Hill station lovers restore destroyed memories

MUMBAI: In a moving little ceremony recently, a brand-new tablet was installed in the Mahabaleshwar Christian cemetery to perpetuate the memory of two little British children, Matilda and Colin Campbell Robertson, whose tomb was wilfully destroyed by a local bungalow owner a couple of years ago.
Their 1831 stone obelisk-tomb had been the oldest unmodified structure in the hill station and, as such, a heritage structure of prime importance.
The obelisk was erected by Colonel Archibald Robertson, the British Resident at the Court of the Raja of Satara from 1827 to 1832, when his eldest daughter, ''Tilly'', died, aged 10, in the hill station.
From the inscription on its tablet, the obelisk commemorated the memory of both Tilly and Robertson''s youngest son, Colin Campbell,who had died as an infant some time earlier.
The tomb stood in the grounds of the Four Oaks bungalow, which is very near—or on— the site on which the Robertsons once lived.
The new granite tablet, a replica of the tablet on the obelisk, was erected by a group of heritage lovers led by local environmentalist ColMiniMohite.
The tablet was consecrated by local priests Father Danny and Father Pinto. The others in the group were environmentalist Dr Farrokh Wadia, a Pune nephrologist who owns a bungalow in Mahabaleshwar, local business families such as the Dias family and visiting researcher John Malcolm, who is writing a biography of his kinsman Sir John Malcolm, the founder of Mahabaleshwar.
"We hope the consecration of this new tablet will make up at least a little for the cold-blooded erasure of a sacred piece of Mahabaleshwar''s history," says Mohite.
The elderly ex-Armyman has, along with BEAG activist Shyam Chainani, fought many battles to protect Mahabaleshwar''s natural and built heritage.
The obelisk was done away with when the bungalow changed hands in early 2001.
"The previous owners had been briefed about its historical significance by us. However, they went ahead and pulled it down because they believed that the presence of a grave on the property would scare away prospective buyers or fetch them a lesser price," says an irate Mohite.
Adds John Malcolm, who paid for the new tablet: "To build what is deemed an inappropriate structure on a heritage site can sometimes be excused. To destroy a tomb, which happens to have been the oldest surviving unmodified structure at the Mahabaleshwar hill station, for petty monetary gain, is inexcusable—especially when the owners were fully aware of its significance."
Robertson was a major player in Mahabaleshwar''s history, Malcolm points out.
"He played amajor role in the negotiations in 1828-''29 leading to the treaty between the Raja of Satara and the Bombay government, which resulted in the setting up of the Mahabaleshwar sanatorium and hill station."
Activist Shyam Chainani says it is high time Mahabaleshwar''s heritage committee, headed by Ravindra Surve, started keeping a strict vigil over the hill station''s built heritage.
"They have allowed some scandalous developments —for instance, the alteration of the facade of the old Mahabaleshwar clubhouse," he says. "This laxity must stop."