Taj of the Raj

As we two tourists entered the building we were warmly received by an Englishman which was pretty much surprising to us.

"Hello Gentlemen…Welcome to the museum. I am your guide Stevens. I will take you around the museum and also the whole building which is a masterpiece and is second only to the famed Taj Mahal when it comes to the most photographed monuments. Yes this is the Victoria Terminus Building built in 1887 at a cost of about Rs 16.14 lacs to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria . Oops…it is no longer so called. In 1996 the local chaps pulled down the statue of Queen Victoria and even I don’t know where they took her and stored her away as they named the building Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) till someone even more learned told these manoos that they must add an M to the abbreviation to give due respect to the great king so CST has now become CSMT or Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. A part of the building is now a museum and it also houses the Head Quarters of Central Railway.

   

Queen Victoria Stood beneath the clock under the royal umbrella but where is she today, no one knows, not even the RTI applications gets any response to this historical question.

The Entrance Door made with finest Burma Teak and brass hinges

Manash and I were happy to be in company of a man who was driven by passion and knew every bit of history and smaller stories about the building and the railways.

Logo of GIPR and the Loco on the museum door glass

The Great Indian Peninsular Railways operated its first train journey was on 16^th April 1853 from Bori Bandar to Thane, with 14 bogies and 400 people on board. It is at the same place that the VT station was finally built. The first three engines were aptly named after the Indian history in chronological order- Sindh- Sultan- Sahib.

The Steam Engine Model

The Central Dome from Inside…Ground to ceiling 145 ft and just two floors in the building. Today you would have built 8-10 floors

   

Down from Up…Cantilever Staircase….as much you see outside is there inside the walls!!

Awe inspiring interior

Exquisitely carved animal motifs everywhere...look carefully at the motifs for their detailing

Langur ke pass Angur 

Glass Paintings…look carefully there’s a creeper at the bottom which is joining the Railways to the Imperial Logo and the Elephant representing India

The Dining Hall which is still used on special occasions with original marble, woodwork and…

The Chandelier..it still lights up even after a century

The Star Chamber is where even today passengers buy local tickets but never raise their eyes to the wonderful star studded ceiling on top

Not Hogwarts but our own VT and the gargoyle used to drain out rain water

Every wall, every inch is filled with art of the highest level

The Statue of Progress on top with a wheel and a flamed torch representing progress

The architecture is wonderful fusion- here you can see the Italian Gothic style at the bottom with Islamic style in the centre and the English curves at the top. A lot of art and architecture here was done by the students of Sir JJ School of Art.

CSMT- A  UNESCO Heritage Monument

As we descended the staircase for one last time, we saw a poster of a man who looked very familiar. We read the same aloud:

“Frederick William Stevens was born in Bath, England on November 11, 1847. He became an engineer in the Indian Public Works Department in 1867. After a year in Pune, he was transferred to Bombay in the office of the Architect to the Government of India. In 1877 his services were loaned to the Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company for the design of the Victoria Terminus….”

Manash and I looked at the picture once again and then at each other…we turned around to take another look at Stevens and he was gone. We looked around and then finally went to the sleepy Railway Protection Force person at the main entrance, “Have you seen any gora Englishman around?” The cop looked at us in amusement as if he knew what had happened to us like many tourists before us…….

Exhausted after the ghostly walk, we went to eat at a nearby joint called Pancham Puriwala and ordered Masala Puri with Batata Bhaji and Mango Lassi…we saw on the menu that this place was built in 1848….we looked at the person serving us and wondered if he was Pancham himself…

This photo shoot was made possible with the help of my dear friend Murali and Manash who took these pictures from all angles..,literally…

Manash & SS

PS. You can follow the Lens Man on Instagram #photowalkwithmanash