RAVE Cases: Lighting Up a Legacy — QnA with Mudar Patherya

Sehaj Sahni
Jun 19
11 min read

One Man. One City. A Thousand Lights.

There are those who admire cities, and then there are those who illuminate them—quite literally. Meet Mudar Patherya, a man who walks Kolkata’s forgotten lanes not to lament decay but to dream restoration. In a city heavy with centuries of layered history, Mr. Patherya has found not just stories, but symbols — structures aching to glow again.

In this special RAVE Cases monthly feature, we explore the Calcutta Illumination Project—a movement sparked by one painted dome and now glowing across 51 iconic buildings. Through his own words, Mr. Patherya shares the genesis, challenges, aspirations, and lessons behind the lights that are not just beautifying Kolkata, but redefining civic engagement and heritage revival in urban India.

About Mudar Patherya: A Man of Many Hats, and a Heart for Heritage

Mudar Patherya is a businessman, stock picker, researcher, writer, social activist, and most importantly, a heritage revivalist with an unshakable love for Kolkata. Known for his philosophical take on wealth as trusteeship, he channels this view into tangible, community-driven projects that breathe life back into decaying cityscapes.

While many of his generation left the city in pursuit of economic opportunities, Mr. Patherya stayed behind — committed to revealing the “astonishing possibilities” Kolkata holds. From restoring gravestones to reviving lakes, from painting electricity boxes with cultural icons to organizing classical concerts on colonial staircases, he exemplifies the Rabindranath Tagore verse "Ekla Cholo Re" — If no one walks with you, walk alone.

Source: The Calcutta Illumination Project Files - 1

The Calcutta Illumination Project: A Glimpse Into the Vision

Launched in November 2023, the Calcutta Illumination Project is Mr. Patherya’s ambitious effort to light up the city’s rich architectural and historical heritage. Working largely through crowdfunding, he has already illuminated 51 landmark buildings including St. Paul’s Cathedral, the General Post Office, and the iconic New Market. The project uses LED-based warm yellow lighting for aesthetic effect and energy efficiency.

But this is not just about the visual impact. It’s about invoking pride, drawing people back to the public domain, and imagining Kolkata as a glowing metropolis — “India by Night,” as Mr. Patherya puts it. From lighting to live performances, this movement aims to transform static monuments into cultural experiences.

Source: The Calcutta Illumination Project Files - 2

RAVE Q&A: Illuminating Heritage with Mudar Patherya

Genesis of the Project: What inspired you to initiate the Calcutta Illumination Project, and how did the restoration of the Maniktala dome influence this endeavor?

Your first question is what inspired me to initiate Calcutta Illumination Project. And the genesis was really born out of the fact that I used to be a lane walker, lane, L-A-N-E. I used to walk the by-lanes of the city and come across very interesting, pretty, intimate and relatively small size properties and I would often dream.

The fact is that if you see anything through the perspective of reality, it sounds boring, it looks boring. But whenever you see a property through the prism of possibilities, it looks fascinating because you keep thinking, oh, if I did this, what would it look like?

If I did this, what would it look like? And one chance upon Maniktala market, it had a dome and my initial plan was to merely paint the dome, nothing more. After having successfully painted it, I realized that nobody could see it at night.

So I said, that's an impact which has been lost. So I said, what if I illuminated it and I realized the magic lay not in the painting, but it lay in the illumination. And that's how one stumbled across the subject that if we illuminate, some fascinating possibilities could emerge.

Community Engagement: How did you mobilize community support and crowdfunding for the project? What strategies proved most effective in garnering participation?

As far as community support is concerned, I didn't require it. I only needed to go to the owner of the property, ask for permission, convince the person that I did not have an ulterior motive in mind and I could paint or illuminate or paint and illuminate without any compromise on their ownership rights.

I mean, I had no ownership rights, it took a little time convincing them and they kind of took a gamble on me. As far as the crowdfunding is concerned, I already have a network and they know that I am committed to heritage and social projects and calculus.

I didn't reach out to a number of people, I reached out to about 20 people. Out of 20 people, maybe 19 gave me money and that's how the first project was launched. The second project was completed within the project of the first project, which is quite amazing.

And I think I did not need a better validation of my integrity, honesty and commitment, that in the cost of one, I could manage two. After that, there was no looking back because when I could send my donors the before and after effect of the illumination, I think they were quite stunned themselves and thereafter they built up a commitment to fund me.

