Rajabai Clock Tower, located on the grounds of the University of Mumbai in the southern part of the city, is one of the symbols of the British colonial period in India.
The external resemblance to London’s Big Ben is striking, and not without reason. Architect George Gilbert Scott took Big Ben as the model, because in 1869, when construction began, the tower in London was a new and very fashionable architectural landmark.
The construction, costing 200 thousand rupees (a fantastic sum for those times), was financed by Indian businessman Premchand Roychand, one of the founders of the Bombay Stock Exchange. There is a legend that the tower was a gift from the businessman to his blind mother named Rajabai, for whom it was important to know the exact time - being a follower of Jainism, she could not eat or drink after sunset.
The construction of the tower was completed ten years later, in 1878. Its height of 85 meters made it the tallest structure in Mumbai in the second half of the 19th century. The architectural style of the clock tower is a mixture of Gothic and Venetian styles. The lower part of the building is famous for its stained-glass windows, among the best in the city.
During British rule, the clock on the tower played “Rule, Britannia!”, “God Save the King”, “Home, Sweet Home”, and others, sixteen melodies in total, alternating four times a day. Now only one melody plays every fifteen minutes.
At one time, it became fashionable among Indians to commit suicide here, so entry to the tower was closed to visitors. After the completion of the modernization that began in 2012, it will probably be possible to safely climb to the top of Mumbai’s legendary structure.
