Back to the tower after the winter break! - The Clock Tower, BITS Pilani

Aman, Pankaj and Arun went up at 16:00 for about an hour.

The clock was lagging by 5-10 mins on three faces with each face showing a different time. The SR (back) face was off by 2 hours. We tried to adjust the time without removing the bevel assembly but couldn’t as there was a lot of resistance. We will need to come back and correct this.

The following changes were observed:

The clock chamber floor has been cleaned.
New tube lights and wiring (along with PVC pipes) for the clock faces. A new plug point as well.
The lightning conductor window was left open and pigeons have started coming inside the bell chamber.
2 broken window glass panes at the room below the bell chamber.

Welcome!

The most iconic landmark in the quaint, little hamlet that is Pilani, the BITS Clock-tower brings with it more than half-a-century’s worth of history and tales aplenty. Occupying a central place in BITS folklore, over the years, attempting an ascent of this structure was something of a rite of passage for every BITSian who hopped onto the life-mobile and sauntered off into the sunset.

As clock-towers go, this specimen is about as unique as they come – its array of 10 bells, gives it an unparalleled musical range among its brethren nationally, and it certainly hits rarefied notes on a global scale. That it has had to suffer in silence for the last 30 years is a deafening tragedy, with reports from its heyday extolling how its chimes could be heard from miles away!

Over the last couple of years, there has been a dedicated student-run initiative to restore this tired behemoth to the pristine glory of its yesteryears. Mentored by a group of recent alumni, a team of able hands and minds have made great strides in this regard.

Wishing you well, ye old Methuselah. Long may you enthrall generations hence!

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Welcome!