Knowing Time Before the Advent of Clock Towers in Visakhapatnam

Since time immemorial, Visakhapatnam has had a rich and eventful history with timekeeping. Clock towers, prominently located throughout the city, are a testament to an era when they were among the few means available to the public for keeping track of time. But what methods were used before the advent of these iconic structures? In this insightful exploration, Vizag historian Edward Paul delves into the fascinating history of timekeeping in Visakhapatnam.

Timekeeping has played a significant role in shaping civilizations throughout history. The ability to measure and track time has allowed societies to organize their activities and coordinate with others.

The construction of clock towers in Indian cities started during the British period. During those old days, wristwatches were not as affordable and widespread as now, for the use of common people to know the time. So the clock towers were erected for the benefit of the public to know the time and regulate their daily activities. Later they became the cities’ landmarks and iconic heritage structures. 

In the Smart City Project taken up by the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, a new clock tower had come up at Jagadamaba junction recently. It is a well-lauded work which really beautified that busy junction. Its design, structure and colour are being well appreciated by all those who are passing through that junction. Presently it is a new fascinating icon in the city. 

The old residents of the city know that junction as Ellamma Thota after a village Goddess temple situated very close to that junction. On 25th October 1970, a new and the first 70 mm theatre in the city named as “Jagadamba 70 mm Deluxe Vistarama Theatre” came up at that junction. Very soon, it became popular and people started calling that place ‘Jagadamba Junction’ making everyone forget its old name. 

At this junction, the then Visakhapatnam Municipal Commission erected the statue of Tenneti Visawanatham, a freedom fighter, and a public representative from the city. The statue was unveiled by the then President of India, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy on 7th January 1982. At that time the junction was officially named as “Tenneti Square” by VMC. But no one ever called it by that name. Now after 40 years, very few people remember that it was so named. With a tall, magnificent, imposing and attractive structure coming up right in the junction, it would not be a surprise if people start calling it as “Clock Tower Junction” in the days to come.

This is the fourth Clock Tower that has come up in the city. The first one was at Kurupam market, constructed in 1914 by the Raja of Kurupam which was later demolished by GVMC in 2014. The second one is at JVD College of Andhra University, constructed in the year 1936, which has not been in working condition since the Hudud cyclone in 2014. The third clock is at King George Hospital, erected sometime in the early 1950s, which is now in working condition. 

Going back in time, the Port city of Visakhapatnam had a different way of timekeeping by the public in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Old records of Visakhapatnam mention that the Army unit at the fort (in the old town) used to fire a time gun every day at 9 pm to inform the public and all the ships at port about the correct local time. Later the Time Gun firing seems to have shifted from the port on to the Dolphin’s Nose Hill. 

Godey Venkata Jagga Rao, a local Zamindar and a trained astronomer constructed an Observatory in Dabagardens, in 1840 to conduct both astronomical and meteorological observations. He established the longitude and latitude of Visakhapatnam from his observations. For many years the time recorded in the observatory was the local time for Visakhapatnam. He erected a flagstaff on Dolphin’s Nose Hill to provide time signals for the public as well as for the ships, to know the correct local time at 9 am every day. The system adopted was to raise two flags together, one above the other on the flagstaff precisely at 8 am which continued to fly till 9 am. They were lowered down precisely at 9 am to indicate the time. After the death of G V Jagga Rao in 1856, his son-in-law, Ankitham Venkata Narsinga Rao, took over the observatory and continued the astronomical and meteorological observations. He continued the hoisting time flags also, which his father-in-law had started. 

The time gun that was being fired by the Army on Dolphin’s Nose Hill was discontinued in 1871. At that time, A V Narsinga Rao offered to maintain firing of that time gun at his own expense, to provide the correct time to the public and to the ships at Port. He also constructed a new flagstaff on Dolphin’s Nose in 1886 for the hoisting of time flags. A public notification was issued by the Government to this effect, which is partly reproduced hereunder.

NOTICE.

 Flag staff on Dolphin’s Nose.

“It is hereby notified for the information of the public that Mr. A. V. Nursing Row has erected an expensive and durable Flagstaff on the Dolphin’s Nose, and the time signals are now hoisted on it under his orders every morning between 8 and 9 o’clock to indicate time.

“The flags are hauled down at nine in the morning with great precision, and it is intended thereby to indicate the precise time of that hour not only for the information of persons whose distance from the Fort renders the report of the 9 p.m. time gun inaudible, but also to afford the Shipping in the Roads the means of finding the error of chronometers and to indicate the error of the time gun.” ……

The clocks installed in the observatory that were periodically corrected according to the astronomical observations, were keeping accurate time. The time gun and time flags were regulated as per the observatory’s time.    

After the death of A V Narsinga Rao in 1892, his wife, the only daughter of G V Jagga Rao continued the time gun and time flag for about two years. Mrs A V Narasinga Rao is the same lady on whose name the present Mrs A V N College was established. As wished by her father and her husband, she handed over the Observatory, the Flag Gun and the Flag staff on the Dolphin’s Nose Hill to the Government in 1894 with an endowment of three lakh Rupees for permanent maintenance of the Institution. The Government managed the observatory and continued the time gun and time flag till the observatory was closed in about 1898. It appears that the time gun and time flag were discontinued after the observatory was closed. Records are not clear as to why the observatory was closed.

In the olden days there was also a system of ringing hourly bells in Taluk and Collector’s offices, striking a bell once at one o’clock, twice at two o’clock…….twelve times at twelve o’clock to signify the time of the hour. It is not known when this practice was started in the State (perhaps in the undivided Madras State). The same system of timekeeping continued up to the mid-1960s in the Visakhapatnam Collector’s office as remembered by a few of the senior citizens.

As explained above, timekeeping in Visakhapatnam passed through different stages like time guns, time flags, time bells and clock towers and people used to look to those for knowing time. All these practices of the olden days may appear very strange to the present generation. But these are all facts of history.    

With the latest technological developments, accurate time is now available in everybody’s hand on their mobiles. Now, people of Visakhapatnam may not look at the new clock tower for timekeeping. But for its magnificent vintage look, grandeur, and the enhanced beauty it brought to that place, it is certain that this new structure will soon become a landmark and an iconic structure in Visakhapatnam city.  

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