Western Railway defends Mumbai Central facade makeover

The painted heritage facade of Mumbai Central railway station on Sunday. Pic/Bipin Kokate

As its attempts to paint the Mumbai Central station with vibrant hues drew bouquets and brickbats, the Western Railway on Tuesday sought to explain the colour scheme. Its General Manager Alok Kansal, who visited the station on Tuesday, said the facade makeover envisions features of Mumbai that are distinctly its own, exploring the city's architecture, history, and culture while also traversing the essence of the railways.

City's fishing boats are among the features that have been depicted

Kansal elaborated on their rationale for the new design. "We will be putting up a board explaining the various themes and colour shades for understanding of the common man. The idea was to make the station facade look good and sustainable for long-term, instead of just giving it a simple coat of paint," he said.

Kansal said the work is on the lines of the Gandhi mural at Churchgate building a few years ago. "Now that building too is up for paint and we will be taking it up soon," he said.

WR officials said NGO St-art that was involved in the drawing has said that the artwork has 12 distinct Art Deco features. Elongated forms, curved contours and stripes known as "speed lines" on symmetrical building facades reflect the Deco era's infatuation with speed, they said.

Experts have questioned why the Mumbai Heritage Committee or Art Commission has not yet intervened. Heritage Committee members did not respond to repeated calls.

‘New low for conservation'
Calling the work a "new low for conservation", senior conservation architect Vikas Dilawari said, "A close study will reveal the obsession of using blue galvalume sheets on roofs of the historic building as compared to red terracotta as recommended by us in CSMT."

Dilawari added, "It is an opportunity lost to repair and restore, respecting the cultural significance of the heritage property and the role of railways as custodians. Hope it is corrected and in future such things don't become a trend," he said.

‘Vibrancy need of hour'
Dr Kurush Dalal, director, School of Archaeology, India Study Centre, said, "Why can't we have a fun paint job? Is there a rule which says all old buildings made of RCC must have drab monochrome finishes?" Vibrancy is the need of the hour and this is spot on."

1930
When Mumbai Central was opened