Definitely prefer the first one, Raj. The other two don't have the same atmosphere, and that is the subject of this composition.
The first one is superb Raj.
The trouble with viewing on the net and commenting is that unless everybody has a calibrated screen it is very unreliable and for instance with your first version on my uncalibrated screen I can see sufficient detail to satisfy my training which was that with B&W there should be some detail just visibile in the darkest and lightest areas.
But I have found on a few occasions that people seem to have an aversion to large dark areas while happilly accepting large white areas ... a quirk of human nature I guess
Thanks for the review & the feedback. I like shadows in my images as it creates a lot of drama. For this one too, i reduces the darks on the walls because opening up full shadows were not adding anything apart from hard textures and yes, i fully agree with you about the human nature. Here i have tricked human psychology with the post processing but adding different tones to the image.
jcuknz hit it on the head Raj,when i was looking at your image last night it was on my smaller screen,today when i look on my other screen your first version I.M.O was spot on,well done!
These are very nice. The last image is the one I'd go with.
One suggestion just for discussion. In the last one the corners of the room are very dark but then the side walls start to lighten up and show some detail. This puts these lighter areas right next to the edge of the image and draws the eye there looking for something. Perhaps darkening just those shadows and leaving the center as is might work.