Conservation principles are being adhered to strictly
The restoration of the Oriental Research Institute (ORI), one of the heritage buildings in the city that adds to its antiquity and is a repository of ancient manuscripts, is under way with funding from the U.S. Consulate in Chennai.
M.R. Veerabhadraswamy, Director of ORI, who also heads the Department of Sanskrit, University of Mysore, told The Hindu that this was one of the biggest funding for restoration that the ORI has ever received and they are making the best use of it.
“The renovation is constantly supervised by the members of the U.S. Consulate, who come down once in a month to see the progress made. There has been a remarkable progress in the work, with one half of the building already fixed and painted to perfection, and work on restoration of the second half of the lime and mortar classical structure, has just about started”, he added.
It was in January 2012 that ORI — which has over 80,000 manuscripts in its collections — was recognised by the U.S. Consulate, Chennai, as one of the cultural heritage sites that needs restoration and preservation and granted $50,000 to the institution following which ORI signed an MoU with the Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Bangalore, to undertake the renovation project, which started in September last year.
A significant feature of the restoration work is the adherence to the conservation principles that forbids use of cement and other modern materials that alters the structural profile of the heritage building.
Not the first
N.S. Rangaraju of the Department of Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Mysore, expressed happiness over the work in progress and said he had visited the site a couple of times and there was no violation of the conservation norms.
“The restoration of ORI is the third such exercise undertaken by the varisty– the others being Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion which was restored with funding from Infosys, Prof. Radhakrishnan’s Bungalow which was funded from M.R. Doreswamy, MLC and founder of the PES Educational Institutions, and the ORI funded by US Consulate. The varsity has become a role model for others to emulate in conservation exercise”, said Prof. Rangaraju.
The intricate designs on the frontal section of the building are being delicately restored and embellished, and once the structure if fully restored, the manuscripts and palm leaves that constitute the country’s ancient cultural heritage, can be preserved better as it would be supported by a better environment, according to scholars at ORI.
A bit of history
Conceived by the then Maharaja Chamaraja Wadiyar, it was constructed in 1887 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria’s accession to the British throne, and was known as the Jubilee Hall. The Oriental Library was established here in 1891 and was handed over to the University of Mysore in 1916, and renamed as the ORI in 1943.
It shot into international fame when the only extant copy of Kautilya’s Arthashastra was found here by R. Shamashastry in 1902, and was published in 1909. And, it helped throw light on political and economic statecraft of ancient India.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Nandita Bhakta / Mysore – May 01st, 2013