State now messing up Banganga …….Bella Jaisinghani | TNN
Mumbai: This time next year the landmark Banganga tank at Walkeshwar in the heart of the city will wear a polished new look. Gone will be the naturally misshapen, yellow-red steps upon which generations of devout Hindus have prayed for the salvation of their ancestors souls. An indulgent state archaeology department is spending lakhs of rupees to implant in the Banganga a new heart of stone.
Local residents and activists allege that the restoration process undertaken by the state department of archaeology and museums, also called the state ASI, is not in keeping with the norms of conservation. They claim that well-preserved temple stones bearing age-old carvings are being demolished in the name of restoration even as film shootings, which damage the site, continue with impunity. The water in the tank resembles a cesspool.
At Banganga, an eager supervisor shows you how the roundish yellow-red rocks that were inlaid into the steps 500 years ago are being thrown away as debris, and being replaced by grey stone that will forever look new. When asked if the replacement is similar to the original, he says, Nahin, alag type ka hai (no, its different).
The history of Banganga transcends the narrow confines of heritage and emerges from the mists of legend. Thousands of years ago, an arrow pierced through the ground to reveal this sweet water spring located a few metres away from the salty ocean. The arrow is believed to have come from the quiver of Lord Ram.
HEART OF GREY STONE FOR BANGANGA TANK
The ASIs renovation of the historic Banganga tank is all set to change the character of the holy pond forever. The roundish yellowred rocks inlaid into the steps are being replaced by grey stone. But the beleaguered director of the state ASI, R N Hegde, remains unwilling to discuss allegations of wrongdoing. I have no comments to offer to the media, he says, before he discontinues the conversation. Hegde is already under fire for the irreversible destruction of Mumbais heritage forts by the use of concrete plaster, a material that is banned in conservation.
At Banganga, the site supervisor admits that the contractor appointed for renovation is involved in construction activity and has not undertaken much conservation work of significance apart from restoring the Bombay high court building. It cannot be too difficult though, he surmises, all one must do is neatly align a series of assemblyline stones side by side.
Even the unlettered encroachers who sit on ASI property balk at this wisdom. Look at the height of the old steps. They are so short that old people could easily climb up and down.
The new ones are so tall that the aged and the infirm need help to climb, says Thakur Tej Singh Kapoor, who built a hut upon the source of the mysterious stream in 1962 and will remain here after the restoration.
Architect Shashi Prabhu, who is a member of the BMCs heritage committee, recently visited the site and described the restoration work at Banganga as random and inaccurate.
It is a matter of concern to us all that work is not proceeding in line with a designated methodology. In fact, the issue was raised at Thursdays heritage committee meeting where members decided to visit the tank and assess the work, Prabhu said.
The heritage committee offers a detailed methodology of restoration to individual projects that are brought before it, and the restorers come back to it with reports. But the director of the state ASI, who is a member, neither attends meetings nor shows accountability, Prabhu said.
Local residents like Clyde Crasto complained about the erroneous process earlier this year, after which work was stopped for some time. Clydes father Rocky had relaid portions of the steps by using original old stone found in the vicinity, and the ASI did not object to this either.
The influential invitees who attend the annual Banganga music festival may be prompted to speak up in favour of the site if they witnessed its grandeur. But a vast red carpet is laid out over the historic steps when the music festival is under way, while the visible portions are poorly lit, Clyde says.
FLASHBACK…
FLASHBACK…
The 110m X 40m tank was constructed sometime in the 13th-14th century during the Shilahara dynastys reign. Over the years, around 22 temples dedicated to various gods have come up in the precinct.
Although there is no historic proof, the legend goes that it was Lord Rams arrow that caused this fresh water spring to burst forth from the ground.
The spring is believed to be the Ganga that, in fact, runs underground, says Anita Garware, chairperson of the Indian Heritage Society and convenor of the Banganga Festival Committee.
While religious rituals are performed here on a daily basis, the advent of the sarva pitra amavasya in September assumes special significance. On this day, devout Hindus who cannot travel to Varanasi to perform shraddh, the ritual to commemorate their forefathers, do so at Banganga.
OUT OF SYNC: The original yellow-red rocks that were inlaid into the steps have been replaced with smooth grey stone. Earlier this week, TOI had reported on how the state ASI was destroying the citys forts with its shoddy and unsupervised renovation work
SHORT-CHANGED: Even the few carved stones inlaid into the steps of the tank will make way for the new grey replacement. (Left) A temple idol lies uncared for at the corner of the steps