Public Architecture and Role of Local Contractors in Late Nineteenth Century Case of Poona

Role of local engineers is largely neglected in the context of late nineteenth century due to lack of archival resources and primary sources. Though the Royal engineers were key persons worked in several parts of India they implemented their western ideas in collaboration with local engineers and masons at grass root level in the process of establishing British rule in India. Diverse projects from basic architectural interventions, railway, bridges, basic infrastructure, and services they coordinated in India. They worked on European models in local context with successful and unsuccessful efforts. Till early nineteenth century simple and function based structures were built for residential and religious purposes. Engineers were experimenting and modifying European models considering local climatic conditions. From mid nineteenth century building construction activity received more attention as vocabulary of Raj. Which kept on changing adapting local climate, material and incorporation of local traditional art forms in architecture. Vasudev Bapuji Kanitkar worked with Charles Mant, Chishom, Trubshaw and Walter Ducat in towns like Baroda, Bombay, and Poona as Indian local contractor. He was nominated as Rao Bahadur by British government for his important role in construction activity in Deccan. Laxmi vilas Palace in Baroda, Secretariat Building, High court in Bombay and Reay or Phule market Poona are some of his major contributions in architectural development under Bombay Presidency as an Indian local contractor. His self executed projects in Poona left his mark as significant designer and engineer in late nineteenth century. Educational, official, Public, and domestic buildings show his advancement from local contractor to designer with his intricacy of work. His influences originated from the earlier work experiences of varied projects amalgamated with local traditional workmanship lead into the development of style could be named as local Indo-Saracenic architecture or in few cases local Indo-Neo Gothic architecture. This could be perceived in his own designs executed in Poona such as Fergusson College, Anandashram, Sangamashram and Pune Nagar Vachan Mandir or Poona Native Library and so on. His contribution as a local contractor and designer working in collaboration with Royal Engineers and local social reformists like Bhandarkar and Apate is underlined in the further discourse. Main focus is on his role in the development of architectural vocabulary in late nineteenth century Poona which is quite neglected in the pages of architectural history of Poona.