AND IN BETWEEN THERE ARE DOORS

Doors are more than simple fixtures in the built environment. They encapsulate the essence of transitions and limitations.

The Doors with Morrison, Manzarek, Krieger and Densmore did something similar but with music. They tested its limitations creating a unique blend of psychedelic rock, blues, jazz and poetry showcasing the counterculture of their times and opening doors to a new sound.

Combining the architectural with the musical  in our small outing, …AND IN BETWEEN THERE ARE DOORS, was like adding a visual motif to the music and lyric of The Doors.

It will pull you in all directions. It will jar and jump. It will feel raw (like my video skills) and flawed. But here it is:

 *If you want warbling, get a canary!

BETWEEN BELFRIES & BELIEF

Bandra, much has been said, written, explored and lost. And yet, we continue to look at it and find new ways of exploring it. Once the Portuguese took possession of the island of Bombay, the Portuguese gave the Jesuit Priests the sole ownership of Bandra Parel, Wadala and Sion. They built several churches in Bandra facilitating its unique distinction of being a town having the most Roman Catholic churches anywhere in the world, all within a four sq km area.

In Between Belfries & Belief, we will look at three churches and a basilica that lie at the heart of the neighbourhood

MOUNT MARY CHURCH

The famous Mount Mary Church or Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount had modest beginnings. It was built as a modest little oratory atop the hillock for the private devotion of the Fathers. It was a bamboo and thatch shelter. The statue, shipped from Portugal, found home in it by 1570. A few years later, this private oratory was enlarged and made into a chapel to serve the garrison stationed at Castella de Aguada, the fort, at Land’s End. Then came the Arab Pirates. Attracted by the gold lined object in the statue’s hand, cut it and made off with it. The statue was re-adorned with baby Jesus in her arms and placed inside the chapel. This was around year 1700.

When the Marathas over-ran Salsette in 1739, the statue of Mount Mary was tossed into the sea and the chapel set on fire. For over 20 years, the sacred spot presented a scene of desolation, no Aves, Salves or mass bells rose from here. Around 1761, the statue was recovered from the sea and the chapel was rebuilt for divine worship. It wasn’t as simple though and comes with an interesting story. It goes that a koli fisherman dreamt that he would find a statue in the sea. And he did. The statue took a new name as per koli traditions and was called mot mauli or the pearl mother. Syncretic nature of devotion to Mount Mary by both Hindu and Christian Kolis perhaps stems from here. The ‘pearl mother’ was taken by the fisherfolk to St Andrews Church and later carried in a procession and reinstated at its original spot. In 1896, Mount Mary Chapel was pulled down because of the plague epidemic and a new building in Gothic Style replaced it in 1904. It commands a beautiful view of the Arabian Sea to the west, and the twin towers stand tall. On a lofty altar of Marble stands a life-sized statue of Mary, infant in her arms, smiling approvingly at the faith that surrounds her.

Every September the feast of Saint Mary is celebrated on the Sunday following 8th September. The week-long celebration known as The Bandra Fair draws thousands of people to this church on the hill. The entire area is decorated with festoons and buntings, stalls selling religious articles and Goan sweets dot the area. What is interesting are the assortment of candles shaped like hands, feet, body parts and other objects (car and passport included) that are lit in the church, with a hope that Mother Mary will cure the afflictions or consider their appeals and help.

ST. ANDREW’S CHURCH

Although the Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount predates other churches in Bandra, it was not a parish church. The Church of Santa Ana (St. Anne’s Church) had the distinction of being the first parish church of Bandra. With the spread of Christianity and an increase in the number of parishioners, a new parish was created – of St. Andrews. The exact date of its construction is not known but what we do know is that when the Marathas invaded Bandra in 1739, they destroyed many places of worship. Santa Ana was destroyed too but by the British as they perceived a threat from the Marathas using that location as a security outpost. With this, the Church of St. Andrew’s became the oldest church in Bandra. The church compound holds a remnant of Santa Ana – a 17 ft high made of a single stone with, carved with 39 emblems of the Passion of Christ. It stands in a corner without much celebration.

Outside, the church has a distinctive Portuguese-style façade, with a small hole in the centre, above the statue of St. Andrew which allows the rising sun to shine into the church. On the outer wall of the church compound, facing Hill Road, is the dried-up water-hole with the cracked lion head carving on the top where carriage horses stopped for a drink. The plaque above the water spout reads that it was presented to the Municipality of Bandra in 1894.

Inside, The teakwood altar extends almost to the roof and carries statues of Sacred Heart, Our Lady and St Andrew. Smaller statues of St John the Baptist, St Sebastian and the Bom Jesu are near the main statues. The statue of St Andrew holds an X-shaped cross, because when he was to be crucified, St Andrew asked that he not be hung upon a conventional cross, as he felt he was unworthy of dying on the same cross as Jesus.

St Andrew Church houses a mini museum that displays an organ, an old confessional, a tabernacle, old crosses, music stands, a communion rail and an elaborate candle stand. The church conducts regular masses on all days.

And if walking through gravestone tiled ground is your thing, it makes the visit both interesting and eerie. The names engraved suggest intermarriage between local kolis and Portuguese settlers. All you have to do is keep your eyes open – both, to read the subtext and avoid stepping on the graves – if you can, that is.

ST. PETER’S CHURCH

From 1739 to 1853, St. Andrew’s was the only parish church in Bandra till St. Peter’s parish was formally created. The foundations for the St, Peter’s Church building was laid in 1852 and completed a year later. By 1938, the original church building of St. Peter’s was found to be inadequate and a new building was built to accommodate the growing number of parishioners.

The new St. Peter’s Church building has a Romanesque design and is listed as a Grade A heritage structure by the Heritage Society of India. The St. Andrew’s Church building also won the Urban Heritage Award in 199

The handsome Romanesque façade of St.Peter’s is visually stunning and I can’t help but stop and admire it. At the entrance to the Church is a marble statue of Christ with the inscription “I am the Resurrection and Life”.

