With
its old parquet floors, spiral staircases, wrought iron loggias, and exquisite
marble statues of forgotten city fathers, the colonnaded Town Hall and Asiatic
Society is perhaps the most regal of Mumbai's heritage buildings.
The elegant edifice is located in the prime Fort area
of South Mumbai and overlooks the Horniman
Circle Gardens
and the Reserve Bank of India.
A flight of 30 stone steps leads up to a majestic portico with eight Doric columns.
The large circular skylight in the Reception gives it a
beautiful yet ethereal feel. As you enter the Asiatic Society library you get
the feeling of stepping into another era, an era when horses and hansom coaches
clip-clopped on the stone paved streets of the Fort area.
The pleasantly
neo-classical building houses a vast library with a collection of 800,000
antique volumes and manuscripts as well as a small museum. The collection
includes a selection of rare works from the Library of Tipoo Sultan, rare illuminated manuscript of Quran,
an old text of Gulistan and manuscripts of Padshanamah bearing an autograph of
Emperor Shahjahan. The 16th century
Aranyakaparvan manuscript contains illustrated text from the Mahabharat and
is written in Sanskrit. You will also find five Buddhist caskets excavated
in the ancient port town of Sopara.
One of the rare exhibits is a
priceless first edition copy of Dante's "Inferno." There is also an
impressive numismatic collection of over 1,000 ancient coins and a rare gold
mohur belonging to the Mughal Emperor Akbar.
The old worldly ambience and charm lulls you into a feeling of relaxation
so profound that some readers inadvertently nod off to sleep in the cushioned
comfort of the periodical room!
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