The Hindu : National : A blend of the old and the new

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 28, 2004

National

National

A blend of the old and the new

By Anil Sastry

The stages of renovation of the Old GMC building done in record time.

PANAJI, NOV. 27. Facing the picturesque Mandovi River in the heart of Panaji stands a building which once housed Escola Medico Cirurgica de Nova Goa, said to be the oldest medical college in Asia. Built in 1927, it was in decay thanks to lack of maintenance. But now it stands renovated, housing the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) office, besides boasting a mega four-screen multiplex on its precincts.

The Goa Medical College (GMC), which functioned from there after the Escola Medico, moved out and various government departments came in, damaging the building further.

The exteriors were damaged beyond recognition while the interiors were altered at the whims and fancies of the hospital administrators and government departments.

The building has Roman, Neo-classical and Gothic styles, semi-circular arched windows, wooden ceilings, cast iron railings, ornamental tiles with rose motifs on the walls, beautiful green tiles, long corridors, balustrades, pilasters, mouldings, ornamental grills, windows with Gothic-style stained glass panes, porches and pillars resembling the Doric Order.

According to Gurudas M. Kamat of Inside Out, the Chief Design Architect assigned the task of renovation: "This building's beauty lies in the depth of its long corridors." Though a minimum of eight months were required, the team had only three months as the work began on August 15 amid heavy downpour. They worked in shifts stretching up to 18 hours a day. Now the building is an illustrious example of the blend of the old and the new.

Mr. Kamat and his team spent hours applying the mixture of lime, jaggery and sand for plastering, removing multiple coats of paints on the window and doorpanes and polishing them, reconstructing mouldings, porches and pillars, fixing plain and colour glasses on the window panes to bring the building to what it was in 1927.

With all these, the old GMC building has been the centre of attraction during the IFFI.

Mr. Kamat, also a member of the Indian Documentary Producers' Association and Society for Motion Pictures and Television Engineers, told The Hindu that the building could also be used for shooting films.

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