Inside St. Peter’s Church, Bandra, Image: Unknown

The Church interiors are vast and unlike most churches which have a rectangular hall, St. Peter’s is squarish. It can accommodate a thousand people easily. Inside, its excellent stained-glass windows, around twenty in number, look resplendent in the sunshine or when the lights are on.. The interiors are lit up with the light coming in from the stained glass windows creating a beautiful glow within. One of the highlights of the Church is a relief of Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” at the altar in Carrara marble. Above the altar is an imposing and larger than life size statue of Sacred Heart, flanked by stained glass windows showing scenes in the life of St. Peter.

ST. STEPHEN’S CHURCH

Bandra is almost overwhelmingly Roman Catholic with the exception of the only Anglican church in the area — St. Stephen’s.

When the Marathas ceded Bandra to the British in 1802 under the Treaty of Bassein, many British Protestant Christians moved to Bandra. St. Stephen’s Church was built in 1845 “to cater to the spiritual needs of British Protestant Christians living in Bandra and nearby areas”. St. Stephen’s Church is known for its stained glass windows (shipped all the way from England), which depicts stories from the Bible. The Church also has a well maintained cemetery.

ABOUT BYLANES OF BANDRA

Our walk, Bylanes of Bandra, explored the delightful mix of history, colour, culture and people that lie in the by-lanes of its idyllic villages for eleven years. Part fascination lay in observing the Goan style sosegad soul of this pocket contrast with the buzz that lent to its hip and happening air and part lay in crosses and church-dotted stretch from Mount Mary to Hill Road. Between Belfries & Belief stems from there.

AND IT'S FINALLY HERE

Yes, WE ARE SUPER EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE ‘THE TELL OF TWO CITIES’ BY BEYOND

It is NOT a grand tale with the ‘best times and worst times’. Dickens did that already. It is NOT an information polestar for there are many great guidebooks doing the rounds. It is NOT an academic or an artistic exercise, just a comforting stretch at best (think child’s pose!)

It IS, however, a ‘tell’ - for all cities have them. A visual match between Mumbai & Delhi, A celebration…

A 15 minute read that can be read over 50 times. Promise you that!!!

You can page through it quickly or savour it, agree, disagree, smile, smirk, add, subtract, trash it, love it or whatever but have fun because I sure did, while putting it together.

Here is a peek:

PUBLISHING NOTES:

The book has been printed on recycled paper by Printografix courtesy Ajay Shah.

The box and the packaging has also been done with biodegradable, eco-friendly paper. We have tried to keep it as eco friendly as we could though I am sure there are a lot of things we could have done better but WE HAVE TRIED.

A lot of visuals, including the video above has been Vaydehi.K’s brainchild.

The text & illustrations are by Shriti K Tyagi.

There are LIMITED COPIES available for sale. Do book them by emailing beyondbombay@gmail.com directly. The copies are priced at INR 1100 per book. We accept Paytm or Bank Transfer. Details will be shared once we recieve your mail of interest.

Have fun.

WALK THE DOCK

The past is everywhere and nowhere.

According to Aldo Rossi ‘… a city remembers through its built forms so preservation of old buildings is analogous with the preservation of memories.’ Present day Mumbai is so intent on reflecting global narratives that it becomes difficult to place shared spaces like dock and mills in it. In fact, the city has little to say about them.

All very well! But it is imperative to understand that even though the docks represent the beginnings of Bombay as a commercial and maritime capital – a global check point connecting the occident with the orient, they were never a walk-in-the-park public spaces in the real sense. They weren’t exactly ‘open’ to people, save the ones who worked there. So, there is a need to seek out new forms by which to narrate the histories or simply invite urban public into them.

*Walks charting a course through art on view at Sassoon Dock by St+Art’s Mumbai Urban Art Festival is one such way. It is on until Feb 23, 2022, so do not miss it!

Image: St+Art, Mumbai Urban Art Festival

Here is adding a bit on the Sassoon Docks from years of conducting Lin Baba’s Colaba book-worming tour that always ended at the spot, weaving the ‘paani ka kaam’ from the long-crowded narrative of Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts.

THE STORY OF THE SASSOONS

David Sassoon fled due to Muslim persecution from Baghdad and arrived in Mumbai in 1833. The city became his sanctuary where he could live and conduct business under the East India Company protection. He started with a counting house and a carpet godown and by the end of 1850s silver, gold, silk, spices, opium, cotton, wool, wheat and whatever else moved over sea or land from the port bore the mark of Sassoon & Co. The East India Company had a unique managerial style wherein in any particular country all trading, business and commerce was handed to one, at the most two, business houses, that too family owned. For example, The House of Sassoons was one in India trading in Opium mostly, House of Jardin & Matheson looked after distribution in China, Inchcape for shipping and Rockefeller in America. In the beginning David Sassoon wanted to trade Cotton with China but the latter was not interested. Britain wanted Chinese tea but the Qing dynasty had no interest in anything the Brits produced however they were willing to trade for silver. That was a problem for Queen Victoria did not want her country’s reserves of gold and silver go in buying tea. David Sassoon saw an opportunity in trading opium in exchange for tea and made the proposal to the Queen - the rest is history, with the Sassoons contributing significantly to the prosperity of the East India company.

David Sassoon & his sons Elias, Albert & Sassoon D. Image Courtesy: Wikipedia

On the back of opium trade came textiles. David Sassoon was quick to realize that his fortunes lay in making fabrics in Mumbai, instead of importing them from Lancashire. Thus came the cotton mills. The Sassoons made a windfall when the supply of cotton was choked during the American Civil War (1860-1865). He continued trading in textiles, making him intrude on a turf that the Parsis and the Gujaratis considered their own. Not surprisingly, the Sassoons found difficult to get berths at the jetties around Ballard Pier.

In came the Sassoon Dock, formally inaugurated on 8th June 1875. It was built (and owned) by David Sassoon’s eldest son, Albert Abdullah David Sassoon.

