In the coming months, if you find yourself moved by the beauty and magnificence of an illuminated structure anywhere in Kolkata, chances are that Mudar Patherya is behind it. Learn more about what prompted Mudar, who happens to be a columnist with My Kolkata, to pioneer the Calcutta Illumination Project.
The roots of the project were sown one morning in September 2023, when Mudar was driving down APC Road in north Kolkata and noticed the iconic dome atop Maniktala market. “My first reaction was that it could do with a coat of paint. I dropped a message on a WhatsApp group called ‘Calcutta Restore’, expressing my desire to get it painted. Within minutes, former police commissioner Soumen Mitra connected me to Debasish Dutta, the officer-in-charge of Burtolla police station,” he recalled. With Dutta’s help, Mudar reached out to the market’s association and got the dome painted. He wasn’t fully satisfied, as the freshly painted spot wasn’t visible at night. That is how the idea to illuminate it was born. “I received a quote from a lighting designer in Ezra Street. While I had paid for the painting job, I realised that I would need to crowd-funding for the illumination.”
The updated looks of Ishwar Kalachand Jiu Mandir and Kapalitala Kali Mandir.
Yet again, Mudar dropped a few WhatsApp messages to some high net-worth individuals, and managed to secure adequate funds. Seeing the response, he negotiated a bit more to light up the Kalachand Jiu Temple at Ramdulal Sarkar Street. “With the money for one monument, I illuminated two. It struck me that there are thousands of similar structures in Kolkata, which could be transformed with lighting. On the night of Diwali, I sent another WhatsApp message to 15 people, telling them about my idea and showing how we had successfully implemented it twice,” he said. Mudar asked for five lakh. By the next morning, he had raised Rs 55 lakh.
The project has given a makeover to independently owned facades like 41, Chittaranjan Avenue and 25, Harish Mukherjee Road.
The overwhelming response made him realise the true potential of this initiative, and he began looking for more facades in the city. He earmarked a plan to light up approximately 500 structures in the city over the next seven years, and titled it the Calcutta Illumination Project. “Since this concept hasn’t been explored before, people initially thought I had a hidden agenda when I offered to illuminate their space. To assure people, I wrote a three-page term sheet that would tell them exactly what I would and wouldn’t do, and assured them that the lights would always be in their custody,” he said. When the facade owners realised that Mudar wasn’t looking to take credit, and was simply driven by passion, they relented. Completing work on one structure prompted the word to spread and soon people were reaching out to Mudar, asking him to consider their space for illumination.
In the last two months, he has already completed eight building facades, including Sacred Heart Church, Greek Orthodox Church and a private residence at 25, Harish Mukherjee Road. He has also received approval for and is working on 10 more iconic spots, including the New Market facade, Geological Survey of India at Jawaharlal Nehru Road and the Royal Insurance Building at Fairlie Place. “We currently have 26 projects in various stages of completion. It’s reached a point where even my illumination team can’t keep up!” he chuckles, adding that he is looking to get a second lighting vendor on board. “I started as my own army, but in a few weeks, the Calcutta Illumination Project should become an ecosystem of 20 people.”
While scale has been in the focus, there has also been an attention to detail. All the lights have a warm yellow colour in order to customise it around the building’s architecture. Lights aren’t just used to illuminate the structure, but also bring out its personality. “Some buildings are so delicate that it is important to treat them like a visual symphony, and not a loud concert. The lights we use, whisper, without shouting,” Mudar added.
Greek Orthodox Church and Sacred Heart Church gleaming at night.
Mudar is aware that the hype could die down with time. He has devised a unique way to keep the concept fresh once he hits 40-50 facades, by transforming the project from physical to experiential. He hopes to do so by inviting a classical musical orchestra to perform at a site’s opening, celebrating its rejuvenation. “We have received permission for St Paul’s Cathedral. The night we illuminate it, we’d like to invite the entire city to a classical music orchestra!”
While the project is being backed by 21 high net-worth individuals, the first phase has been entirely funded by The Bhawanipur Education Society College (BESC). “It is not about gaining recognition by restoration, but giving without expectations. The idea is to make people pause and appreciate a structure’s older glory. We want everyone who is willing to beautify this city to join the movement,” said Miraj D. Shah, vice-chairman, BESC.
Mudar’s vision is to showcase a successful first phase to build trust and credibility, which will enable him to raise more money for the rest of the project. He believes that being entrusted with the responsibility of bodies like the Geological Survey of India will go a long way in bringing more government entities into the project too. “New Market will be illuminated at night after 150 years. This will open a new chapter in the perception and interpretation of Kolkata’s heritage architecture. Imagine driving on the Park Street flyover and seeing the Geological Survey building popping out like a showstopper,” he smiled.
The New Market clock tower and Geological Survey of India are the latest additions to the project.
Apart from the intangible value, the numbers speak for themselves. “An apartment in the city’s most luxurious residential complex costs Rs 14 crore. My entire programme should be done in about Rs 10 crore. We could light up 5,00,000 sq ft of facade for less money than the cost of living in a 4,000sqft apartment. With 10 crores, we won’t just illuminate 500 facades. We will transform this city into a sight that has never been seen in 250 years,” he signs off.