Briton returns tools used to restore Jaipur's Jantar Mantar

A century after its renovation, Jaipur’s famous Jantar Mantar received the tools the British used to restore it. Iain Richard Scott Shore returned 12 tools to the Rajasthan government used by his great-grandfather Arthur Folliott Garret, an engineer at Roorkee invited to Jaipur by the then Maharaja Madho Singh to repair Jantar Mantar.

A former army man living in Britain, Shore’s association with India goes back several centuries, which is why returning the relics he inherited was harder. “These are more than just tools,” a moist-eyed Shore told DH. “When my grandmother told me my great-grandfather had used these tools at Jantar Mantar, I immediately thought of giving them back to India so that they are (maintained) by those who can treasure it. My great-grandfather stayed in Jaipur for 15 months for the renovation.”

Accompanied by wife Kshma and sister Sue, Shore visited Jantar Mantar and touched the walls. Later, he handed over Garret’s instruments to Hridesh Sharma, Director of the Archaeology Department of Rajasthan, suggesting they be displayed at the local observatory created by the astronomer ruler, Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh, when he established the city of Jaipur in 1727. The instruments include a geometry box containing a ruler made of ivory and other engineering tools made of steel.

Jantar Mantar’s superintendent Shashi Prabha Sharma said: “It’s rare that a British citizen comes to India to return the tools he has inherited. We will be placing them at the museum in Jantar Mantar. With the arrival of the tools, the interpretation centre will be enriched as the tools’ origin dates back to 1901 and are historically important.” Shore is on his way to Saharanpur to pay homage to his grandfather Walter Francis Shore at the Indian Veterinary Corps office on December 6, where he will hand over a silver cigarette case to the officers’ mess as a souvenir.

“I could have sent these items by parcel, but I’m emotionally attached to them,” Shore said. His forefathers came to India in 1680 and the bond has continued with the country since.