COMING TO THE STOP

Vinoo N. Mathur's ode to Indian railway buildings makes you want to ditch the flight for the train

- Partho Datta

INDIAN RAILWAY BUILDINGS: HERITAGE, HISTORY AND BEYOND

by Vinoo N. Mathur

NIYOGI BOOKS

₹2,500; 365 pages

The British in India invested ideologically in the railways, and some of the most grand and monumental structures were colonial railway stations. Anyone interested in buildings cannot but fall in love with this legacy, and Vinoo Mathur, an old railway hand, has done a wonderful job of documentation. The book is a feast of rare archival and other photographs, the text has been meticulously researched and the author's grasp of the formal aspects of western architectural history is truly impressive. And it spans a range that includes chronological development, geographical spread, changing architectural styles, different functional needs-stations, offices, residential quarters, sheds and workshops, schools, hospitals, hotels.