SASSOON DOCK

With an area of 20,000 sq. ft, wrestled back from the sea, Sassoon Dock became the first commercial wet dock in Western India. Docks used for berthing of ships and vessels to facilitate the loading-unloading of passengers and cargo are wet docks. The water is shut in and kept at a level to facilitate the loading and unloading.

The combination of opening of the Suez Canal, that reduced the distance between India and England by half, and Albert Sassoon’s far sightedness in setting up this small docking facility changed the fortunes of the family and that of the city. The British government, insecure of the growing power and profits of private entrepreneurs trading from their own facilities, withheld permission to Sassoon & Co trade or ship merchandise from their own dock. Once the Bombay Port Trust took over, the dock gradually declined as a small facility for the fishing community and repair yard. Larger docking facilities, Princes & Victoria Dock also came in and draft of the dock reduced further. Gradually, the area was used by the neighboring Koli communities as a landing space and continues to offer a lot.

Dock view. Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

ALL THINGS FISHY

Sassoon dock’s presence, activity, transaction and bazaar ethos is intrinsically Mumbai. It is not organized or systemized but there is an intangible order in exchange, through a series of stakeholders - what works today is what worked years ago!

The fish bazaar is a place where small and big boats arrive from the sea with their catch. Basketful of fish are flung across from the boats on to the jetty, moving across the dock and people – from big baskets to small baskets to plastic bags and from fishermen to fisherwomen to auctioneers, fish vendors, regular buyers or wholesalers, who in turn sell it across the city. As the baskets fill the roofed sheds along the center, the bargains begin.  While the spot auctions and negotiations are on, it is the basket watcher’s job to mind the baskets. They charge a small sum per basket. The basket watchers do not move from their place but their eyes catch every movement around them.

Of all negotiations, the fish auctions are the most interesting. The auctioneer says the price and persists with number calling, pointing from person to person in a small circle around him until someone raises the bid. The potential buyers take turns to check the fish. When the auction peaks, the highest bid is called a few times before the fish is declared sold. The paati kamgars (dock workers) further transport the fish from the auction site.

 The perishability of fish gives rise to another enterprise – selling of ice. Outside the market gate are small ice factories who sell crushed ice. Each basket is covered with one or two measures of crushed ice. It is both important and immediate!

FUTURE READY

Originally built for trade and business, Sassoon Dock not only sustains a community of fisherfolk but also nurtures their culture around the activity. In 2018, it was announced by the Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairy & Fisheries Development of Maharashtra that the dock would undergo a major revamp. The space has stood the test of time and managed to develop a vibrant working system for itself and its people. One can hope that the ‘revamped’ dock manages to retain the vivid colors, charm, history and culture of the place.

One can only hope!

A quiet after- morning view, Sassoon Dock Image: Shriti K Tyagi

SOME REFERENCES:

Joseph Sassoon. The Global Merchants: The Enterprise and Extravagance of the Sassoon Dynasty. Allan Lane, 2022 (part ref)

Gyan Prakash. Mumbai Fables. 2011

Palak Gadodia Thesis, The B-Plan, alternate plan for re-inventing the Eastern Waterfront's identity, Mumbai. 2013

www.questionofcities.org

www.stirworld.com

Rahul Mehrotra, UDRI + Study of The Eastern Waterfront of Mumbai

OF DOORS & FLOORS - 1

There are things known and things unknown and in between are the doors - Jim Morrison

The street ecology of Old Delhi is complex. It is a world of narrow streets, irregular blocks, alleyways, pocket plazas, overhangs, balconies, arches, buildings, communities, history, vendors, animals, vehicles and more. Within this dynamic fold lie the ‘static’ doors of Old Delhi that are not only points of transition or transformation but also one of cultural distinction. We delve into both, the design and deep symbolism, using the doors of Kucha Pati Ram as reference. But first, why doors…..

MAGIC, MYTH & MOVIES

To the nomadic man doors probably provided a sense of security. The first ever known door, illusioned as a wall decoration, was considered a port to afterlife in Egyptian tomb paintings  some 4000 years ago. From the olive wood doors of King Solomon to the wood or wrought iron doors of Old Delhi many cultural and religious ideas have influenced doors to bring them to their modern day form.

In literature, Doors spell change and choice.

Alice passes through several doorways and portals in Wonderland. She shrinks and grows both physically and psychologically with each transition in Lewis Carroll’s classic. The door in the magical wardrobe in The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis, is a portal to an entire Kingdom set in another time. In Rowling’s Harry Potter, Platform 9 ¾ acts as a point of transition. In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr Hyde, doors are symbolic of characters, representing both good and evil and of course, there are the Doors of Durin built into the walls of Moria in Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring. And these are just a few examples. Doors in literature not only add to a sense of fascination for what lies behind but also propel the narrative.

In films, doors physically represent conflict, drama, barriers, separation and communicate emotional states. For example, In Monsters Inc. doors are a way from going from one room to another to enter human world and scare children. In Frozen, Elsa shuts Anna out, both literally and emotionally, by refusing to open her door or leave the room. In the Truman Show the blue door stands for escape for Jim Carrey and in the film Matrix,  the door is Keanu Reeves or Neo’s point of transition…

Romans have their own god of doorways, the two headed Janus, one facing the past and one facing the future. He also holds a key in his right hand which symbolizes protection of doors or gateways between spaces. In Christianity, The Virgin Mary is greeted as a door – Salve Porta and even given the title, the door of heaven. In the Bible Jesus says ‘I am the door. If any Man enter by Me, he shall be saved.’ In Chinese folk religions there are Menshens or divine guardians of gates. Nio guardians are the Japanese equivalent of dvarpals in India, albeit more threatening, guarding temples from evil spirits and demons. The doors of death are the Greek God of Death, Thanatos’ gateways in and out of Underworld.

The list can go on, but you get the idea, right? Now, to cut closer home.

