Heritage Committee has approved plans to install a replica a few metres away from the original bronze statue’s spot, so that viewers don’t confuse it with the historic Kala Ghoda
Kala Ghoda will have its statue alright, but it won’t be the original and neither will it be in the original spot. Instead, a replica will be installed just a few metres away from where the historical Kala Ghoda stood.
The original Kala Ghoda statue that gave Mumbai’s art district its name. It was uprooted from its spot in 1965
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The original was a bronze statue of Edward VII, then the Prince of Wales, mounted on a horse. Polished to a black sheen, it was this statue that gave the name Kala Ghoda to Mumbai’s art district, where it stood for decades, before it was uprooted in 1965. The statue is currently housed in the Bhau Daji Lad museum, among other artefacts from the British Raj. They were allegedly removed at the height of the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement.
The replica will stand at the Rhythm House parking lot, metres away from where the original statue once stood. File pics
While the original stood at the centre of the road near Westside, the new one will be located just a few metres away, at the Rhythm House parking lot. The Heritage Committee approved the proposal last week. The Kala Ghoda Association moved a proposal last year to install a replica of the horse here, since the annual Kala Ghoda Arts Festival is held at this junction. The idea was to install a symbolic replica at the location that would serve as the reminder of the earlier one.
“The Association had proposed to install the statue at the original location. But some members of the committee opposed it. It’s a heritage precinct and something that does not have heritage value cannot take up the place of an original heritage structure. We don’t want to mislead people into thinking this is the original work. Some members said that we could put up a plaque there. But that would confuse the viewers. That is why, the committee was of the view that its location be shifted,” said a committee member.
The statue will be about 20 feet tall and will stand on a pedestal. It will be about 10 feet in length and will be made of bronze. The KGA will be given the contract for the installation, following which it will be designed by architect Altaf Miller. The statue will have one hoof up in the air, and a chain link will be installed around it to prevent any vandalism.
KGA says
Maneck Davar, honorary chairman of the association said, “There is little evidence to where the original statue exactly stood. Besides, we are happy to have the statue at the top of the triangle instead of the base. We have no problem whatsoever.”
Davar also informed that the horse will now be standing in the east-west direction, facing the David Sasoon library, instead of north-south. This is to provide it greater visibility. Now that the heritage approval is in place, work can start immediately and Davar is confident that the statue will stand tall before next year’s festival. There will be a ceremony held for its inauguration, as well as that of the Horniman Circle piyao and the Wadia clock tower.
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