Of the many historical buildings Mumbai can lay claim to, few can match the majesty of the Royal Opera House. Even though for two decades it stood derelict and crumbling its imposing stature was never forgotten and seven years ago work began to restore it to its former glory.
This Thursday all that work is about to pay off as the curtain goes up for the first time in 23 years to commemorate the opening of the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) film festival.
The Opera House has always been a testament to colonial design but when conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah first took on the project the place was in a terrible way “When we got here the first time, the walls were leaking. The roof was not stable. There were trees growing out of the facade,” she says.
When she began the restoration she had a single image from historian Sharda Dwivedi’s collection as a reference. Slowly people volunteered other sources such as old films or personal photographs which helped Lambah to recreate the space in as much detail as possible.
The project was funded by the Royal Family of Gondal who acquired the Opera House in 1952. Even though the actual reconstruction was delayed by 2 years while they obtained all the necessary permissions for the work they stuck with it out of a desire to see this beautiful creation renewed.
As the only surviving Opera House in the country it has become iconic to people not only within India but across the world. In 2004 it was featured on The World Monument Fund’s list of 50 most endangered monuments in the world. When it was first built by Jehangir Framji Karaka, and Maurice E.
Bandmann in 1911 it became a destination for performers from every corner of the globe. In its early years it hosted concerts, operas, theatre and conferences, Mahatma Gandhi even lectured there in 1934.
In the 1950’s it became a popular place to hold film premieres and the glamour of old Bollywood filled the halls but by the 1980’s it was already in decline and eventually in 1993 it shut its doors forever.
This space has been the destination for iconic performers across decades and it doesn’t say much about the people of Mumbai that it was allowed to fall apart. It’s heartening to know that there are still some who value the importance of preservation and want to protect our cultural heritage.
Without the love and dedicated work being put in this icon could have still been languishing in disrepair but instead this week it begins a new phase of its life as a house of art and music as it was always meant to be.