THE CHEPAUK PALACE.pptx

A small case study about chepauk palace and its restoration process

1. THE CHEPAUK PALACE - A CASE STUDY BY M DHANUSIA DHARANI RA2112001010003

2. Brief History of Carnatic Nawabs As a reward to the victory in the battle against the Marathas, the Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb appointed Zulfikhar Ali Khan as the first Nawab of Carnatic in 1692 CE. Thus, an important era in South Indian history started. The Nawabs are also referred as the Nawabs of Arcot , as they initially had their capital at Arcot . The province which was roughly extended from Krishna river to Kaveri river had accepted the supremacy of Nizam of Hyderabad. The first Carnatic Nawab was on the throne till 1703 CE. He was succeeded by six Nawabs. The eighth Nawab was Muhammad Ali Wallajah . He had to struggle a lot in the political battle in his initial years. In 1765 CE, the Delhi Emperor made him as the independent ruler. Thus, he became the first sovereign ruler of Carnatic.

3. Wallajah built the Chepauk Palace in 1768 CE . Apparently, he requested the British to build his palace inside the fort , which was turned down. Later, it was built in the current location on the banks of the river Cooum . The building, which is known for its red brick and lime mortar, covered an area of around 117 acres from the Cooum River to Pycrofts Road. The palace comprised of two blocks. The southern block is called as Kalas Mahal (also written wrongly as Khalsa Mahal). The northern block is called as Humayun Mahal. T his palace is one of the earliest Indo Saracenic style building in the entire nation. The Senate House was built on the site where the artillery park stood once . The bathing pavilion of Nawab became the residence of Governor and then became the University Library. It was designed by a East India Company architect, Paul Benfield. Although the Carnatic state was annexed by the British in 1801 CE, the Nawab's family was allowed to stay in this palace till 1855 CE . In order to liquidate the debts of the Nawabs , the palace was acquired by the Government. Brief History of Chepauk palace:

4. Kalas Mahal was a two storied structure with two entrances. Humayun Mahal originally had single floor. Robert Chisholm made alteration to the building. He added the first floor with Madras terrace. In 1870 CE, he connected this with Kalas Mahal with a 75 feet tall tower. M.A. Chidambaram Stadium was part of the palace complex originally. The building where the Triplicane Police Station is functioning today was called as Langar Khana . It was a kitchen and dining room for vegetarian food prepared by the Brahmin cooks and was served to the poor. “ Kalas Mahal was used as the women's quarters and the private quarters while the Humayun Mahal was the durbar hall,” says historian V.Sriram , about the structure. Brief History of Chepauk palace:

5. CHEPAUK PALACE:

6. HISTORIC STRUCTURE SUFFERS IRREPARABLE DAMAGE Public Works Department Minister K.V.Ramalingam said that the building is beyond repair. “ Kalas Mahal has sustained considerable damage and has to be demolished. The debris has piled up to a height of 10-15 feet and there is just open sky above.” Mr.Ramalingam said since the building had a lot of wooden beams in some sections smoke was still billowing out.  Kalas mahal restoration work were started in 2014 and ended in 2017. Kalas mahal is now office for National Green Tribunal, Southern Zone, Chennai. “A portion of Humayun Mahal too was ravaged by a fire in 2012 and could not be used. Now, nearly 75% of the roof has collapsed and wooden beams have been damaged. Renovation would be more like rebuilding portions of the building,” an official said. Humayun mahal restoration started in 2018 – present. Source: https://www.thehindu.com/

7. Source: https://www.thehindu.com/

8. WORLD’S FIRST INDO-SARACENIC BUILDING, RIGHT HERE IN CHENNAI, SET TO REGAIN OLD GLORY It has suffered decades of neglect: languishing in dilapidated condition for years and later  ravaged by fire . But, Humayun Mahal in Chepauk , the world’s first-ever building constructed in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture, is now slated for a new lease of life.  The long, creaking sound of walls being drilled into echo across the construction site on a mid-October Friday morning. Scraping the plastering off a wall in the interior of the building . B Raju, a 49-year-old worker wipes the sweat off his face. “We are following the same traditional methods followed to construct the building over 240 years ago,” said B Raju, who has earlier worked in restoring heritage buildings in Karaikudi and Thanjavur.  Various groups are at work at the site of the mammoth restoration project: a few skilled workers mix limestone and sand, another group breaks eggs meticulously and separates the whites from the yolk and a smaller group of five workers powder whitestone , which gives out crystal sugar-like particles.  Source : https://chennai.citizenmatters.in/

9. The choice of raw materials is intriguing. It is not the usual cement, sand and bricks that you would see in any other construction site. “These raw materials used traditionally vouched for the building’s strength for centuries. We are using the same materials, after thorough research and multiple trial and errors, to regain the glory of Humayun Mahal,” said Joint Chief Engineer of PWD, K P Sathyamurthy . He also shares several other interesting facts about the restoration: Madras Terrace roofing (with wood, Madras achikal brick and lime plaster) was used for the first time in the construction of Humayun Mahal. The same roofing, which can be seen on many buildings in the United Kingdom, is being used in renovation now. Even today, the brick is known as Madras brick everywhere. Mughal plastering technology is being used for the interiors to bring out the serene white shade. Lime, sand, whitestone , egg whites and curd are among the various raw materials used for the procedure. Once the plastering is done, it has to be scraped with a piece of granite stone for at least three days. Going back to tradition Source : https://chennai.citizenmatters.in/

