Kolkata :
Over two centuries, Bible House on Jawaharlal Nehru Road has played a pivotal role in translating and publishing the best-selling book of all time — the Bible. Ravaged over time, the Romanesque building has received superficial attention but never undergone a thorough repair. Now, various churches have come together to fund the first major restoration and offer the heritage building a fresh lease of life.
“The Bible is the reason why churches exist. Hence the significance of the building where the Bible has been translated and published for two centuries. It has served as the cradle of Christianity in the country,” said Bishop Ashok Biswas, chairman of the Kolkata auxiliary or chapter of Bible Society.
The Bible Society movement in India started from the Bible House, which was built in 1811. It is the second oldest Bible House in the world, built barely seven years after the Bible House in London. Till the mid-20th century, its jurisdiction extended up to Sri Lanka and Myanmar. It was the Calcutta Auxiliary Bible Society that was established in 1811 and the Bible Society of India came into being 33 years later.
Conservation architect Manish Chakraborti, who has been appointed the project consultant, is finalizing the plan for the building’s authentic restoration.
“A cast iron column in the building appears to be buckling under pressure and needs to be immediately repaired. Thereafter, the flooring system has to be strengthened by repairing the supporting wooden beams and runners, and splicing steel joist where necessary. A leak in the roof also needs repair. Woodwork and joinery of doors and windows will also be restored and the Burma teak wooden staircase will be cleaned and polished,” said Chakraborti.
Beyond restoring the building, the architect has chalked out a detailed plan for its appropriate adaptive reuse after detailed discussions with Bible Society officials. “Three fourth of the ground floor is occupied by a tenant. The rest of the building is occupied by us. This section will be internally revamped. On the first floor, a full-fledged modern auditorium with a seating capacity of 180 persons will be set up.
There will also be an archive, reading room, library and a special room for the translation board to meet. On the second floor, we will have a guest house with four rooms,” said senior auxiliary secretary Sajal Kumar Sarkar.
Another important aspect is the development of a fire-retardant store-room at the rear of the building for storing Bibles and Biblical texts published by Bible Society. Chakraborti expects the KMC Heritage Committee to give the project its nod soon.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Subhro Niyogi, TNN / November 11th, 2014