Saving our heritage

Prarthana Samaj, where stalwarts held prayers, where many an intellectual discussion took place and where the samadhi of Dr. Sir Ramkrishna Bhandarkar stands in a mini-stupa form, is where the proposal of a concrete complex was floated.

With citizens having raised a hue and cry over the proposed building that would have erased this important landmark forever, the authorities are cringing in discomfort. The issue has caused considerable embarrassment to the trustees of the samaj, who wanted to wipe off the old glory. Meanwhile, the committee, waking up from its slumber, has recommended that it be put under the Grade I category of the heritage list. Which the Pune Municipal Corporation PMC promises to do, trying to shake off any building permission that it may have granted to the trustees of the samaj.

Popularly known as the Hari Mandir8217;, the Prarthana Samaj is located at 441, Budhwar Peth, near Pisodya Vithoba. According to noted historian Shamita Gupta, its special features comprise 8220;a colonial style architecture. The Prarthana Samaj contains a large hall with an ornamental facade. It has an internal timber ceiling with galleries along the walls. The altar, too, is ornamental. It is indeed a unique adaptation of the church concept to suit the needs of Indian religious reforms8221;.

8220;Besides its elegant architecture,8221; feels Gupta, 8220;it has historical significance since the building is associated with the reform movement started by noted social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy and brought to Maharashtra by Ramkrishan Bhandarkar. I have surveyed the building carefully and find that it falls in the prestigious Grade I category of the heritage list, where changes can be very minimal and where there8217;s no question of using it for any other purpose than for religious purposes8221;.

Accordingly, Narendra Dengle, member of the committee, paid a visit to the Prarthana Samaj in April this year and wrote to the chairman of the committee P.S. Palande stating that 8220;as a member of the Pune Urban Heritage Conservation Committee, I strongly feel that our committee must include this on the conservation list as a Grade I monument with utmost urgency. It will be a shame if we have to witness its mutation and demolition. I have noticed that a plastered wall, totally incongruous with the marvellous character of this place, has already been hurriedly built to separate the prayer hall and the Balak Mandir8221;.

Bhandarkar, Vitthal Ramji Shinde, Narayan Chandawarkar and others, who picked up the gauntlet to further Roy8217;s reform movement, built the Hari Mandir8217; in 1908. Besides religious prayer, active discussions of social issues and religion used to be held here. To date, the samaj, under the aegis of Sharadchandra V. Joag, is still an active trust. Vijaya Pawar, whose son, Kishore Pawar, is the caretaker of the premises, informs, 8220;Ever since I was married 60 years ago, I used to see many people coming here, every Sunday, for prayers. However, since the last 10 years or so, only a handful of them come every Sunday 8211; maybe eight or 10. Since the last eight months, due to some controversy over the demolition of this prayer hall to make way for a new construction, prayers are not being held at all8221;.

A visit to the Prarthana Samaj, after you jostle your way through the congested roads of Budhwar Peth, is indeed a beautiful experience. Resting on a lavish 1700-odd sq mts of land, it has two stone structures. As you enter, you are greeted with the prayer hall, which has a colonial style of architecture, and when you peek through the glass windows, you can see the remnants of beautiful woodwork, which though veiled with dust and neglect, exudes old-world charm.

Behind the prayer hall is another small building which houses a primary school. Beside the primary school, stands the samadhi of Bhandarkar, a mini-stupa made of stone. Here, his ashes are preserved in two silver containers. There is a newly-constructed wall that divides the prayer hall and the primary school, evidence of a probable future construction activity.

Balasaheb Motiram Khole, who lives across the road of the Hari Mandir, has been crusading against any changes in this historic landmark. He has been instrumental spreading awareness of the threat amongst the neighbourhood. He claims to have been successful in bringing together at least 600 residents of the locality to wage a protest. They have been knocking at the doors of the charity commissioner, prevailing upon him not to accede to the request of the trustees to convert the prayer hall for any other purpose.

In fact, during the recent Ganesh Festival, the residents8217; mandal, the Satyashodhak Maruti Mandal, put up the replica of the Prarthana Samaj in their pandal. So determined are they. States Khole with pride, 8220;We requested an artist to make the replica of the prayer hall out of thermocol and displayed it at our Ganesh pandal. Besides, we had an 30-minute audio cassette, which was relayed throughout the day, to brief the visitors about the historical importance of the samaj and the urgent need to shield it from demolition8221;.

As if by a strange coincidence, Gupta and Jaimala D, who are working on a book dealing with the stages of growth of Urban Pune, stumbled upon this building early this year, while they were walking through Budhwar Peth. States Jaimala, 8220;When we entered it, we were surprised to see such a beautiful monument hidden in the heart of the city. We were also wondering how it missed the eye of the committee8221;.

They met Khole and got to know about the active participation of the neighbourhood in preserving this monument. This, says Gupta, 8220;is a remarkable effort by common people, who, probably for the first time, ceased to just talk about the problem and mustered up courage to do something constructive. Hats off to them8221;.

In a document sent to the joint charity commissioner, Pune region, the five trustees of Prarthana Samaj, Joag, Ramesh R.Bharvirkar, Ujjwalatai Desai, Keshavrao Shinde and Vasantrao Desai have sent in their proposal for a new construction, where the prayer hall stands today.The document states: 8220;The property to be alienated/sold is an old property out of which only 464.26 sq. mtrs. of land is kept and to be used for school. The rest of the property situated to the west side, which is around 1240 sq. mtrs., is being used for weekly prayers over the years. That these being the state of facts, a meeting of the managing committee was held on 17.04.98, wherein, as per resolution No. 4, it was decided to form a Construction and Building committee8230;

8220;8230;The Construction and Building committee has taken into consideration various factors for the alienation of the property. First of all, the property is situated in a very crowded and highly populated area. The roads surrounding area are not proper and hence the aims and objects of the Trust cannot be properly and fully achieved. It is very difficult for the members even to come to the property. So also there is no parking area nearby, where vehicles can be parked.

8220;The applicants submit that because of these circumstances the committee decided that an area of 464.26 sq. mtrs. wherein at present the school is run, be retained by the Trust and remaining area to be sold, and new property be purchased at a calm and quiet area, which would be on the outskirts of the city wherein the aims and objects of the Trust would be properly achieved8221;.

Have the trustees approached the PMC with the proposal of a new construction in place of the prayer hall? According to Madhav Harihar, city engineer, PMC, 8220;It8217;s just rumours that are floating about that permission is being granted by the PMC for new construction. There is no question of giving permission 8211; it will never be done8221;.

And that8217;s where the matter stands. With the PMC assuring that the Prarthana Samaj will forever remain a Grade I heritage structure, it looks like the efforts of the citizens have paid off.