Uncertainty over Mumbai Sanskriti festival being held on Asiatic Society stairs

The resplendent sweep of the Asiatic Society staircase at Horniman Circle is breathtaking Today though music aficionados are holding their breath Melody seems to be hanging midair for the citys prestigious annual Mumbai Sanskriti concert The Asiatic staircase which seats the audience has been under renovation for a few months now and there is a cloud of uncertainty over whether the repairs will be completed by January 12 in time for the twoday festival on January 13 and 14Now Debris and construction material piled up on the steps for the ongoing workThe concert is free with the stage for the artistes set at Horniman Circle garden and the audience sitting on the grand Asiatic Society staircase which has a capacity to accommodate a 1000odd people It is a spectacular site especially in January when there is a slight nip in the air The frenetic traffic is closed to the area on that weekend and the biggest names in classical music set hearts afire with their soulstirring renditionsThe waiting gameAnita Garware chairperson of the Indian Heritage Society under whose auspices the Mumbai Sanskriti takes place and is supported by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation MTDC is in a quandary on whether to put passes announcing the concert and the artistes Kaushiki Chakraborty vocal and Pt Satish Vyas santoor at three city venues mdash Maharashtra Watch Co Dadar Chetana Book Centre and Satyam Collections Churchgate People need to have these free passes to be able to enter I dont know if the staircase will be ready in time The free passes have been made but I am awaiting a definite green light from the Public Works Department PWD which is in charge of the work she saidOngoing work on the staircase PicsBipin KokateVyas said I am looking forward to performing The stair seating is fantastic I am told I like the synergy between heritage and classical music It is such an awesome feeling to be invited to play there mdash the venue is exotic and the feeling of playing in open air in this weather is exhilaratingThen Asiatic Society stairs earlier this year before they were demolished for renovationElastic deadlinesGarware added obviously irked at the uncertainty I dont think one needed to demolish the entire staircase and redo it Repairs could have been done on the steps or blocks that were broken The side railings were precarious and they needed attention but I cant fathom why the entire staircase had to be done This in the end is at taxpayers expense I dont have any written communication about when the steps are going to be complete whether in time for the event or stretch like so many of our government projects with their elastic deadlines do into 2019 This is a free concert and music students traditionally form a large part of the audience After all it is the younger demographic who can sit on the staircase at concerts 70 yearolds will be unable to do that It will be a shame if Mumbai Sanskriti will have to be cancelled or indefinitely delayed she ruedThe Mumbai Sanskriti concert passLaborious workWellknown conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah who is working on the project refused to give a definite deadline Work is ongoing We have used new stone on the top flights of the staircase On the middle and lower every effort is being made to retain the original stone We are chiseling out the broken pieces and repairing and restoring them it is handcut and a laborious process About 20 per cent is new stone the rest original she said Lambah estimated that the work could be over in a month or two from now The conservationist stressed that the entire staircase needed work The staircase of a 100yearold building will show wear and tear especially the stair nosings which need a lot of repair work Nosings are the protruding part of steps that see the heaviest footstep trafficAnita Garware left and Abha Narain LambahFinish lineA PWD official said We are trying our best to finish the work looking at completing it by Decemberend or beginning of January We are getting the stone from Rajasthan We do want to finish in time for the festival Joint Managing Director of MTDC Aashutosh Rathod is confident that the work will be completed in time The festival will be held in front of the prominent landmark the Town Hall of the Asiatic Library Society as scheduled The MTDC has spoken to PWD officials and been assured that the work will be completed soon It will not affect the spirit of the festival he said Yet with the conservation architect and PWD hitting slightly different notes and the Indian Heritage Society waiting for things to fall in place the musical notes seem off keyCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news current affairs from Mumbai local news crime news and breaking headlines hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go