JJ School of Art gets a facelift

If the JJ School of Art could, it would heave a sigh of relief.

The grey basalt facade has been lovingly cleaned, the teak wood beams replaced, louevered windows stripped down to their original glory, limestone cornices rebuilt and the monstrous looking pipes and incongruent additions banished. Roofs have been retiled and the terrace water-proofed.

Instead of being overwhelmed by a slew of problems from bureaucratic inertia to lack of funds and public apathy, a group of concerned citizens have found a way to effect change. The facade restoration and upgradation project of the JJ School of art-a labour of love sponsored by the Friends of the JJ School of Art Trust and MPLADS funds-has been marked complete.

The nine-member Friends of JJ School was formed in 2003 to reverse, or at least decelerate, the deterioration of an institution that produced the behemoths of contemporary Indian art as we know it today.

Sangita Jindal, who started the trust, says, "I was warned it was going to be an uphill climb but I took it on knowing that I didn't want this city to lose a jewel". The Trust's agenda was two-fold, Part one focussed on the restoration of the physical structure.

After raising 18 lakh from an art auction and a Pandit Ravi Shankar concert, it was left to then MP Pritish Nandy to deliver on his promise of 40 lakh of his MPLADS fund to fulfill the project outlay.

"Even after the money was pledged it wasn't easy; the paperwork went from one government department to another for months before we saw the actual grant," says Jindal.

Adds Abha Lambah, who headed the group of conservation architects collaborating on the project, "The most exciting thing was that this was the first-ever restoration project to be supported by MPLADS' funds. But that also meant that the Parliament took its time over it because there was no precedent for this kind of expenditure."

Today work on the exterior is over and although the interiors of the building still need work, Lambah says, "We needed to prioritise; the Lion's share of the work is under under the skin of the building."

The trust is currently seeking donors for the next phase of work which includes lighting the building and the enhancing the garden. And Sangita Jindal herself, through the Jindal South West Foundation has committed to fund the restoration of the main lobby.

The other agenda of the trust was to add value to the existing curriculum. "That is something we unfortunately have had little luck with," says Jindal, "the staff has resisted so much to any changes we propose." She continues, "The only success we have had is that in recognition of the work we do, artist SH Raza and Kalpana Shah of Tao Art Gallery have each donated Rs 25,000 a year to award to deserving students, added to which we award three students Rs 10,000 each year. We need people who believe in the cause," says Jindal.

"You will be amazed at the number and complexity of issues we have on our hand," states Jindal.

There is no computer access for students, valuable books are going to the seed, even the potters kiln and welding machines aren't functional," states Jindal.

Two other projects are waiting in the wings to get addressed - the updating of the library, and the renovation of the Kipling house, the century-and-half old wood and stone bungalow that was the birthplace of Rudyard Kipling, son of the first principal of the college.

Jindal dreams of using the space to permanently house the priceless collection of art owned by the college, currently assigned to dusty corners, unvalued and uninsured. The trust sure has its hands full.