MUMBAI, May 24: Kala Ghoda may finally earn its sobriquet. Four decades after the bronze statue of Prince Edward, which gave the circle opposite the Jehangir Art Gallery its name and identity, was consigned to the relative anonymity of the Bhau Daji Lad Museum at Jijamata Udayan, plans are afoot to restore it to its original environs.The statue was one among several statues of the British era which were swept away from their locations in the city into Bhau Daji in a misplaced gesture of patriotic cleansing in the sixties. On Saturday, Pramod Navalkar, state cultural affairs minister, reportedly responded positively to a suggestion by Chemould Art Gallery director, Keikoo Gandhy at an informal meeting at the gallery. Gandhy added that this move was initiated by former mayor Vishakha Raut and has the blessings of Shiv Sena MP Madhukar Sarpotdar.
Though nothing has been put on paper yet, those involved in the project said the response the idea got from those in power is refreshingly positive. ``The statuehas a tremendously high intrinsic and aesthetic value. It is worth hundreds and thousands of pounds. And that those in power are taking this step is very commendable,'' said Sharda Dwivedi, eminent urban historian.
Although many of the other statues lying at the museum are beyond repair due to complete neglect, the Prince Edward statue, sculpted by Edgar Boehm in 1879, survived, as it was made of bronze. ``It would have been better if these invaluable statues were sold back to the British instead of being destroyed,'' said Dwivedi wistfully. But if the project comes through, perhaps all will not be lost. Said Gandhy, ``We must be careful not to throw out the baby with the bathwater. It was imperative that India become independent from Britain, but not all things British were bad. Art has no nationality.''
The Prince's location change to Jijamata in the 1960s didn't seem to have made a difference to Mumbaiites' cultural consciousness; for many, the area has remained Kala Ghoda. Dwivedi recounts thatRahul Mehrotra, with whom she co-authored Bombay: The Cities Within, once instructed his taxi driver ``To Kala Ghoda'', to which the cabbie drily replied: ``Where it is or where it was.''
While the plan is still in its nascent stages, with the project finding a positive response from those in power, perhaps the horse and its rider will finally find their way back home.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
