How late AU prof played a key role in restoration of Vizianagram Hall dome

Prayagraj: Prof Manas Mukul Das, a distinguished faculty member of the department of English at Allahabad University, passed away on Saturday night. In addition to his academic achievements, Prof Das made significant contributions to the university, many of which went unrecognized. One such contribution was his role in restoring the iconic blue dome atop the famous Vizianagram Hall of the science faculty.
Das had the foresight to preserve a piece of the original tile from the dome when it was being removed. He later provided this three-fourth piece of the turquoise blue tile to the Times of India (TOI) in 2012 when efforts were being made to renovate the edifice.

“When we witnessed the desecration of AU’s heritage, i.e., the dome of the Vizianagram Hall, we collected some broken tiles from the debris and sent those pieces to INTACH,” Das had said adding that, “We failed to attract attention, maybe the news published by TOI would do wonders.”
According to Das, the tiles on the Vizianagram Hall dome were glazed by craftsmen from Rajasthan guilds, who had preserved the secrets of making glazed tiles for architectural decoration for generations. The University Grants Commission (UGC) had sanctioned Rs 10 crore to AU and three other oldest universities in the country for the restoration of their heritage buildings during the Xth Five Year Plan.
The restoration of the Vizianagram Hall, including the dome, required replacing the tiles with original replicas.
TOI provided the piece of the original tiles to RITES, the agency responsible for restoring the dome and the building. The restoration work was completed, and the magnificent dome has become an iconic symbol of AU.
It took around a month and a half for 85 craftsmen from Jaipur to polish the tiles, which underwent a four-time glazing and firing process.