THE LEGEND OF SHANI SHINGNAPUR

 Also known as the village of no doors, Shani Shingnapur, falls under Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra. Underlying the tradition of no doors is an undying faith in the divinity of Lord Shani, considered as the holy guardian of the village. It is believed that if anyone attempts theft or does anything dishonest he attracts the wrath of the god and faces a ‘saadhe saati’ – a period of seven and a half years of bad luck.

KUCHA PATI RAM

Is a fairly residential block in old delhi that can be penetrated through many alleyways. In the early 17th century it was a Muslim dominated residential kucha. The mutiny brought about drastic changes to the community profile as many original owners were forced out of the city and their abandoned havelis were occupied by Hindu traders – banias, Jains, Kashmiri pandits. The new settlers were heterogenous belonging to different class, religions and professions but KPR retained its residential character until early 20th century. The houses or havelis speak of a time in housing and an architectural evolution that not only display Mughal traditions but also have art deco and colonial influences.

The old doors are one way of looking at these even though most of them are either decaying or have given away to modern architecture. The doors weigh heavy - literally and historically. From the ones that stand, it is evident that a plain door was a big no-no. Decorations in the form of sculpture motifs and symbols adorn the lintels, jambs and thresholds of these doors making the whole concept of aagaman or entry and nirgaman or exit fairly interesting

PARTS & PRACTICES

Among others door traditions, hanging an evil eye, usually lemon and seven chillies, at the front entrance is a familiar one. It is practiced to ward away Alakshmi or Goddess of Misfortune, whose favourite food us sour, pungent and hot things. Once she is satisfied at the door itself, she doesn’t cross over.

That’s where thresholds come in. Often sites of rituals, they define territories and accessibility. . Entry of a newlywed bride in her husband’s home is marked by her spilling a pot of rice placed at the threshold . It denotes that mistakes of the young bride are to be overlooked by the mother-in- law with love and care. The tika ceremonies for anyone leaving or entering the house are part of threshold rituals as are the beliefs that sitting on the threshold brings ill luck or they are sites that absorb negative energies of hell. Apparently, there was also a custom of placing an inverted vessel on the threshold to indicate to the other members of the often large families residing in the havelis of that a member is still out and therefore the door must not be locked.

Doors of Kucha Pati Ram. Seen here floral decoations, cusped arch, taaks, chaukhat and otlas

Jambs, sometimes called doorposts or side posts, are the vertical portions of the door frame onto which a door is secured. They are indicative of the socio-economic status of the residents – more the number of mouldings, superior the doorway. They could have an extension in the form of a raised platform on either side of door, that acts as a semi private zone, an extension of house on to the streets for a chinwag with neighbours or passers-by. Some entrance walls (on either side of the door) also bear taaks or arch shaped niches built into the wall. Taaks usually act as shelves but are also known to have a supernatural association. They are believed be doors and corridors through which djinns can travel from one house to another.

The doors are supported by a beam placed across the opening to support the load from the structure above. These are called lintels. Many negative energy barriers are mounted here.  A horseshoe, a black face, dvarpal or guard, fish, shankha or conch, Goddess Lakshmi, animals, cosmic manifestations as sun and moon balanced by placing them side by side or a Ganesh Patti (a wooden plank inserted above the lintel decorated with kalash, kuldevta, lotus and full pitcher or purnakumbha) are some of the elements of the door iconography.

When symbolism was at its peak, door jambs were adorned with sakhas that symbolized the universe in branches and lotus flowers.  The scalloped arch and the peacock motif on lintels  became popular during Shah Jahan’s reign, the batter came before – in the Tughluq period, Spanish and Portuguese influence led to the inclusion of blinds on the upper floors and in 1864 came the use of iron girders.

Doors were embellished in different ways depending on the architectural style of the time they were constructed in but continue to act as a narrative for the observer indicative of reputation, position, riches, religion, design, belief or simply aesthetics. In fact gender also weaved its way in. Sometimes, a haveli door would have two door knockers, a heavy and a light one. The heavy one for the men and the lighter one for the women, and depending on the sound of the knocker the door would be opened by either a male or a female member!

OPEN SESAME

Some doors are stairways to heaven (read God) while some are archways. The above images are of the gorgeous temple commissioned by the Maharaja of Gwalior in the mid 19th Century in Kucha Pati Ram. Below is the arched entrance door and a tunnel-like corridor leading into the quaint Lakshmi Narain Mandir. Though the presiding deity is Vishnu with his consort, Lakshmi, it also enshrines Lord Brahma and one of the Vishnu avatars, Varaha, both rarely seen in temples (L-R).

Most doors open into passages, some into enterprise or into decay and historic lethargy ala Razia Sultan’s grave (ext R)…

…And then there are simply others, lying in wait for someone to ask their story!

ABOUT DOORS & FLOORS

Of doors & floors' is two city walk that with a special focus on built forms, in this case, doors of Delhi & Floors of Mumbai!

Street environment is an important part of Purani Dilli, as much as strewn and crumbling bits of history. Its Kuchas and Katras tell a tale, not only of a time in housing but of the world that once was - as do its doors, both open and closed, cusped or arched. Through this walk we intend to explore the motifs, jambs, lintels, arches, otlas, thresholds of doors and other transitional spaces, their 'histories & stories' in the havelis of Kucha Pati Ram & around.

REFERENCES:

Gianluca D’Agostino, Old Delhi and its Architectural Heritage: Adaptive reuse of Havelis of Shahjahanabad, 2018

Pavan K Verma, Havelis of Old Delhi, Bookwise, 1999

International Journal of Wood Culture

Priya Jaikumar, Haveli Chowks

https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/history-of-architecture/a2292-a-historical-timeline-of-doors-in-architecture/

KNOWING KURLA

Cities grow, get gentrified and change as do meanings, values and people but they don’t get undone. They remain in a passing, slightly frayed, fragile and imperfect form as reminders of our past and its acceptance in the present. Kurla Village occupies that place.

