Laxman Mahadeo Chitale

Laxman Mahadeo Chitale (1892-1960) was an Indian architect, author and one of the first Indian associates of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He was the architect of several landmark buildings in India such as the Life Insurance Corporation of India building, Chennai, Ram Mohan Palace, Kochi which was once the seat of the High Court of Kerala, Subramania Bharati Monument, Ettayapuram, Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Adyar and the Reserve Bank of India building, Nagpur. The Government of India honoured him in 1957, with the award of Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for his services to the nation.

Biography

Laxman Mahadeo Chitale was born in a family with meagre financial resources in 1892 in the small village of Parshuram which is around 8 km away from Chiplun, in the district of Ratnagiri of the western Indian state of Maharashtra. This basement was later acquired by Kothari Group who converted it as the vault of Madras Safe Deposit Company, the first safe deposit company in South India. When World War II broke out in 1941, Chitale was appointed as the Regional Camouflage Officer by the State government assigning him with the responsibility of camouflaging the city from night time raids. Reserve Bank of India building in Nagpur, Monument for Tamil poet, Subramania Bharati at Ettayapuram, Central Leather Research Institute building in Adyar and many other colleges and universities.

Later on in his career writing was an important aspect. Some examples of his writings were ‘House Gardens’ printed in People’s Health Journal, 1946, where Architect Chitale details how the provision of adequate open space around a house is an essential requirement in a well-considered house plan. The Reserve Bank of India building at Nagpur received extensive publicity for its remarkable design for the time. Chitale wrote about the design and building process of the structure in the Nagpur Times in October 1956 and the April 1958 issue of Journal of the Indian Institute of Architects. His other notable writings are ‘New Buildings’ about the Construction and Design of the Pachaiyappa’s College printed in The Hindu issue of August 12, 1940 and ‘Exhibitions’ that explained the planning and purpose of exhibition in the All India Khadi and Swadeshi Exhibition Souvenir, 1938-39. Some of his writings for The Municipal Gazette, Madras are ‘City Cinemas and Civic Welfare’ in March 1939, ‘Post War Reconstruction’ – about the new order world after World War 2 and how nations could achieve stability and prosperity in September 1941, ‘Fine Arts : A Maharaja’s Contribution’ - about Maharaja of Mysore’s patronage of all forms of arts like music, preservation of monuments, revival of architecture and town planning in September 1940 and ‘The Slums’ - About the unplanned, unsanitary settlements and what is needed to solve the issue and possible solutions in 1943.

The Government of India awarded Chitale the fourth highest civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1957. He died, aged 68, in 1960; his wife, Leelavathi, who hailed from Tarapur in Maharashtra, preceding him in death. The couple had a son, Srikrishna Laxman Chitale, who is also an architect and heads of the firm his father founded.