Yahoo – AFP,
Peter Hutchison, 19 February 2016
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The
"Kipling Bungalow" is one of several mansions in Mumbai, once
associated
with famous residents but now in ruin (AFP Photo/Indranil Mukherjee)
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Mumbai
(AFP) - Hidden behind a blanket of trees at the back of a university in Mumbai
lies the dilapidated, but once grand, former home of writer Rudyard Kipling.
Fallen
branches, discarded chairs and even empty whisky bottles surround the
19th-century building, while bird droppings mar a bust of Kipling, author of
such beloved novels as "The Jungle Book" and "Kim".
"The
bungalow is in very bad condition and needs desperate help," the college's
principal, Rajiv Mishra, tells AFP.
"We
feel cheated that such a beautiful monument has been neglected," he adds,
pointing to a rotting wooden post, precariously supporting the historic
property in south Mumbai.
The
"Kipling Bungalow", as locals affectionately call it, is one of
several mansions in the teeming Indian city, once associated with famous
residents but now in ruin.
Nearby
stands the former colonial home of Lord Harris, an ex-governor of then-named
Bombay, widely credited with making cricket the most popular sport in India.
The gothic building housed school classrooms until four years ago, when pupils were moved out because the crumbling structure had become too weak and hazardous.
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The
147-year-old Esplanade Mansion, formerly the resplendent Watson's Hotel,
and
frequented and written about by Mark Twain, is now a ramshackle shadow
of its
former glory (AFP Photo/Indranil Muherjee)
|
The gothic building housed school classrooms until four years ago, when pupils were moved out because the crumbling structure had become too weak and hazardous.
A few
kilometres away in plush Malabar Hill sits the previously imposing residence of
Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan and its first governor-general.
The stately
home hosted critical talks between Jinnah and India's first prime minister
Jawaharlal Nehru on partition of the subcontinent, but today its downtrodden
appearance belies its historical significance.
Red tape
Heritage
campaigners lament the demise of such buildings, blaming red tape and claiming
politicians and developers are more concerned with constructing sparkly new
luxury towers than preserving Mumbai's architectural history.
"The
Kipling Bungalow is just a very sad reflection of bureaucratic hurdles...
creating the death of a historic building," renowned architect Abha Narain
Lambah, who specialises in conservation, told AFP.
The wood and stone structure, its green paint peeling, is situated on the grounds of an art school, whose first principal was John Lockwood Kipling, Rudyard's father.
 |
An Indian
mason stands on scaffolding at the under-renovation Lord Harris
Higher Secondary Marathi School in Mumbai (AFP Photo/Indranil Mukherjee)
|
The wood and stone structure, its green paint peeling, is situated on the grounds of an art school, whose first principal was John Lockwood Kipling, Rudyard's father.
Built in
1882, 17 years after Rudyard was born, the house was home to Lockwood Kipling
and subsequent deans until the early 2000s, by which time it had sunk into such
disrepair that it was rendered uninhabitable.
"We
feel that Lockwood must have had Rudyard stay here and write so we call it the
'Kipling Bungalow'," explains Mishra, who wants the Maharashtra state
government to restore it without delay.
He says
officials plan to turn the building into a gallery exhibiting students' work
and that of decorated artists, and have issued a tender for the contract.
The
building has been caught in a tug-of-war between the college and the government
for years over what its restoration should look like, but Mishra hopes
renovations will finally start in around six months.
Maharashtra
culture and education minister Vinod Tawde failed to respond to repeated AFP
requests for comment on the issue.
 |
Built in
1882, 17 years after Rudyard Kipling was born, the house was home to his
father
John Lockwood Kipling and subsequent deans until the early 2000s, by which
time
it had sunk into such disrepair that it was rendered uninhabitable (AFP
Photo/
Indranil Mukherjee)
|
A short
walk away, work has already begun on the former Mumbai residence of batsman and
acclaimed cricket administrator George Harris, who was governor of the city
from 1890-1895.
Harris
captained England and during his tenure on the subcontinent "did much to
lay down foundations for the expansion of the game in India", according to
Cricinfo website.
A Mumbai
inter-schools cricket tournament called the Harris Shield is testament to his
legacy, but his former home was allowed to come close to collapse before long
overdue maintenance work started.
The
three-storey mansion, part of a public school, was out of use for three years
until renovation began in June, and presently stands gutted, surrounded by bamboo
scaffolding.
"It
was basically falling apart and became too dangerous to be inside," the
school's principal, Mohan Bhogade, told AFP.
Jinnah
dispute
In arty
Kala Ghoda district, a 147-year-old mansion, formerly the resplendent Watson's
Hotel, frequented and written about by Mark Twain, is a ramshackle shadow of
its former glory.
 |
A bust of
author Rudyard Kipling pictured at
the Kipling Bunglow -- the author's birthplace -- inside the campus of the J.J. School of Art in Mumbai (AFP Photo/Indranil Mukherjee) |
Watson's,
completed in 1869, is believed to be India's oldest caste-iron building and was
the hotel of choice for colonialists and visiting dignatories during the
British Raj.
Accoring to
legend, the hotel went into decline after Indian industrialist Jamsetji Tata
built Mumbai's iconic Taj Mahal Palace because he was denied entry to Watson's,
which had a "Europeans-only" policy.
Today the
crumbling structure houses a medley of dark cubbyhole offices. A lack of funds
and arguments between tenants and city authorities have been cited as contributing
to its descent into ruin.
"The
idea of heritage has just evaporated," says Naresh Fernandes, author of
"City Adrift: A Short Biography of Bombay".
 |
Students
gather under the porch at the Kipling Bunglow -- the birthplace of author
Rudyard
Kipling -- at the J.J. School of Art in Mumbai (AFP Photo/Indranil Mukherjee)
|
AFP
contacted a number of officials at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation,
regarding the Watson's Hotel and the Harris building, but none were available
for comment.
Jinnah's
house has been embroiled in a long-running legal dispute over ownership between
his daughter, India and Pakistan. It lies empty in thick forest behind a
padlocked gate.
Lambah
doesn't believe the buildings owe their dilapidation to any sort of colonial
antipathy, citing well-maintained British-era relics like the Bombay High Court
and the former Victoria Terminus train station.
"It's
just sheer neglect and bureaucracy," she says.
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