 Kurla, unlike its fairly gentrified kin – Bandra, is not on a regular tourist map. Its villages, Culbavour and Hul, share the same visual language as Ranwar or Chuim, but there is little or no reason for outsiders to enter them. They remain hidden. A lot has to do with how Kurla is measured on the city map - by its proximity to Bandra Kurla Complex and more recently, to Phoenix Market City. The buck usually stops there

PADROADO JURISDICTION

Kurla, the name, comes from ‘kurli’ crab found aplenty in the marshes around the village. It came under the Portuguese after the Treaty of Bassein was signed in 1534 and remained under them until the British, finally, occupied Salsette in 1774. Interestingly, even though the British gained control over the islands after the matrimonial alliance between Charles II and the Portuguese princess, Catherine of Braganza in 1662, Salsette continue to be under the Portuguese

In keeping with the Portuguese vision of pepper and souls, Pope granted the King of Portugal right of patronage over the churches he would establish in the East. It was a faculty granted to the king to nominate bishops to carry on the work of converting the heathen into Roman Catholics. Salsette and Bassein came under the Padroado jurisdiction, manned by the clergy in Goa.

HOLY CROSS CHURCH

St. Francis Xavier, Apostle to the Indies (1548) recommended a church to be built at Kurla in a letter addressed to the King of Portugal, petitioning a land grant at Kurla. The Jesuits came into Bandra and Kurla in 1573 and the Holy Cross Church was built in 1580.

The Church has a distinctive Portuguese style façade and anchors the East Indian Community of Kurla. They congregate here for the Aguera or blessing of Paddy festival, for feasts, fairs, weddings, baptisms and of course Sunday mass. It is also the venue of the annual feast of Phool Dongri Cross. It is believed that the heritage cross stood on a hillock, half a kilometer from Holy Cross Church and once the hillock was razed the Phool Dongri Cross and its celebration, was shifted to the church compound.

TIED BY THE BOTTLE

The villages of Kurla – Hul, Culbavour, Naupada and Kurla Christian village share a syncretic cultural bond with the other East Indian villages of Mumbai who continue to hold on to their pre-Christian traditions while absorbing the foreign one. We are talking about the fishermen (koli), farmers (kunbi) and salt makers who inhabited these villages. We are talking of a common visual language – houses made of wood, open verandahs, overhanging balconies, latticed staircases, Mangalore tiles, haphazard streets opening into little squares which doubled up as places for a chinwag or drying spices, carnivals and novenas. We are also talking about the sorpatel, vindaloo, moile, fugias (East Indian bread), Balchow, Recheado paste used for stuffing the meats, drinks like Khimaad or Maria Branca (Toddy) and of course, the famous Bottle Masala 

Bottle Masala is a flavour born of a cultural admixing. Interestingly, no two families agree on the ingredients but some like chillies, wheat, khus, turmeric, coriander seeds, cinnamon and cloves remain a constant. Made in the hottest, driest days before the monsoon, womenfolk sitting and pounding the masala in the village squares was a common sight. Now, the pounding is outsourced too. The process takes 3 or 4 days and once ready, it is stored in coloured, mostly beer bottles, to protect it from harsh sunlight. It is a must have in every home. The number of ingredients, shrouded in mystery, only add to its intrigue as it connects the villages across the Mumbai map.

GROWTH

Kurla or Coorla, as it was spelt until the 1890s was a major Railway station between Bombay & Thane on the Great India Peninsula Railway. When the GIPR electrification of Harbour line was undertaken, Kurla car and railway shed was created.  Later, the first electric train to run in Asia between CST and Coorla in 1925, was maintained at this shed.

Stone quarries of Kurla provided material for the construction of GPO, Prince of Wales Museum (CSMVS) and other important heritage buildings.

It was an outlier to the main mill zone. A relatively cheaper land value and proximity to water enabled Industrial growth. It converted into an automobile industrial zone with the Premier Automobiles assembly plant in the 50s. The iconic Premier Padmini car was also built at Kurla from 1964 until the plant closed down in 1997.

Kohinoor planet, eyed the property and acquired it to develop an integrated township, Kohinoor city and further expand the project with value adds like school, retail/ commercial space. Phoenix Market City has been a relatively new addition.

Somewhere between all the construction, the pocket grew, far from its village life. The good part – they still exist, hemmed by development on all sides. The best part – the culture has not been obliterated and you only need to walk into the by-lanes to know more.

Our walk - Knowing Kurla, does exactly that!

MORE ON KNOWING KURLA

https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai-guide/things-to-do/article/putting-kurla-on-the-map-19823165

REFERENCES:

https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/ysAFQl56s5DgGbbXdCUAuI/The-Mumbai-neighbourhood-nobody-visits.html

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/twin-kurla-villages-where-age-old-traditions-still-thrive/

https://www.east-indians.net/Kurla.htm

East Indian Memory Co.

The Making of Mumbai, A History of the metropolis and its Catholic Past

Bombay East Indians Cookbook

HANGING AT HAUZ KHAS

Modern cities are points of intersection between the past and the present. However when the city is as antique as Delhi, the past, steeped in histories & stories, runs, overwhelms, sticks and is celebrated while the present, often viewed from the shadows, is seen as something that disturbs, under-awes and disrupts the original narrative.

Then there is Hauz Khas Village.

You walk into the village curious to know why it is one of the go-to places mentioned in Delhi’s “best”, “top 10” and the rest. Well, the rainbow to this pot of gold is a more than seven colours crowded. Once you have negotiated with the cars, watched some strewn monuments roll by and blinded by the surf-white facade of the Jagannath temple (yes, temples can be spotlessly clean!) you reach the no-car zone pocket tucked right in the end.

THE WOW

Once you cross the barrier, it opens out in gentrified glory with the cafe’s, edgy restaurants and bars, art galleries, studios, graffiti walls and kitschy boutiques. The back lanes with little sunlight, lot of scope for a chinwag across buildings and a criss cross of electric cables remind you of Old Delhi and then pluck you back into the more on-trend, arty surroundings belonging to a different sociology. One created by Bina Ramani in the late 80s when she ‘discovered’ it and drove the elite in. The artists, musicians and their ilk looking for alternate spaces followed after, plugging their ethos into it.

