When we think of Mumbai (Bombay), the first thing that comes to our mind is Bollywood. The city of dreams that blinds you with all its glamour will now have a structure that casts the same effect. Yes, Mumbai’s municipal body’s headquarters, The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) located at Fort in South Mumbai, is all set to dazzle you with its real gold plated dome (A befitting crown for the country’s richest municipal corporation, what say?). Work on the gilded dome christened the staircase dome, is complete, and the structure is ready to cast its glow on the citizens. The gilded work is part of a project to restore the colonial stricture to its original glory. Heritage architect Abha Narayan Lambha said her team had found gold specs on the dome during the
restoration work. Research later revealed that the dome was indeed gilded when the building was constructed in 1893.
Thus, began the process of restoring the dome with the original material. For the restoration, 23.5-carat gold has been used, and every square meter of the dome now glints with 10gm of gold. The intricate work was carried out by ‘swarnkars’ (craftsmen/artists) from Rajasthan. The swarnkars began their task by first making plates and pasting them on the dome. On that, they applied to oil and special clay from Rajasthan. Finally, the gold foils were placed over it. Wonder what the citizens of Mumbai have to say about this new trimming.
[Mumbai Mirror]
