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| Old lock tower, Surat city, Gujarat pinrest com. |
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| Old lock tower, Surat city, Gujarat suratdiaries.in |
My fascination for vintage clock towers since my childhood days has not yet diminished, rather my curiosity is on the increase on account of their becoming structures of neglect. Countless colonial clock towers across India have become non-functional due to lack of maintenance and care by the local authorities. They were not only the time keepers of our old towns and were very useful to our forefathers to keep track of the time of the day when they were out on work, but also stood majestically in a busy area as if they were sentinels. They played no less role than other amenities in the towns and were an important land mark of the urban space. Prior to the 1950s, wrist watch was a luxury item and only the rich could afford it. I saw, in my childhood days, many men carrying what was called ''Pocket Watch'' to see the ''time''. Being in the digital world, we have costly digital watches with advanced features you can ever think of , but they are no match for the vintage mechanical winding wrist watches in terms of design, style, workmanship and elegant look. This is true of vintage clock towers of colonial era.
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| Men's vintage pocket watch with chain. desertcart.in |
The iconic standing clock towers that come to our mind are the Rajabai Clock Tower (Univ. of Mumbai, MH), Husainabad Clock Tower (1881), a 67 m tall structure in Lucknow, UP, the Ghanta Ghar clock tower (built between 1880-1911) in the Sadar market area in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, the Clock tower of royal palace of Shahu Maharaj; Kolhapur; Maharashtra etc.
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| Old lock tower, Surat city, Gujarat veethi.com |
About Surat Clock Tower in the city of Surat, Gujarat in 2021 it will be completing 150 years. I understand that the clock is still functional and the structure needs some repair work. There is a spiral staircase to go to the upper level and it is closed for the public. The Clock Tower with four dials facing four cardinal directions had stopped working for many years now. However in the by-gone time the chiming of the clock (British made) could be heard at a distance every hour, particularly during night hours. The mechanical clock is replaced by battery-operated quartz clock as the spare parts for the old clock are difficult to get. Further, no clock experts are available to fix them.
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| map of Surat city, Gujarat turkey-visit.com |
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| Clock tower, Surat city,Gujarat. suratfirst.blogspot.com/ |
Located ideally (Karwa Rd, Kumbharwada, Navapura, Begampura) in a busy shopping area - Zampa Baza that has lots of textile and embroidered craft shops, the 80-meter tall stunning clock tower will never fail to get the attention of common people. Even regular visitors who go past it will take a second look at it because of the grandeur and beauty of the clock tower and its impressive design are just overwhelming. The credit goes to the British time-keepers and consultants of that period. Its style and craftsmanship are further enhanced by its brick red tall structure that is quite visible from far off distance. Reports in the media mentioned that this clock tower is one of the seven heritage sites in Surat to be restored and beautified.
The other attractive clock towers in Gujarat are: Saifee clock tower, Jamnagar, Clock Tower at Lloyd Gate now Nehru Gate built In 1935 by Sir George Ambrose Lloyd , Morbi, Clock tower at Bedi gate naka black stone structured , Rajkot and Eighteenth-century palace Aina Mahal partly destroyed during an earthquake in the Bhuj town.
https://suratdiaries.in/2019/02/25/clock-tower-surat
https://traveltriangle.com/blog/historical-places-in-surat
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