THE HOW

Amidst all the trappings, history gently taps you on the shoulder. The “Hauz Khas” or the water reservoir was constructed by Alauddin Khilji to serve the need of the growing population of his city - Siri. After the collapse of Khilji dynasty, a group of Jats set up a village in the area. When the tank silted, they began growing crops over it. It was Firoz Shah Tughluq’s ascension to the throne, followed by shortage of water in his capital, Firozabad that saw the tank being dredged and repaired, with additions - a mosque, a madrasa and gardens hemming the water tank. Once it was complete, Firoz Shah got so attached to it that built his tomb in the midst of the madrasa or collegiate mosque.

After Firoz Shah’s death, the royal patronage of the madrasa discontinued, the precinct was abandoned and the tank silted once more. Villagers moved into the madrasa and stayed until in the 20th century ASI stepped in. The villagers were moved, with adequate compensation, adjacent to their ‘old’ home. The complex was excavated, catalogued and preserved. During partition, government bought the surrounding land to provide home for the refugees and HKV gained a backwater character. And when the master plan of Delhi was crafted in 1962, it got plugged as an “urban village” - a nondescript one at that.

That definitely has changed.

THE NOW

It is young and abuzz, spilling out into the famous Deer Park where more daters than deer can be spotted. Walk a bit and you come face to face with little architectural gems like Munda Gumbad, Tohfewala Gumbad and Kali Gumti from the Tughluq Period and the Bagh e alam ka Gumbad and Wall mosque from the Lodi period. They don’t have grand stories to tell but it sure feels like monuments from different dynasties with different architectural sensibilities took a walk in the park one day and decided to stay.

The history lovers might not like the bypass of monuments, the youngsters might not engage with the historical backdrop except for cool Instagram-worthy images or dating, the cool urbane might have moved out to other places, the rents might be disproportionate, the traffic terrible but HKV stands at point where you meet two simultaneous expressions.

There is a conversation between the past and present. That, truly is, the hold of Hauz Khas.

 ABOUT THE WALK:

The walk Hanging at Hauz Khas was designed as a walk down the ancient and modern. The idea was to engage with both and take in all the trappings of this “must see” pocket of Delhi. Many walks later we understood the hold of Hauz Khas and its place in the city. The article above intends to share that rather than the route with all its stops.

BOOKS REFERENCED:

Delhi: 14 Historic Walks, Swapna Liddle

INTACH, Delhi Chapter

The Age of Wrath, Abraham Eraly

Dynamics & Growth Dichotomy of Urban Villages, Case Study

Articles: TOI, The Hindu, The Guardian

CEMETERY LIE-INS

Where do modern cities in India place cemeteries and graveyards? Especially ones that sit uncomfortably on memories of a bloodied, colonized past. Are they just a play-field for revisionist historians, taphophiles and bhoots? The ghost aunty in white who waylays men, the orphan child seeking his parents, the spurned lover crying out to his sweetheart, whispering trees and the invisible gaze have been part of our grave imaginations. If nothing else, it exposes our own fascination with everything dark and under!

 And when majority population cremates and believes the act frees the dead from the physical world whilst burying doesn’t, is it even a wonder that most ghostly activities on a new moon night find their way to burial spots?

Our walk ‘Of ghosts, ghouls and graveyards’ around Kashmere Gate was a result of my fascination with cemeteries and graveyards spanning more than two decades for our house lay somewhere off-centre between a Cemetery and a British India Bazaar. These were treasured places, colonial landmarks really that defined a certain pocket - a sociology. I learnt my first two lessons on the subject here. One, they were places of unsuccessful dates especially if your fascination of gravestones, epitaphs and the dead in general was far greater than the lanky boy by your side, who turned white at your suggestion of eating a packet of chips and sharing a Thumbs Up (extent of dating then!) beside an old grave that read “for he was a jolly good fellow…”

The second, and perhaps more lasting lesson. was that though a graveyard is a type of cemetery but a cemetery is not a graveyard. Often used interchangeably, graveyards are typically part of a churchyard used for burials. At first, most burials took place in graveyards but with growing population new places for burying people, independent of graveyards, were built. Napoleon Bonaparte was the first to decree landscaped cemeteries in 18th Century Paris. The first opened in 1804. The word cemetery itself comes from the French word ‘cimitiere’ which means a graveyard and the root Greek word ‘koimetrion’ or sleeping place.

THE GHOST OF NICHOLSON

The Nicholson Cemetery is not on any popular to-do or to-see list in Delhi because it lies in a part of the city made irrelevant, as new ‘Delhis’ have cropped up elsewhere. Named after Brig. Gen. John Nicholson and built in the aftermath of Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 or the First War of Indian Independence, it lies silently beside Kashmere Gate Metro Station Gate No.4. The numbers killed in 1857 were so many that there was a need for a new cemetery and the area outside the Kashmere Gate, which had seen a lot of bloodshed, was chosen. Nicholson was the first to be buried here. It is said that one can still see the ghost of headless Nicholson galloping through the cemetery on his otherworldly steed. Strange, for he had been shot in the chest and died with his head pretty much intact…

At that time, Nicholson was hailed as the hero who breached the defences of the rebels, controlling the walled city, sustained injuries and succumbed to them –only after he had heard of Delhi’s capture by the British. Such was his aura that there was a religious cult after him called Nikal Seyn considering him an incarnate of Vishnu. He had such contempt for natives that he was furious at their attempt to worship him.Today, he is inafmous as the ultimate racial psychopath who despised Indians. In his words, “ I can inflict most excruciating tortures with perfectly easy conscience.”

Unpleasant or otherwise, Nicholson Cemetery is a repository of memory that shouts out to be preserved. It is part of our colonial past. It came under a lot of storm when Group 4 Securior, A British Company, funded its restoration in 2006 and the word went around that the act was an “insult to Indians who died in the First War of Indian Independence”. But as someone said “One doesn’t need to settle scores with history.”

