Over the course of the last year the once derelict Mumbai Opera House has sprung back into the public eye and is today one of the most prestigious music venues in the city. It was always treasured as one of India’s most iconic historical sites having been built over a century ago but now it’s splendour has finally been recognised with the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation. It was inaugurated when India was under the British rule by King George V in 1911. The Opera House has been played host to many memorable performances over the years, but slowly fell into disrepair.
The magnificent architecture of the place includes carvings of artists performing various instruments and it truly gives it a royal feel. It was a place to exhale the tension and just inhale positive vibes. Anyone who has ever visited the place has had only good things to say about it. Due to neglect cavities in the supporting walls widened and the structure started crumbling. The Royal Opera House was shut in 1993 to the public and the ruins sat there idle and forgotten.
Ashish Doshi, the honorary director, took it on himself to restore it and make it the city’s cultural hub. He looked up the old pictures taken during the House’s prime time and hired renowned conservation architect, Abha Narain Lambah to revive the crumbling ruin. It took eight years to reconstruct it exactly as it was and to add a few modern perks for sound and lighting that would make it a perfect experience. It was reopened in 2016 and has been a definite must visit since then, even adding new features such as The Quarter to update the venue for its modern audience. After so many years of disregard, it has gained the fame and marvel it was intended and now has finally given the award it has always deserved. Besides the Royal Opera House, Byculla’s Christ Church and Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple also bagged this award.
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