Restoring faith

A just-released short film showcases the painstaking and complex restoration of the Udvada fire temple, with a Mumbai art conservation team playing critical role

Soft music and Boman Irani’s powerful voice win your attention in the opening montage of ‘Iranshah - a legacy restored’, a short film released recently on Jamshedi Navroze that documents the meticulous restoration of a Zoroastrian fire temple.

Iranshah Atash Behram, in Udvada, Gujarat, has housed the revered Iranshah fire since October 31, 1894, and the heritage structure is now 126 years old. Over the years, the main building and other structures in the complex had deteriorated, needing extensive restoration and conservation work. Realising the immediate need for repairs, the High Priest and team approached global construction firm Shapoorji Pallonji, to request not just for a donation but their expertise, which was readily granted.

Portrait of Bai Motlibai Manekji Wadia being retouched

The vision was to restore the building to its original glory but what was missing was a blueprint, drawings, or pictures of the original architecture, which made the restoration project even more challenging. A meticulous plan was prepared with the objective to strengthen the structural stability and restore the architectural intent of the buildings. All decisions were taken after detailed discussions with mobeds (Zoroastrian clerics), the nine priestly families of Udvada, as as well as historians and scholars of Zoroastrianism on the many religious connotations.

A conservator removes darkened varnish from a painting of Zarathustra

“As you walk in, there were marble high relief sculptures, huge portraits of patrons on the walls and marble plaques with writings that commemorated events and textiles. In this case, the whole process was linked, as it was a complete rejuvenation of the site. Both the structure and the venerable objects were heavily damaged by water leakage and smoke from rituals. Only when the restoration of the building was complete could the paintings be hung in their designated places. The project, ably supported by the high priest’s team, was slated to take about six months but lasted two and a half years, but nobody seemed to mind it,” says Anupam Sah (inset), director, Anupam Heritage Lab Pvt. Ltd, who was associated with the art restoration at the site.

The original Iranshah flag, a relic that was hoisted on auspicious occasions, was in a special place for safekeeping. “It was basically like a bundle of cloth in silk and silver with extremely fine wires that were entwined. The zardozi work was used to create deities and religious text on the flag. The work and image were on both sides. These were separated into two, and after painstaking restoration, were framed and displayed in the passage on the left just as you enter the main hall,” says Sah. A new flag as a replica, using the same material palette of the original flag, has also been made.

According to Sah, “As all objects go back to the same environment, they have to ensure that these remain in good condition for the future. This was one of the greater challenges. Protective polycarbonate sheets were inserted behind the paintings, the frames were reinforced and silicon barriers have been put to seal the gaps to prevent soot from entering the crevices.” So, while everything looks the same visibly and many of the changes are not easily noticeable to the naked eye, what’s actually unfolded is an overhaul to hopefully last another 100 years.

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