Tucked in a small strip of garden across from the Faculty of Arts at The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (MSU) is a clock tower known as the Shri Sayaji Tower. Erected during 1920-21, it was built at a cost of Rs. 30,470, with the clock alone accounting for about Rs. 3,000.
The Tower :
The Shri Sayaji Tower stands nearly 40 feet tall, emerging from a small single-storeyed structure. The tower features a stone facade adorned with tall openings fitted with stone jalis. Divided into four distinct sections, the bottommost portion includes an entrance door. Above this, the section is embellished with intricate stone jalis.
The subsequent section boasts small cantilevered balconies projecting from all four sides, each adorned with stone jalis forming parapets. Positioned just above these balconies are clocks, placed on all four faces of the tower. Notably, these clocks uniquely display their numerals in the “Devanagari” script, distinguishing them from others.
Crowning the tower is its topmost segment, culminating in a domed chattri (cupola) topped with a finial, completing the elegant structure of the Shri Sayaji Tower.
The funds for the tower were contributed by State Scholars in Europe in the year 1894.
The donors of the clock were:
– Sampatrao Gaekwad
– Ganpatrao Gaekwad
– Umendra Bhai Desai
– Jijaba B. Mohite
– Nanajirao S. Sinde
– Madhavrao A. Sitole
– MotiBhai B. Patel
– RaojiBhai M. Patel
– Alaudin M. Pathan
– LaluBhai H. Kharadi
– RanchhodLal K. Lohar
– Mansingrao A. Solasker
Chief Engineer: A.H. Coyle.
Once a prominent time marker for passengers arriving at the nearby railway station, the chimes of the clock tower have now faded into obscurity. Hidden behind tall trees, the tower itself is scarcely noticed by anyone passing by.
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