PAREL ANIMAL HOSPITAL ALL SET FOR A MAKEOVER ………..Bella Jaisinghani | TNN
Mumbai: Architect Brinda Somaya is working on a conservation project where she must gauge the needs of users by their non-verbal cues. The animal hospital in Parel is due for a makeover later this year.
Formally called the Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Hospital for Animals, the Parel landmark is a Grade II-A heritage structure. A status that often makes small repairs and major overhauls difficult for caretakers with the best intentions.
Nevertheless, the proposal for restoration has been handed over to the heritage committee, and work will start once it gives the green signal. Even though the budget has yet to be determined, the MMRDA has evinced interest in putting funds into the project.
First-time visitors are surprised to find that the animal hospital is not a sterile singlestorey brick structure, rather a verdant complex complete with cottages and enclosures for the animals and their caretakers.
The idea to build an animal hospital in Bombay went to the drawing board in 1874, when the resolution was passed in the Town Hall. Over a hundred years later, this remains Mumbais only full-fledged animal hospital. It functions like a regular medical installation, with residential wards, an outpatient department, an intensive care unit, even a birth control ward and cardiac care unit.
The rundown enclosures that are hidden amid the overgrowth announce their need for repair. In fact, the staff quarters have been surviving on bamboo props and a prayer. Project architect Meenakshi Chauhan points out how the floor line has sagged in places, having caved in under the weight of the structure as well as the furniture and the people who stay in it. .
One of the trustees, Sheila Bhogilal, who shows you around, says that the Mangalore tiled roof of some cottages was repaired piecemeal, but a lot more remains to be done. Usage determines the extent of restoration required for individual buildings. For instance, the general ward for dogs is decrepit, as bad-tempered mongrels have twisted the bars of the cages with their teeth. On the other hand, an airconditioned unit that nurses well-bred household pets is in far better shape.
One of the trustees, Sheila Bhogilal, who shows you around, says that the Mangalore tiled roof of some cottages was repaired piecemeal, but a lot more remains to be done. Usage determines the extent of restoration required for individual buildings. For instance, the general ward for dogs is decrepit, as bad-tempered mongrels have twisted the bars of the cages with their teeth. On the other hand, an airconditioned unit that nurses well-bred household pets is in far better shape.