Seva Sadan, Malabari Hall Mumbai, India
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SEVA SADAN, MALABARI HALL MUMBAI, INDIA PROJECT DESCRIPTION | CONSERVATION PROJECT SERVING THE IMPOVERISHED Background of the project: The early 20th century was an uncharitable and unjust period in India for disadvantaged women, who found it very difficult to survive the bigotry of Indian society. Widowed and destitute women were exploited, persecuted and made to live under the harsh conditions due to repressive social and cultural attitudes prevalent during the time. In the traditionally male-dominated Indian society, women in general and more so those, from impoverished communities, have long suffered gender discrimination, oppression and abuse. The Seva Sadan Society, a century-old organisation was founded in the year 1908 in the Gamdevi precinct of then Bombay (now Mumbai), for the betterment of women who were exploited, abused, and mistreated by the patriarchal society. Fighting against these injustices were the Founders, social activists and philanthropists, Shri (Mr) Behramji Malabari and Shri Diwan Dayaram Gidumal, who were determined to emancipate and educate those unfortunate women who were treated as outcasts of society. The Seva Sadan Society was founded in Mumbai, on 11th July 1908 by Shri Behramji Malabari and Shri Diwan Dayaram Gidumal with the motto of liberating, educating and empowering underprivileged women. The former played a leading role in establishing Seva Sadan in order to make Indian women industrious and efficient. His stand was based on the principles of justice and humanity. He campaigned vigorously against enforced widowhood and child marriage, in India and England. The Society was a safe refuge where impoverished and oppressed women of all communities could find a home where they lived a life of self-respect and dignity. They wanted to make women self- reliant and break the cycle of poverty and social deprivation, by empowering them with vocational skills to increase their employability. The Gamdevi neighbourhood has always been historically rich, comprising a local community that is middle-class in nature. The buildings of the precinct, with their relatively subdued but distinct characteristic appeal, gave an insight into its political, economic, social, philosophical and cultural ethos. Over the last 2 centuries, the area has emerged from an organically grown neighbourhood to a precinct that sparked off a revolution of idealistic and reformative movements, which cannot be erased from the sands of time. The Society stands in this progressive neighbourhood that has harboured the spirit of upliftment of women. Seva Sadan Society in Mumbai has been a sanctuary for marginalised girls for over a century. It continues to protect, nurture, and empower them with education, skills and opportunities not only for themselves but also for the betterment of their families. The Malabari Hall Building was constructed in Bombay during an era when colonial and vernacular architecture still had its roots embedded in reforming the city. This period notably was post the advent of the Victorian Gothic style in Bombay and before the arrival of Indo-Saracenic and Art Deco styles of architecture. It was one of the earliest multipurpose halls established within the Gamdevi locale that catered essentially to the emerging middle-class community, where women began to be recognised for their contribution towards the society. THE SEVA SADAN CAMPUS: The Society is fore fronted by the Pandita Ramabai Marg on the east side. The campus comprises an open courtyard space surrounded by buildings (Administration, Home and Malabari Hall) on each of its remaining three sides. This courtyard is used by the girls residing in the Home Building for various activities throughout the day; thus becoming a central part of their daily routine. The courtyard space has a physical connection with the resident girls and also provides a sentimental connect. 1. The Administrative Building on the ground floor houses the efficient administration staff that help run the Society with their utmost efforts each day. The upper two floors of the building comprise classrooms for the Seva Sadan School girls. 2. The Home Building, as the name suggests, is home to hundreds of abandoned or mistreated girls, who have now been imbibed into the Seva Sadan family. 3. The Malabari Hall Building, constructed in the early 20th Century, forms one of the core buildings of the Seva Sadan Society. The building is named after Shri Behramji Malabari to commemorate his ideologies and noble works. Fig.02 Home Building Fig.03 Administrative Building Fig.04 Malabari Hall Building Being a G+1 structure, the ground floor of the Malabari Hall Building comprises a Science Laboratory and a Computer Laboratory, that was set up in 2016, to explore the importance of technical knowledge in the ever-growing public domain. The Laburnum room adjoining the laboratories is used for hosting Society meetings and other miscellaneous activities. Fig. 12 Science Laboratory Fig. 13 Computer Laboratory Fig. 14 Malabari Hall The Malabari Hall, located on the first floor, was initially used as a