unique feature: Lime mortar will be used for its conservation, a material used by the builders when they completed the assignment in 1891. The colonial era structure has a stamp of colonialism-it is built to commemorate the reign of Queen Victoria.
Waking up from the potential danger the building posed to the treasure it is holding-there are 60,000 manuscripts at the ORI including the national treasure Kautilay's 'Arthashastra' which is at least 450 years old-the varsity has started the works on its conservation, which is expected to be completed in 12 months time. This comes after the tragedy at the Lansdowne Building that claimed four lives in August.
Following $ 50,000 grant from the US government handed over by US consul general Jennifer McIntyre in February, the varsity started to work on the project. It has finally started groundwork. "The conservation project includes attending to its civil needs and redoing internal wiring so that the structure is fit to store the manuscripts," V-C V G Talawar told The Times of India. Part of the conservation cost is borne by the higher education institution which got the jewel from the archaeology department after the university was set up in 1916.
We'll conserve it like how we did the bungalow where former President S Radhakrishnan stayed put while teaching at Maharaja's College. "We won't use cement at any cost," the V-C explained. The conservation cost is estimated to be Rs 39 lakh including Rs 7 lakh for redoing the wiring.
Sanskrit scholar Vidwan M Shivakumarswamy, who got the funds from the US, said the building's roof is leaking and there are problems with its electrical facility. Though there were fire accidents twice owing to faulty internal wiring, luckily it didn't spread, he stated. N S Rangaraju, professor of Ancient History and Archaeology, who studied the structural stability of the building, said some of the tiles on its roof are broken leading to the damage. "Even the wooden flooring in the cellar is affected by the seepage," he stated. Rangaraju, who is member of the heritage committee in the department of Heritage, said he had asked the V-C not to allow use of cement but go in for lime mortar.
ABOUT THE BUILDING
Designed by noted architect of his age J W Brassington, it took over three years for the builders to complete the project. It cost Rs 30,000 Rs 30,000 as per a report in Indian Engineering, which is recorded by T P Issar in his famed book 'The Royal City'. The foundation stone of the building was laid on June 20, 1887 by Maharaja Chamaraja Wadiyar. The building was opened in 1891 and housed the department of archaeology besides the Oriental Library. The wings of the hall are treated in Corinthian order while but the cupola stands by itself. It has a sculpture of Goddess Chamundeshwari, the titular deity of the Maharaja.
The bas-relief panel depicting Shiva's marriage with Parvati is its main attraction while bas relief panels in white plaster, depicting various other themes from Hindu mythology and some from history appear above each door of the flanking verandahs. Artists from Uttar Pradesh are working on the intricately designed bas relief panels.