While Singh's duty is to repair the main and mini tower clocks, set the keys, time and check the condition of the circuit, he also tends to other electric repair work in the railway office.
Forty three-year-old Mahendra Singh, a Central Railway employee, climbs the spiral staircase on the second floor of the CST office, and walks inside the dark room behind the clock's main tower to keep it ticking.
After the last timekeeper, who kept the clock ticking for more than three decades, retired last week, Mahendra Singh took charge. Singh has been a CR employee since 2002. According to Singh, the clock needs to be set at least twice a week. Every week on Tuesday and Friday morning around 9.30 am, he sets the clocks and inspects it to see if it requires maintenance. Speaking about the responsibility entrusted with him, Singh said, "It is a very important task as many people set their time according to this clock. We have to be careful while setting the time because we cannot afford to misguide the people of this city."
While Singh's duty is to repair the main and mini tower clocks, set the keys, time and check the condition of the circuit, he also tends to other electric repair work in the railway office.
Singh began his career in a private firm as a repairer, and it took him sometime to understand the functioning of a mechanical clock. "In the beginning it was a little difficult to understand since we need to know the technical mechanism and circuit's ailments. Now-adays, a majority of people prefer using a digital clock rather than the mechanical one," added Singh.
The mechanical work in the iconic clock was upgraded a few decades ago. "Over a year-and-a -half-ago, the clock was not moving and due to some health issues Jadhav was not available over phone. We tried to repair the clock, but failed in our attempt. We finally got in touch with the person who upgraded the clock a few years ago and briefed him about the problem. He helped us correct the fault with the circuit movement. We were happy to see it functioning again."
BK Jadhav, who retired on March 31, said, "I will be happy to help them if they face any problem in maintaining the clock. Even after retirement, I keep visiting the area to see if the clock is working without glitches."
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