Rajabai Clock Tower, Clock tower at University of Mumbai Fort campus, India
The clock tower rises 85 meters in Venetian and Gothic styles, built on a square base that transitions to an octagonal form near the top and decorated with stone sculptures and ornate balconies.
English architect George Gilbert Scott designed this structure in 1869, completed in 1878 with funding from businessman Premchand Roychand, who named it after his mother Rajabai and intended it as an academic landmark for the university.
The tower is named after Rajabai, mother of broker Premchand Roychand, who funded part of the construction on condition it bear her name. A Jain, she was blind and is said to have relied on the evening bell to know when to eat before sunset. The tower holds some of Mumbai's finest stained glass windows.
The tower stands inside the walled Fort campus of the University of Mumbai, so it is seen from the surrounding streets rather than entered. It was closed to the public after becoming a frequent spot for suicide attempts. The 2013–2015 restoration, supervised by Anita Garware, Rajan Welukar and N. Chandrasekaran, reopened it in March 2015.
The tower's evening bell let Premchand Roychand's blind mother, Rajabai, know when to eat before sunset, as her Jain faith required. The tower was later closed to the public after becoming a frequent spot for suicide attempts.
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