Patna Museum's 95-yr-old gate damaged during redevelopment work, heritage lovers upset

Patna: One of the two heritage gates of the iconic 95-year-old building of the Patna Museum suffered damage during the course of the ongoing redevelopment project work in its historic campus.

The celebrated British-era landmark in the Bihar capital endowed with Indo-Saracenic architecture and fondly referred to as 'Jadu Ghar' by locals was completed in 1928 with two identical ornate gateways -- the 'In Gate' and the 'Out Gate'.

A project on redevelopment and extension of the historic museum building located on the old Patna Gaya Road, is currently underway, whose foundation stone was laid by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in August 2020.

However, during the course of the civil construction work, the 'Out Gate' has suffered damage.

"Trucks carrying raw material have been entering through this gate day and night as part of the project. The gate has suffered damage, possibly after being accidentally hit by one of these plying trucks earlier," said the museum's security staff at the gate on the condition of anonymity.

The damage is extensive on the left column of the gate so much so that the solid ornate dome which topped it has got dislodged.

When PTI visited the project site at the museum early April, the dislodged dome was found lying on the ground, and during a visit a few days ago, it was found almost buried under a mound of soil.

Asked since when has the gate been lying in this state, the guard said, "It has been several months." Prior to this, the old ornate pair of grills were detached from the heritage gate for movement of large vehicles. The grills of the gate are kept leaning against a temporary structure near the dislodged dome of the gate column. A senior official of the Patna Museum, when asked about the damage suffered by the gate and what measures been taken to preserve it, said, "We will look into the matter." About the redevelopment project he said, "A large portion of the civil work has been done, and it is slowly moving towards completion. After which the work on setting up the galleries will begin." The new galleries, placed in new structures that trace a sort of an arc around the old museum building, covering the southern, western and northern portions of the old museum campus, will tell the story of rise of the city of Pataliputra (ancient Patna) and the civilisation on the banks of the Ganga, the official said.

"Work is going on in full swing, and a new auditorium has been built as part of the project. Since, Patna Museum is a heritage building, the new construction mimics the architecture of the old one," he said, adding that plan is also to connect the old Patna Museum and the new Bihar Museum on Bailey Road with an underground tunnel.

A few years ago, a section of the Patna Museum's prized possessions, including the celebrated sculptural statue of Yakshi was moved to the Bihar Museum (inaugurated in 2017 by the chief minister), triggering protests from many historians and heritage activists.

The Patna Museum redevelopment project, which started in 2020 in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, got delayed due to it, another senior official said.

Sources told PTI that after the work on building the new wings is completed, "restoration work on the old heritage building will start". The old building of the Patna Museum, a veritable treasure trove of ancient artefacts, was designed by Rai Bahadur Bishun Swarup, and the architectural elements include Rajput styles such as 'jharokhas', 'chhatris', ornate domes and a courtyard with an old fountain at its focal point.

The 'In Gate' which is the main entrance gate and the 'Out Gate', were built as mirror images of each other, placed symmetrically on the northern and southern side of the museum's fence with old grill works.

Old-timers recall the ornate iron railings that earlier formed part of its low-height fencing, which a few decades ago, was replaced with taller brick-made boundary walls with iron bars over them, while preserving the old gates.

The main gate has 'In' carved on its two columns while the southern gate has 'Out' carved on both its columns.

The 'Out Gate' which till the start of the redevelopment project work stood in its original condition complementing the 'In Gate', today stands in a stark contrast, as the dome over its left column has got dislodged, the ornate railing around it damaged, and the dome and the railing on top of the right column too has suffered damage, while a portion of the column next to 'Out' sign has got broken.

A makeshift gate made of metallic sheets has been put up since the old grills of the gate were removed.

The Patna Museum was established in April 1917, five years after Bihar and Odisha was carved out as a separate province from Bengal in 1912.

The museum began functioning in April 1917 out of a section in the northern wing of the Patna High Court building, before moving to the new building which was inaugurated in early 1929.

Many heritage lovers in the city and elsewhere are upset over the damage suffered by the gate and appealed to authorities to ensure its preservation and restoration.

Rajiv Soni, 69, a retired marketing professional and an independent researcher who grew up in Patna, lamented the damage suffered by the heritage gate of the Patna Museum, and asked the authorities to be more sensitive towards built heritage of the city, and "not pursue blind development".

"First they made a huge Bihar Museum. They wanted to add more galleries, they could have done it on an open plot of land elsewhere. Why everything new in Patna needs to be built either by demolishing the old, or by marring the glory of the old heritage buildings," he said.

And, green spaces around a heritage building are equally important, as still maintained in the case of Victoria Memorial Hall, said Kolkata-based Soni, who recently visited Patna.