The reality is that I have a large number of funders today, total number of funders would be very close to about 200. And the trick is not to ask them for a very large, not to ask them for large amounts but to ask them for nominal or moderate amounts, which everyone can afford.

When you aggregate the nominal amounts across a large number of people, you have a sizeable corpus available with you.

Selection Criteria: With numerous heritage structures in Kolkata, how do you prioritize which buildings to illuminate?

As far as the prioritization of buildings is concerned, one goes by a few very clear guidelines or imperatives, one, the building must be significant from a historical perspective. If you know every anonymous person has lived in it, then maybe a little less of a priority than something else where a great poet or a great politician or a great person of history would have stayed, that is number one.

Number two, the building must be architecturally different, must be distinctive. Number three, the building must have a great line of sight. If it's tucked away in the fourth by lane away from the main road, it would be less of a priority than a building which is actually on a street corner and that traffic or rather that road attracts a daily throughput of maybe 200,000 cars, then it definitely has a greater value.

Number four, size and scale. It's important that the building not be just a ground floor or a ground plus one storied building, but maybe could be a 500, I would say a 90 or a 100 feet high building and maybe 100 or 200 feet in breath.

Then it adds a lot of gravitas. Number four, the neighborhood is also important. If it's in a historical neighborhood, then things work. If more and more buildings are located out of BBD Warg, formerly called Delousie, then it adds value to my Delousie portfolio.

So the imperatives are very clearly line of sight, historicity, neighborhood, architectural distinctiveness.

Technical Considerations: Could you elaborate on the lighting techniques and technologies employed to ensure both aesthetic appeal and environmental sensitivity?

I am not the best person to answer on the lighting techniques and technologies, however, I must mention that all the illumination is permanent, all the illumination is LED, so that it translates into a lower cost of electricity, every single light that we use is warm yellow.

After that the nature of the light whether it is a wall washer or it is a focus light, all these are dependent on the nature of architecture, but broadly we generally go for warm yellows, we go for LEDs and we go for permanent installations.

Cultural Impact: How has the illumination of these structures influenced public perception and engagement with Kolkata's heritage?

I think people are beginning to recognize that the city of Calcutta is looking different at night. Some parts of the city have become wondrous. And that's largely because of the scale and size of those buildings.

And they're being contiguous to other buildings which are also similarly illuminated. So suddenly you don't get a building effect, you get a neighborhood effect. And I think to that extent, there is a huge scope.

Citizens are warming up to this. They're chancing upon these buildings and wondering who the hell is illuminated. And often assume it's the government at work. Or the building owner who has decided to illuminate those buildings.

But there definitely is a stirring within Calcutta of buildings coming to life at night.

Challenges Faced: What obstacles have you encountered in the process of illuminating heritage sites, and how have you addressed them?

The obstacles have been not very large, there have been quite a few, one of course being getting the permission from the owner of the building, that's a time consuming process and that can be best countered by engaging with at least 50 owners at the same time and expecting something or the other to keep working out, which is exactly what has happened.

Number one is that, number two is that some of these buildings are very difficult to access vertically because they are large. So, I think setting up the scaffolding, the scaffolding cost, the scaffolding skill, the scaffolding safety, these are all ongoing risk factors that one has to take into account.

The other risk factors, of course the other challenge obviously is the need to go out and raise money, but here I have been a bit fortunate because I haven't encountered a funding issue because most people recognise that something dramatic is happening in night time Kolkata and are willing to contribute liberally towards this course.

Experiential Integration: You've mentioned plans to incorporate cultural events, like classical music performances, at illuminated sites. How do you envision this enhancing the project's impact?

The challenge lies in not just doing static lighting, the challenge lies in graduating the property to the next level by utilizing these properties as locations and props for cultural performances. This is rethinking the entire game from a 360 degree perspective as opposed to saying I have illuminated and my job is over, my job is never over.

Calcutta's, some of Calcutta's buildings are fascinating in terms of architecture and when illuminated become remarkable props for cultural events. So we have done one event on the staircase, imagine staircase of the Royal Insurance Building in BBD WAG and that was transformed into a remarkable prop for dance performance and the objective is to keep seeking different such opportunities that could transform these buildings from static dimension to a multi-faceted personality.

