The Regal Building (top & above) in Bistupur being demolished to make way for a shopping mall with underground parking. Pictures by Bhola Prasad Jamshedpur lovers and quiz buffs, answer this. Which colonial building in the city is made of leftover steel from Howrah Bridge? Bharucha Mansion or Regal Building, the distinctive Raj era edifice in the heart of Bistupur, used the steel, says one of its inheritors Adil Keki Gazder (70). The nearly 80-year-old building is facing the rude jolt of modernity as a part of it has been broken down for a mall. Popular as Regal Building as it faced the then Regal Maidan — the ground’s nomenclature changed to Gopal Maidan in the 1990s as a tribute to slain Tata Workers’ Union chief V.G. Gopal — and housed Regal Talkies, the heritage building won’t be the same again. Built by Khurshed Maneckji Bharucha in 1935, the first Indian chief cashier at Tata Steel, the structure has a unique polygonal architecture and design. In 1950, the landmark housed Regal Talkies, a plush theatre that gave Nataraj, the city favourite, a run for its money. Both Regal and Nataraj shut shop in the mid-1980s. A few years ago, Bharucha’s daughters sold Regal Talkies portion to a couple of city businessmen. The duo started to construct a shopping mall with underground parking, an endeavour that the Tata Steel sublease row has stalled as the matter is sub judice. But the die-hards are lamenting at the construction that bears no resemblance to the colonial structure. “The old architecture is unique,” says Gazder, a grandson of the late Bharucha, who inherited a portion from his mother Meher. Gazder, who lives at Bharucha Mansion with his family, said his aunts Perin. A. Hodiwala and Khorshed D. Billimoria sold their inheritance to the businessmen duo. “Tata Steel management asked my grandfather if he was interested in buy the excess steel (from Howrah Bridge). My grandfather agreed since he was planning to build this mansion,” Gazder said. The building had come up under supervision of architects A. Dinshaw, a Parsi, and C.C. Bayigle, a Briton. “It took three years,” Gazder said. “No cement was used. You can’t hammer a nail on the walls of this building. They’ll get blunt. A mixture of jaggery, lime and brick was used for plaster. Surgi, a kind of soil, was used as the top layer,” Gazder said. Bharucha, who died in 1950, had wanted outstation Parsi youths who came to work in Tata Steel to stay at the building, his grandson added. Amitava Ghosh, co-convener (Jharkhand) of Intach, said: “Regal Building for Jamshedpur is like Calcutta’s Victoria Memorial and Howrah Bridge, it’s a part of the city’s skyline. According to Jharkhand Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites Remains and Art Treasures Act, no portion of a heritage building can be demolished. Sadly, this act is not implemented in Jharkhand because the government hasn’t yet identified the structures,” Ghosh added. Former district governor of Rotary Club (Jamshedpur) and hotelier Ronald D’Costa, whose Boulevard Hotel stands opposite Regal Building, said: “I’ve launched an awareness campaign to conserve city heritage structures. Regal Building should stay as it is.”
Posted on: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 02:33:51 +0000
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