Mumbai : Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) building is an awe-inspiring structure, which leaves millions spell bound every single day with it sheer art and grandeur. However, magnificent piece of architecture get even more beautiful on special occasions as soon as the sun sets.
On the eve of the country’s 69th Independence Day, the 19th century built to commemorate Queen Victoria, gets illuminated with over 1,048 RBG (Red, Blue and Green) lights.
What’s more amusing is that no one switches the light on. The Grade-I heritage structure, which is connected with an astronomical clock, turns the lights on the building by itself.
The work on setting up these electrical fittings that beautifully highlight the intricate designs of the building was started in September 2009. After five years of studies on the carvings of the building with its larger than life structures, the decision to replace the flood lights which earlier covered the building was taken. The building soon was replaced with RBG lights with DMX control.
The lights set up on the building have Red, Blue and Green as three basic colours. These lights generate thousands of other colours using a software. These colours are then synchronised to create various themes which have been fed in to the software.
Kiran Kalamdani, who has designed the structure under his company Kimaya architects said, “Mumbai likes fantasy and we wanted to create something which would make the structure look surrealistic. Giving CST building the desired look is a tribute to FW Steven who designed the building.” Months of trials and errors to get the right kind of theme followed installation of these lights.
The building now dons different cloaks which vary from evening to late in the night. The building in enveloped in warmer colours for evening hours which slowly give way to cooler colours for the darkness of the night. There are also specific designs for weekdays, weekends and for occasions such as Diwali, Holi and Eid.
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astronomical clock decoded
An astronomical clock works by determining the position of the sun, moon and other stars to identify the time and date. More than determining the time it also helps to identify astronomical occurrences like an eclipse.
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Iram Siddique
