Have you realised how in a city like ours, where its population prides itself on being sticklers for time, there are actually, very few public clocks to keep track?
This is, of course, barring the giant-sized clocks that can be spotted at railway stations. Probably one of the earliest running clocks in the city is the Rajabai Clock Tower inside the University buildings.
ADVERTISEMENT
Designed in the Venetian-Gothic style by Sir George Gilbert Scott, the tower was completed in 1878. Until 1931, this octagonal, lantern-shaped tower would chime tunes like Rule Britannia, God Save the Queen and Home Sweet Home, along with hymns on Sundays and other favourites on weekdays. Twenty carved figures in the niches represent different castes of West India.
Each measure 8 ft in height and were made of Porbander stone. It is believed that this tower was modelled on Giotto’s campanile in Florence, Italy. Students from the Sir JJ School of Art executed these magnificent figures.
Some of the other familiar dials include the impressive, restored clock at CST, the four-dial clock atop the Crawford Market tower, which has been in repair for a while now, and the still-functioning dial near the entrance to the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum at Rani Baug. How many can you spot?u00a0