Two months ago, the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) began the process to conserve and repair Dodda Gadiyara (Silver Jubilee Clock Tower) opposite Rangacharlu Memorial Town Hall. Following reports of cracks surfacing at the top portion of the Tower near the bell area, members of the District Heritage Committee and some officials of MCC collected samples of the construction materials, masonry samples, lime mortar and fallen iron pieces. Way back in 2005, a four-member Committee was formed to restore the heritage structure and the Committee had recommended many conservation measures. But the Committee’s suggestion was ignored and never implemented by the MCC. In this article, one of the Committee members M.S. Chandrasekhara Iyer, himself a Horologist, makes a fervent plea to save the structure for posterity. —Ed

Mysore/Mysuru: This attractive Silver Jubilee Clock Tower was installed just opposite Town Hall and close to the imposing Mysore Palace on Prabhavanama Samvatsara Shravana Masa Shukla Paksha Somavara (Monday) dated August 8, 1927, during the regime of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar. Originally its height was only 72 ft. and after 1927 another 20 ft. was raised.

This was constructed by using brick and mortar. It is called Silver Jubilee Clock Tower because it is the Obelisk of the Silver Jubilee Year celebration of Nalwadi.

It has four large dials facing North, South, East and West. Previously the dials had Roman figures. Now Roman figures were changed and Kannada figures were written during Kannada Jagruthi Varsha.

On the upper side of the Tower there is a big bell. When the hammer comes and strikes the bell, melodious sound is produced. The bell is made out of brass and was imported from France. The bell is four feet in height and fifty inches in width. The main Clock machine too was imported from France. Inside the machine the manufacturer’s name is written in French.

When the bell struck, it attracted many tourists passing nearby and earlier, the bell’s striking sound could easily be heard at a distance of 2 kilometres. Now the Tower is 93 years old. At that time the cost of the construction of this historical Clock Tower was Rs. 9,000 and was built within a span of six months.

In the middle of the Tower, there is a Relief Figure of ‘Gandaberunda’ the logo that is the insignia of the erstwhile Mysore Kings. On the four sides of the Tower, the Clock’s establishment date, month and year have been inscribed in Kannada, Sanskrit, English and Persian languages on marble stones in golden letters.

This Clock Tower is the biggest in the State and sadly, it has stopped chiming. On May 15, 2005, members of Mysore Agenda Task Force surveyed the Tower and studied the features of the Clock. After an in-depth study, we suggested the following to the MCC. Sadly, none of the recommendations were implemented and many officers and elected representatives who took over the reins of the Corporation ignored our suggestions.  

We had suggested many measures and some of them have been listed below: 

Immediate repairs must be done so that the Clock can function for another 30 years.

Cracks have developed in the walls of capper structure and masonry work has to be done as early as possible.

The wooden plank holding the bell needs to be repaired and made fire-proof.

The bell should be well polished.

The electric wiring inside the Clock Tower has to be protected to avoid short circuits.

The original structure of the Clock Tower should not be altered during repairs, since it is heritage structure. The Clock Tower should be free from any alterations.