KOLKATA:
The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) has
taken up the mammoth responsibility of restoring the General Post
Office, better known as GPO. It will begin with the ornamented
Corinthian column capitals and gradually restore other parts of the
historic buildings that have so far only been repaired but never
restored.
The GPO, which is identified by its massive dome and the 32 massive column capitals outside the building, was designed by Walter LB Granville, the architect who also designed the Indian Museum, Calcutta High Court and the University of Calcutta.
The floral caps of the column have bore the brunt of neglect since these patterns cannot be repaired but have to be recreated, fitted to the columns and then made to match the existing portions. "Every turn of a petal or vine or scroll has to be hand-created and this is impossible for ordinary masons. So even when we attended to the massive dome, the rotunda, the ceiling, the walls and the floors, we avoided touching the columns. But we cannot neglect it any more," said Kajal Dey, executive engineer in charge of GPO maintenance.
The authorities have now roped in Intach to restore the columns. Intach has already started studying the extent of damage and has found that apart from the floral caps, a lot of related damage has happened to the head of the column capitals and the portions of ceilings immediately around it.
"Apart from re-creating the floral cap details, one has to also examine the health of the columns and the ceiling. Though the rest of the building looks robust from outside, a thorough study of the building will help us to ascertain damages caused by humidity. Damp is a common feature and it has to be arrested at the floor level," explained Intach state convenor GM Kapur.
The GPO, which is identified by its massive dome and the 32 massive column capitals outside the building, was designed by Walter LB Granville, the architect who also designed the Indian Museum, Calcutta High Court and the University of Calcutta.
The floral caps of the column have bore the brunt of neglect since these patterns cannot be repaired but have to be recreated, fitted to the columns and then made to match the existing portions. "Every turn of a petal or vine or scroll has to be hand-created and this is impossible for ordinary masons. So even when we attended to the massive dome, the rotunda, the ceiling, the walls and the floors, we avoided touching the columns. But we cannot neglect it any more," said Kajal Dey, executive engineer in charge of GPO maintenance.
The authorities have now roped in Intach to restore the columns. Intach has already started studying the extent of damage and has found that apart from the floral caps, a lot of related damage has happened to the head of the column capitals and the portions of ceilings immediately around it.
"Apart from re-creating the floral cap details, one has to also examine the health of the columns and the ceiling. Though the rest of the building looks robust from outside, a thorough study of the building will help us to ascertain damages caused by humidity. Damp is a common feature and it has to be arrested at the floor level," explained Intach state convenor GM Kapur.
0 comments:
Post a Comment