I think people must see a building and say wow, this is a lovely theatre. I think that is something that one is working at and maybe it will take a couple of years for one to get there after we have established a fair amount of scale of such performances.

Sustainability and Maintenance: What measures are in place to ensure the long-term sustainability and upkeep of the illuminated structures?

At this moment, we've not encountered the challenge of maintenance. In some cases, yes, some of the lights become inoperative, somewhere the birds come and sit and change the angle of the lights. In some cases, there is an MCV collapse, miniature circuit breakers.

So we keep attending to that. I think the question lies not as much in implementation as much as in adoption. I have adopted this course. This is not something that I've started and expect somebody else to sustain.

Nobody will sustain. People are just not interested enough to be activators. People are interested in being spectators. Having accepted this responsibility for ownership, one will keep addressing maintenance issues as and when they arise.

It's important to also communicate that the maintenance issues are not substantive. They're negligible. So the cost involved is negligible. And I think one would remain committed to keeping Calcutta illuminated in the evenings.

And I think that the commitment is not to install. The commitment is to illuminate. The commitment is not to be one of the communicating. The objective is to develop a relationship.

Replication Potential: Do you see the Calcutta Illumination Project serving as a model for other cities? What advice would you offer to those looking to undertake similar initiatives?

I clearly see an opportunity emerging where one takes this Calcutta illumination project to other cities and the objective is to get people to become city proud, if they become city proud, they will illuminate their own structures and somewhere there is a seed built into the mind and that is, can we create an entire terminology, can we create a positioning of India by night, which means India during the day could be tropical,

warm, maybe even unaesthetic, but India at night could be a remarkable transition in terms of attractiveness, which means there is a possibility of igniting an entire tourism movement post dusk, it is not a local possibility, it is not a regional possibility, I think it is a national possibility.

Future Aspirations: Looking ahead, what are your goals for the Calcutta Illumination Project, and how do you plan to expand its reach and impact?

The goal is very simple to get to 500 illuminated structures, maybe in about five years. The road is long, but it is not necessarily artists. The road is not necessarily challenging, it is a simple linear commitment, just stay in the game.

I think if one stays in the game, things will keep happening. The other objective is to graduate from mere illumination to painting. I think if one can paint structures, it would be a combination of illumination and beautification and in some cases even extend the argument to restoration.

So if one takes all three, illumination, beautification and restoration, a lot can be achieved. It could be just the solution that modern India needs in its attempt to restore and protect and rejuvenate heritage structures.

I think an entirely new model could be emerging.

Creative Collaborations: If artists or collectives wish to collaborate with you in creating new cultural experiences around these illuminated sites, would you be open to such proposals? How can they reach out?

We would be absolutely thrilled at engaging with artists. These hardware of these properties exist. It is a software that is going to make big difference. It is a software that is going to bring crowds back into these buildings.

It is a software that is going to make people say, we lived through these properties through the performances as opposed to saying that we have only viewed and seen these properties. So I think the next step is going to be dramatic and I think we need more artists to get in touch with us, come up with proposals.

At the moment I am situated out of Calcutta. So definitely Calcutta artists who have a viable plan, we would be very welcoming. We would be very welcoming in coordinating their performances at heritage locations and in doing so, try and create a 360 degree experience for people who live in the city.

Advice for the Next Generation: What is one tip you would give to young people interested in working on revitalization initiatives?

I find it a little difficult to give advice because I could easily say that you replicate what I have done though I do recognize that my replication of my initiative would need access to funds, would need access to properties, would need one to coordinate across a number of things.

So my simple advice is start something in your own building, start something in your own neighborhood. That is a much more manageable terrain, that is a much more controllable variable and I think if one does that gradually one will summon more courage, more entrepreneurial spirit to be extending out of one's neighborhood and getting to other pockets of the city.

So my only advice is don't just sit and pontificate on heritage, go out and make a difference. I would say one act of actual restoration would be five years of sitting on a WhatsApp group and exchanging absolutely shallow and meaningless notes.

So I would say just do it.

A City That Glows, A Citizen Who Cares

Mudar Patherya is not just illuminating buildings—he’s illuminating what one committed individual can achieve. In his vision, Kolkata is not a relic of the past, but a canvas for the future. With every dome that glows, every concert that echoes off heritage walls, he proves that passion, people, and purpose are enough to transform cities—one light at a time.

Join the movement. Dream your city by night.