 GRAVEYAR(T)

Galloping ghosts apart, Nicholson Cemetery is a non-denominational space where you come face to face with unexpected architecture, silent stories, shared open space, and a wild flora. What catches your attention the minute you step in are the Epitaphs that tell a story in poetry – of love, romance, comfort and grief. Here are a few:

 “Born on earth, Bloomed in Heaven”

 “An angel took our flower away, Why should we then repine.

For Jesus on his bosom wears, A flower that once was mine.”

Possibly written for the untimely death of a child or the one for a much loved wife and mother. There is a story of a little ghost boy wandering around the cemetery asking about his parents.

Many graves just read “Jesus Says Weep Not” or “Thy Will Be Done” or yet others hold descriptions of the personalities of the dead or even their death. A large number of graves bear “Deo Notus” or known only to God. These are graves of soldiers who died anonymously in 1857.

Nicholson Cemetery’s art moves from words to visual as you wander around seeing the different headstones, Celtic Crosses, ornate symbols and statues. They not only stand as a form of art but also give an insight into sociology, as certain symbols can be associated with society, status, personality and religious identity. For example an anchor stands for an Ancient Order of United Workmen, Eagle for military career, Lamb for children etc. Gravestone carvings, Gothic keystone heads, poems, bright bougainvillea, trees, wild grass both unsettle and overawe as they hide the fragility of life that cemeteries stand for.

The newer part of the Nicholson Cemetery is far more homogenous than the older part with rectangular black and white marble/ stone slabs over the graves - the divide unmissable and the loss visually evident. It is that urban space that Nicholson Cemetery occupies. A silent, marginalized one, hemmed by development (read construction),  noise and chaos of our growing city. Did someone say RIP? Ha!

Cemetery Chill. Image Courtesy: Vaydehi.k

About the Walk

‘Of ghosts, ghouls, and graveyards: stories from six feet under’ is not a paranormal, ghost walk - that was how every call was returned in 2017. It was knowing more about the ghost of Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 that lurks in Kashmere Gate with a special thrust on Cemeteries - their place in history, an unsettling presence, art and of course, allure. The bit mentioned here is part of a longer narrative and hopefully it gives one a window into the walk. There are individually-multiple ways in which one can look at this pocket —-this was our Beyond version.

BOOKWORMING: MUMBAI

“If Dublin suddenly disappeared from the earth, it could be reconstructed from my book…”   - James Joyce on Ulysses.

Our literary walk, Bookworming, simply put, is a walk down book lane – to see how a city lends itself to a book and vice versa. Literary concepts have played a pivotal role in shaping cities in our imagination. And one cannot deny that cities make excellent muses.  London has played central character in many books.  Dickens has conveyed the sense of the city, as a backdrop, in many of his works. Closer home, in A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry reconstructs Bombay during Emergency through four disenfranchised characters. Delhi moves and slides in Dalrymple’s books. Ahmed Ali’s A Twilight in Delhi, Salman Rushdie’s Midnight Children, Kiran Nagarkar’s Ravan & Eddie, Suketu Mehta’s Maximum City, Ruskin Bond’s A Town called Dehra, Anita Desai’s Clear Light of the Day, Krishna Sobti’s Dil O Danish, Vikram Chandra’s Love and Longing in Bombay, to name a few, straddle cities.  Fictionalised or real, these illustrate different versions of a city. They shift the lens.

This hopping of one character to another, places, objects, situations and structures of life constructed in a city spill out from the pages onto the streets. It makes them come alive for studying streets or even walking them is not just a geometric measure – of what lies or lives on them. It is so much more. What better way to walk the wonder then but with books? Stories become a medium to negotiate with the non-linear, anti –spectacular, mesmerising and corroded aspects of a city. Bookworming does just that! Apart from marrying the love of books and cities together without a matchmaking aunty!

BOOKWORMING: LIN BABA’S COLABA

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts is a ‘long crowded story’ that you can either love or hate. Whatever the case, it definitely unsettles categories as it flirts with fact and fiction. It grabs you by the collar and takes you everywhere. Through Lin Baba’s Colaba we cover some ‘wheres’ of that everywhere and look at the over-walked Colaba through Lin’s eyes.

The walk Lin Baba’s Colaba makes for an interesting interaction with Colaba for it finds mention in the book right at the beginning – a start to Lin’s Mumbai experience. Like in the book, the small by-lanes of Colaba remain as seedy as ever and it is ‘Business as Usual’ here for the nefarious. Foreigners can expect to be accosted by the Prabhakers of today, offering drugs, accommodation and foreign currency exchange. Some things never change!  And some do. Amidst rows of shops selling glittery baubles and clothes like in the 80’s, Colaba Causeway is now dotted with exclusive stores of both Indian and international brands including the very un-Shantaram McDonalds.

Leopold Café immortalized by the book is not just a physical presence in the book with its 30-minute cedar chairs, marble topped tables and woody interiors. It takes the novel forward and introduces new characters.It’s a free zone much like the idea of Bombay. “I am French, gay, Jew and a criminal. Bombay is the only city that allows me to be all four.” Says Didier. Allowances. They have been Mumbai’s draw and drivers…

Across the café is the Colaba Police station, another landmark in Lin’s Colaba experience. He lands in this hierarchy of suffering after Ulla’s betrayal. Established in 1906, this police station houses a tablet that marks the date Colaba was fused with the main island in 1838. From here we follow Lin’s footsteps to India Guest House. Recently renovated, the guest house, except for its location and narrow staircase, bears no resemblance to the flaking paint, laminated wooden partitions, irregular flooring, cracked mirror, melted candle and ‘headache green’ interiors that Gregory Roberts writes about. One can only imagine. It makes you wonder if the rule ‘ smoking, drinking, dancing, music, sexy business no problem except fighting and dying. Mr Anand not liking people dying…’ still holds! Outside Colaba market buzzes on…

Shanataram’s world is set in Mumbai of the 80s when the nexus between businessmen, politicians and underworld was gaining strength. Most gang activities centered around smuggling or paani ka kaam but with time extortion and supari were added to the list. 

