 Victoria Terminus or Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, as it is now known, is an outstanding example of the popular English Venetian Gothic styles endorsed with elements of Indian architecture, so prevalent in 19th century Bombay. It is one of the finest examples of the meeting of two varied cultures.
British architects worked with Indian craftsmen to include Indian architectural tradition and idioms, thereby forging a new style which was unique to Bombay. It would not be far-fetched to state that the building almost became the symbol of Bombay.
A Watercolour Sketch led to a ten year Construction Project
Victoria Terminus, commonly referred to as VT, was designed by Frederick William Stevens, a British consulting architect in 1878. A masterpiece watercolour sketch by draughtsman Axel Herman was responsible for the project to be awarded to Stevens. After the project was awarded, Stevens took off on a ten month long trip to study the stations in Europe. In fact, the St. Pancras station in London seems to have inspired Victoria Terminus to a certain extent. The building took ten years and Rs. 16.14 lakhs to complete. The expense was the highest for any building of that era in Bombay. It is said that Stevens earned a reward of Rs. 5,000 from the Great Indian Peninsular Railway for his outstanding work.
Medieval Italian and Indian Palace Architecture
The building epitomises the spirit of the age that saw its glorious emergence. Built in local sandstone, VT is a fusion of High Victorian Gothic design based on late medieval Italian models and traditional Indian palace architecture. The building is symmetrical and is surmounted by a colossal masonry dome. A 14-foot high statue of Progress stands atop this dome, with its arms raised toward the sky. The dome was built only to create a feeling of ‘enormity’ and ‘magnificence’ on the cityscape and had no other purpose. The cantilevered staircase below the dome started from within and led to the company offices above. Pointed arches with wooden vaulted ceilings, decorated with stars on an azure background, were the hallmarks of the booking hall. Glazed tiles of rich foliated designs adorned the lower part of the walls. In order to reduce the sun’s glare, stained glass was used in the windows in abundance.
Commerce, Agriculture, Engineering – depicted on the facades
Master sculptor Gomez and the students of the J.J. School of Art designed the sculpture models under the able guidance of John Griffiths, the superintendent of the art school. Thomas Earp created the series of decorative tympanums, pediments and sculptures placed on the exterior. The apex of the pediments depicted ‘Commerce’ on the southwest corner of the main façade, ‘Agriculture’ on the south façade and ‘Engineering’ on the northwest corner of the main façade.
The magnificent building now serves as the headquarters of the Central Railways in India and is also one of the busiest railway stations in the country. Incidentally, the first steam train in India, from Mumbai to Thane, was flagged off from here in 1853. Since then, the station has seen its name change from Boree Bunder to Victoria Terminus and now Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. The last name was given after the insistence of Shiv Sena in 1996 that the station should be named after the great Maratha Emperor. UNESCO has declared the structure a ‘World Heritage Site'.
Ruchika Batra
Address:
CST, Dadabhai Naraoji Road, Mumbai – 400 001
Image source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chhatrapati_Shivaji_Terminus
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