town hall 1873 Asiatic Society of Bombay Mumbai India Literary Society Sir James Mackintosh
Asiatic Society of Bombay is based in Mumbai, India. It can trace its origin to the Literary Society of Bombay which first met in Mumbai on November 26, 1804, and was founded by Sir James Mackintosh. It was formed with the intention of "promoting useful knowledge, particularly such as is now immediately connected with India". After the Royal Asiatic Society was established in London in 1823, the Literary Society of Bombay became affiliated with it and was known as the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society since 1830. The Bombay Geographical Society merged with it in 1873 followed by the Anthropological Society of Bombay in 1896. In 1954, it was renamed the Asiatic Society of Bombay; it acquired its present name in 2002. It is funded by an annual grant from the Central Government of India. The Town Hall, (Colloquially Called Tondal in the 19th Century) which houses the Asiatic Society of Bombay was however not built in 1804, the year in which the Literary Society of Bombay was formed. Though Sir James Mackintosh did moot the proposal for a grand edifice, it was not completed until the year 1830 (year to be confirmed with tablet on the entrance) after many fits and starts, when the Bombay Government agreed to make up for the shortfall in funds in return for office-space. The after-effects of this compromise can still be seen in the unseemly crowds gathered at the Stamp Office and other government departments in the Town Hall. It is now classified a heritage structure, heavily influenced by Greek and Roman architecture. It has a portico with eight Doric columns. A flight of 30 steps lead up to the town hall and a wrought iron divided Regency staircase leads to the vestibule. In 1930 Sir John Malcolm, governor of Bombay stated: "It is the most magnificent structure that taste and munificence combined have as yet erected in India."
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