10. It is a return to Mughal-era techniques to restore the  fire-hit Humayun Mahal   in Chennai’s Chepauk Palace to its old glory. Now, while restoring one of its constituent buildings, the Public Works Department has decided to go back to those traditional methods. A couple of Kangeyam bulls have been deployed by the PWD as part of this, to grind the lime mortar that will be used to plaster Humayun Mahal’s walls. As a Department official explains, this ‘slow’ process yields plaster that is authentic and free from contamination. The Kangeyam bulls working at Chepauk are from Saptur in Madurai district. They were yoked on Tuesday by Kannan, a farmer, to draw a limestone grinding roller that mixes the lime mortar. “Normally, a grinder is used. But the traditional technique of bulls rotating the grinding roller blends the mortar better and provides superior adhesion. “This is a Mughal wall plastering technique known for strength and longevity,” said C. Kalyanasundaram , Superintending Engineer, Building Centre and Conservation Division, PWD. A Mughal-era technique to restore Humayun Mahal in Chennai’s Chepauk Palace

11. Roller hunt: To familiarise themselves with the method, PWD engineers visited several places. “We located the kind of rollers we needed at a temple in Kalugumalai , Tirunelveli, at a church in Thoothukudi and in Virudhunagar. But the owners refused to part with their heritage pieces. We then created the infrastructure ourselves at a cost of ₹3 lakh,” said K.P. Sathyamurthy , Joint Chief Engineer, PWD (Buildings). The bulls have a defined routine: 48 rounds a day to produce 30 cubic feet of lime mortar for about 300 sqft of wall. The output is 10% less than what modern techniques yield, but the quality tilts the scales towards tradition . The bulls are expected to toil at least six months on this part of the restoration. But it is not just the use of bulls that is old-style. The roller stone, weighing five tonnes , had to be sourced from Sholinghur in Vellore district and the stones used to build the ‘grinder’ — a circular path 25-feet in diameter — were specially chosen from Mamallapuram . The channel in which the lime mortar is ground is made of stone, because concrete is not suitable. Fine concrete particles could mix with the lime mortar and affect its purity, an official said.

12. Back to the roots: A bull churning a grinding roller to produce lime mortar in Chennai

13. Source : https://chennai.citizenmatters.in/

14. CHALLENGES Raw material Source Sand Cauvery River  Whitestone Rajapalayam and Rajasthan Limestone Virudhu Nagar  Curd        Chengalpet and Tiruttani Granite stone                Hilly regions of Rajapalyam Square tiles Tirunelveli There are four key aspects  of the restoration procedure that call for focus: the source of raw materials, skilled labour , timing and application. “Procuring raw materials of the highest quality is important. There is a specific time when the mixture is to be applied and a procedure to be followed for that. Only skilled labour would adhere to those norms,” explained the senior PWD official.  However, manpower is a huge challenge. “I earn peanuts as a construction worker. But I did not quit since it is my passion to work on old buildings. Not everyone will think this way,” said Raju. Source : https://chennai.citizenmatters.in/

15. Indo - Sarsinic Architecture - Old Madras - Interior

16. Indo - Sarsinic Architecture - Old Madras - Interior

17. The project to restore the historic Humayun Mahal in Chepauk Palace complex is expected to be completed by August. Nearly 85% of the work to restore the fire-hit heritage structure has been completed. The ancient Humayun Mahal in Chennai may be thrown open to visitors again in the next few weeks, said S Manikandan , Executive Engineer (EE), PWD, Heritage Wing. The officer said the plan was to complete the renovation work by August but due to some delays, it was postponed to September. About 95% work is complete and rest 5%, including cleaning and clearing of construction materials from the building and electrical work, would be wrapped up quickly, he said. Humayun Mahal to be over by August: Minister Source: https://www.thehindu.com/ & https://www.newindianexpress.com/

18. REFERENCE Srinivasachari , C. S. (1939). History of the city of Madras written for the Tercentenary Celebration Committee. Madras: P. Varadachary & Co. p. 181. Ramkumar, Pratiksha (21 September 2013). "Once crown of Chennai, Chepauk Palace now falling to pieces". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 4 February 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017. Srinivasachari , C. S. (1939). History of the city of Madras written for the Tercentenary Celebration Committee. Madras: P. Varadachary & Co. p. 243. Lakshmi, K. (22 August 2017). " Chepauk Palace, an iconic structure". The Hindu. Chennai: The Hindu. Retrieved 1 October 2017. Muthiah , S. (2004). Madras Rediscovered. East West Books (Madras) Pvt Ltd. pp. 166–168. ISBN 81-88661-24-4. Muthiah , S (17 February 2013). "The Mahals of Chepauk ". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2017. University of Madras (1957). History of Higher Education in South India, Vol. II, University of Madras 1857-1957 Affiliated Institutions (PDF). Madras: University of Madras. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 September 2017. "College of Engineering, Guindy, History". Anna University. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2017. "Madras Series I: Chepauk Palace". TuckDB.org. 1911. Retrieved 24 January 2015. Peer Mohamed, K.R. (1996). History of Progress of Education in Madras City (1854-1947). Chennai: University of Madras. p. Ch V, p 182. Archived from the original on 21 September 2017. Kumar, G Pramod (18 January 2012). "Chennai outraged: 224-year-old Chepauk palace gutted in fire". FIRSTPOST. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2017. Lakshmi, K. (22 August 2017). " Chepauk Palace, an iconic structure". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017. K., Lakshmi (13 December 2017). "3 historic buildings to rise from the ruins". The Hindu. Chennai: Kasturi & Sons. p. 2. Retrieved 17 December 2017.

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