Restoration work for transformation of the historic Audrey House and lakshmi Nivas in the capital into museums has picked up pace. Audrey House will be replete with paintings, sculptures, rare photographs and antique items within a year whereas lakshmi Nivas will serve as a centre which will provide information and know-how on agricultural technologies to farmers and horticulturists.
“Restoration work is in progress. We are done with 50 percent of the work and are trying to preserve the 150-year-old look of Audrey House with the same interiors and exterior decoration. It will be a tourist hot spot especially for history and art lovers. Everything is going as proposed except the open-air theatre. That is on hold and decision is pending,” said PK Singh, the Executive Engineer supervising its restoration work.
Once the residence of the British Deputy Commissioner of Chottanagpur, Audrey House is a wood and steel structure with slanting roof fitted with tiles. Two of its main halls have wooden flooring which add to its beauty and grandeur and makes it a masterpiece. The proposed Museum will be spread out over 30,000sqft, and comprise a single-storey conservation building, a conference hall, library, documentation centre, an open-air theatre with a total seating capacity of 600 and a tribal centre showcasing the life of the state’s native tribes, besides an artifacts museum.
Just a few Kilometers away, laxmi Nivas, a heritage red-brick structure with architectural carving once owned by a zamindar of Bengal, is also getting a makeover. located within the Krishi Bhawan complex in Kanke Road, laxmi Nivas dates to 1905, and is known for the murals and carvings in its inside walls. “We are working on the restoration project round-the-clock to convert lakshmi Nivas into an agricultural museum and resource centre. But there is still some time before we complete the transformation. It will flourish as a beautiful tourist spot in future,” said Ram Kumar, a spot worker in lakshmi Nivas.
However, Audrey House and lakshmi Nivas are all set to be reborn as heritage stops on the tourist circuit, the proposed Independence Museum and Cultural Campus at the historic Birsa Munda Central Jail remains shelved for over a year now.