Multipurpose Hall for the Seva Sadan School. It started being rented out from the early 2000s to the public, but retaining its original use of a hall. The green rooms, originally placed on either side of the stage in the Malabari Hall, were converted into toilets. A gallery overlooking the hall is on the mezzanine floor, comprising toilets which were added later. The Malabari Hall building, together with the Home and the Administration buildings form the Seva Sadan Society Campus, which falls on the edge of the Gamdevi Heritage Precinct. The Malabari Hall building showcases various architectural elements typical to the buildings in the Gamdevi Heritage Precinct such as gabled roof, arched verandahs, etc. These buildings together showcase the local architecture unique to the early 20th Century Bombay, before the transformation of Bombay took place under the Art Deco Movement. How the project conveys the spirit of the place: The conservation works of the Malabari Hall building ensured the continuum of function and relevance of the built space. The society takes pride in nurturing the talent and capabilities of the girl child. The Malabari Hall has proved to be an abode for keeping this legacy alive in line with maintaining the sanctity of the ideologies of its founders. The conservation process ensured the longevity of built space and prevented the diminishing of the spirit of the place by the growing trends of modernisation. The Society stands as a strong testament to social communities that look after the well-being of the girl child. The built fabric of the Society had to be conserved not only for its comprehensible and obvious tangible value, but also for its extant, sensitive intangible value. The statistics below, highlight the significant impact the Society has made on the upliftment of the lives of the women over the years (Seva Sadan Society, 2020). ⠂ A shelter provided for 10,000 girls equipping them with personal safety, health care and emotional comfort. ⠂ Providing education to 40,000 students through Seva Sadan Society run schools. ⠂ Facilitated to empower 2500 independent and empowered women. The Seva Sadan Society’s Aim: Educate, Emancipate, Empower The project conserved all the core significant values in the Malabari Hall structure - embodied and abstract - by instilling a sense of pride, salvation and self-belief in the local community. This local community refers to the resident girls of the Seva Sadan Society, the Seva Sadan School children, the ever-active Committee members and also the residents in and around the neighbourhood who have been recipients of this sanctuary of socio-culturally meaningful heritage structures. THE LOCATION WITH ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD: The Seva Sadan Society, being located on the edges of the Gamdevi (or Gaondevi) Precinct of South Mumbai, is surrounded by areas of high historic significance and buildings named after several renowned Indian social reformers. The neighbourhood is named after its 200-year-old temple dedicated to goddess Durga, also referred to by its devotees as Lilavati “a graceful woman”. Spanning less than 500 metres across in width and length each, Gamdevi is where Bollywood talkies originated, and Indian feminism shaped itself. It is also where Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, lived for a few years. With politics, philosophy, arts, culture and education Gamdevi is a potpourri of the makers of Modern India, and their stories. From spirituality to literature to feminism to reform, and importantly, politics - Gamdevi’s role in the creation of an independent self-ruled India is significant. In the north-west corner of the precinct lies the August Kranti Maidan (August Kranti ground). It is the site where Mahatma Gandhi made his Quit India speech on 8 August 1942 in which he announced that the British must leave India immediately or else there would be mass agitations. A couple of bylanes adjacent is a building named Mani Bhavan, the base for Gandhi’s political activities from 1917 to 1934. The pre-independence national movements, namely the Non-Cooperation, Satyagraha, Swadeshi, Khadi and Khilafat movements, were initiated within its premises. These movements shaped the freedom struggle of India breaking free its shackles from the tyrannical British rule. Historically, Gamdevi was an active setting where social ideologies flourished, and modern movements were conceptualised. The Malabari Hall of the Seva Sadan Society was constructed in an era when political and social reforms were claiming a major foothold in shaping cultural mindsets in the city. Location of the Seva Sadan Society with relation Map of Mumbai highlighting the Gamdevi area to the Gamdevi area Being in the heart of Mumbai city, the Gamdevi Precinct is a listed heritage precinct. Since the Seva Sadan Society is not on the list of protected buildings, although it stands on the edges of this precinct, it becomes even more crucial to safeguard it. The Malabari Hall Building along with the cluster of its neighbourhood structures form a buffer zone that acts as a transitional space between the heritage precinct and urbanised parts of the city.