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| India's important decision, at last | | Jinnah House in Mumbai to be cultural centre | | BL KAK
NEW DELHI, FEB 2
The government of India has, at last, decided to restore the much-taled-about Jinnah House in Mumbai into an international art and cultural centre. In plain language, Jinnah House, the home of Pakistan founder, Mohammed Ali Jinah, in Mumbai's Malabar Hill will be finally restored into a cultural centre for the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
After more than 20 years of leaving the house that Jinnah built in 1936 to a state of ruin, the Indian government has decided to restore the one-hectare property into an international art and cultural centre. The government proposes to ready it for inauguration by August 15, when India celebrates its 60th year of independence.
It is expected to be a space for the best of cultural exchanges between artists from all over the world, particularly the sub-continent. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), which has been using a part of the building, has okayed the plan for exhibition spaces for contemporary art, audio-visual library, books, a concert and seminar room and cafes.
The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage will undertake the project of restoration. Jinnah House is located in one of Mumbai's most posh areas on Bhausaheb Hirey Marg, earlier known as Mount Pleasant Road. It has been barricaded to stop all peering eyes as well as news photographers. Close to the official residence of the Maharashtra Chief Minister, Jinnah House has been a topic of dispute ever since the British Deputy High Commission vacated it after leasing it between 1948 and 1983.
The Pakistani government, obviously for sentimental reasons, wanted it as their Mumbai consulate. The long years of neglect have left the structure, designed by British architect Claude Batley, in a pathetic state. The then sea-facing bungalow was constructed in European style with Italian marble and walnut woodwork.
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