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The columns of Chaudhuri Bari at Baruipur were cut at the base as the plinth was no longer able to carry their weight. I reconstructed a 13 feet high fibreglass Doric column. This is the size of the other existing columns. I had to execute it in fibreglass considering the weight. My column was cast from one of the original columns. Whilst lifting the mould, several layers of whitewash applied over the years chipped off.
In connection to this, I made a wall of brick and cement concealing the main arched entrance that led to the kitchen, bathroom, and the women’s quarters at Chaudhuri Bari. I hung a family portrait photograph of the present keeper (chowkidar) of the house on the inside of the wall. The arches run along the central courtyard on one side and on the other, they are the cut off by the columns on the first floor. The thakurdalan (space demarcated for worship) stands on the further end. On facing the thakurdalan,
my column is an extension among the cut off ones. On the other side, the wall blocks the open entrance to the antarmahal or women’s quarters.