Mumbai: This Sunday, light and sound show at CSMT

The heritage building will be lit up with around 1,100 lights

The CSMT building will be converted into a theatre on Sunday to mark the 170th year of the Indian Railways and World Heritage Day. The heritage precinct will turn into a cultural zone with a light-and-sound and artistic show with dancers gracing every arch of the building amid high-profile Padma dignitaries invited for the event.

The event will take place on April 17 while the 107th birthday of the Indian Railways is on April 16 and World Heritage Day is on April 18.

Artistes prepare for the show at CSMT building

Anil Kumar Lahoti, general manager, Central Railway, said that CSMT is a pride of Indian Railways and the entire railway fraternity. "To celebrate the heritage and architecture of this building, we are staging a unique light-and-sound cum performance show on the background of this building," he said.

‘Ek gatha CSMT ki'

The show, called ‘Navarasangam-ek gatha CSMT ki', will depict nine rasas of natyashashtra, bringing out the different emotions based on various historical episodes of the history of CSMT building, Railways and the country. "It showcases the Indian cultural canvas by 70 artistes who are railway employees. The original audio track has also been created by a team of railway artists. The production has been prepared after rigorous rehearsals and professional inputs from the fields of lights, music creation and studio recording. The artists would be performing under the aegis of Central Railway Cultural Academy," said Shivaji Sutar, chief public relations officer, Central Railway.

In addition, the 134-year-old CSMT building will be lit up with around 1,100 lights. Around 450 lights had dimmed over the years which have been replaced with new technology LED lights.

"The first train in Asia ran between Mumbai and Thane on Saturday, April 16, 1853. Indian Railways will enter its 170th year of service on April 16. To commemorate the first journey of Railways in India and ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav', and commemorating the Railway Week, Central Railway is presenting a unique light and sound cum performance show on the CSMT heritage building - a UNESCO Heritage Site," he added.

Evolution over the years

The present-day headquarters building of Central Railway popularly known as Victoria Terminus, now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, is an architectural marvel. This gothic style monument was originally planned as the office of GIP Railway and was designed by Frederick William Stevens, a consulting architect. The construction started in 1878 and was completed in 1888 at a cost of R16,13,863. The building, which was the largest building in Asia at the time, was named after Queen Victoria.

The first important modification came in 1929. The former station, which adjoined it, was reserved for suburban traffic and used to have 6 platforms. In March 1929, Governor Sir Frederick Sykes opened the remodelled station with 13 platforms.

With the increase in suburban passenger traffic, the first double discharge platform was provided in May 1990, and by January 1991 all the suburban platforms were made double discharge. Further additions were made in February 1994 by bringing the number of platforms to 15.
In March 1996, the station was renamed as Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. The building was listed as a world Heritage monument by UNESCO in July 2004 for being an outstanding example of late 19th Century architecture.

With a view to accommodate 24 coach trains, platforms 16 to 18 were constructed in September 2007. In the same year in July, the station was again renamed with the addition of Maharaj - bringing it to its present name Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.

Today, the station caters to about 48 pairs of long-distance trains and about 1,200 suburban trains daily.

1888
Year the building construction was completed