Paani Ka Kaam. Mukesh Mill from Sassoon Dock

The Textile Mill strike of 1981-82 added to increased underworld activity. Mills became hideouts and many displaced joined gangs or goonda elements. In this urban climate Lin joins Khader Bhai’s gang. Brushing a little history of Mumbai underworld we enter Sassoon Dock letting the stench of fish make our stomach flip a’la Lin. We take in the abandoned Mukesh Mill across the dock and stroll out and onwards towards WTC mentioned as ‘ a village in the sky’ for the top floors were like a make shift village during its construction and on to the slums in that area that find might have traces of Lin’s presence in odd corners, dispensaries and carrom games under a 20 watt bulb.

 BOOKWORMING: BABBANJI BIHARI TRAIL

Bombay adds migrants to the city on a daily basis. The draw is not just money and opportunity but also the freedom and glamour that the city stands for. Suketu Mehta’s Maximum City is part memoir, part travel wiriting and part socio-political analysis of the history and people of Mumbai through human and morally complex stories. It is an account of ‘individually multiple’ people. In a chapter titled Sone ki chidiya from the Passages section of the book, we meet one such individually multiple character called Babbanji and using him as a prototype, we trace the trajectory of a typical migrant into the city.

Babbanji is young runaway from Sitamarhi, Bihar, whose first interaction with the city is the out station platform of CST station like any other migrant into Mumbai. He leaves his hometown with a promise ‘…when I come back to Sitamarhi, I will be something…’ his circumstance is slightly different at the onset because he is literate and has dreams of becoming a poet, a writer and we walk with him to looking at sunsets, destitution, slums and crowded trains. But here through Babban’s story Suketu Mehta takes us to the imperious black basalt and yellow kurla stone GPO building and moves our gaze towards the kabutar khana at the intersection between GPO and Fort Bazaar. Through Babban we are introduced to this little cultural phenomena sitting, quite literally on the edge of extinction – The Letter Writers of Mumbai.

They were a bridge between a migrant and his village once upon a time. Interestingly, it was the British who formalised the professional letter writers when they set up the postal network of India and they were housed in the GPO up until 1995. They were the insiders on the outside – privy to love affairs, pregnancies, family problems, money, struggles and other secrets of migrant workers. Made redundant by the mobile phone revolution many have disappeared and a lot of them have taken to filling forms and writing official documents. To see them today, imagine what it would have been like is to read the passages from Maximum City. There, they have frozen in time.

We walk on to see Babban’s life on footpath – his job at a one of the bookstalls between Flora Fountain, Horniman Circle, a roadside sandal store which doubles up as a bedroom at night, maidan behind Churchgate Station where one can get a plate of rice-dal under Rs.10 and live another day, and the struggle to get time in public loos.

But Babban is a literate and through the author manages to not only stroll around  the Jehangir Art Gallery but also score meals at the Café Samovar (off the map now) and make it to poetry reading sessions that open a life beyond the one on the footpath.

From here we head into the busy, bustling Colaba Causeway and straight into Café Mondegar – where Babban’s story comes a full circle. It is here he reunites with his father  and returns home as “something” – Bombay return!

Bookworming: Delhi to be continued…

LINKS FOR MORE ON BOOKWORMING:

http://www.natgeotraveller.in/gangstas-paradise-searching-for-shantarams-colaba/

https://m.dailyhunt.in/news/india/english/lbb-epaper-lbb/love+shantaram+and+maximum+city+take+this+literary+tour+of+mumbai-newsid-91015205

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20111111-travelwise-literary-mumbai

https://www.outlookindia.com/outlooktraveller/explore/story/68404/7-heritage-walks-in-india-that-go-beyond-food

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/walking-tours-a-different-angle-to-explore-maximum-city-4923044/

https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/travel/thrill-of-literary-trails

https://benjamuna.com/2013/09/13/the-letter-writers-of-mumbai/

LANES OF LALBAUG: IDOL WALK

Different pockets of Mumbai come alive at different times of the year, the streets of Bandra are lit and abuzz during Christmas, Worli Koliwada is busy before the monsoon hits the city and Lalbaug takes on a frenzied façade to house the most revered Ganpati of Mumbai – Lalbaugcha Raja. But it offers more. Once we choose not to fly-over it or drive past it and walk through the lanes of Lalbaug, it stops being an average, middle-class Maharashtrian locality and becomes part of the checkered history of the city.  

 Here are a few stops that make it happen:

 THE GALLIS

Of course, there is the famous Ganesh Galli that leads us straight to the “Big G” but running parallel to it is the Chiwda Galli. It gets its name from a traditional Indian snack called chiwda - a variable mixture that includes lentils, peanuts, corn, chickpeas, flaked rice, curry flavoured with salt and a blend of spices. The standalone snack was popular with the migrant mill workers of this erstwhile mill hub.  Apparently on pay day, the mill workers would pack fresh chiwda for their family. The first exclusive chiwda shop in this lane opened in 1965 and many more opened thereafter giving this street a distinct identity and a name – Chiwda Galli.  It houses about 10-12 shops today. You can find chiwda elsewhere but picking it fresh and hot from this lane continues to hold a charm for many.

Mirchi Galli is not exclusive to Lalbaug. There is another in Crawford Market area, at the end of Sheikh Memon Street. It is easily missable, much smaller in scale though probably older than its Lalbaug counterpart. Lalbaug’s Mirchi Galli hits your nose with the display of different sacks of chillies spilling onto the street. They range from the super hot Guntur to Bedki, Sankeshwai, Reshampatti and wrinkled Kashmiri chillies. Here, one can not only purchase whole spices but also get them dry roasted and pounded into a masala mix.

 THE TAMASHA

The Hanuman theatre or the New Hanuman Theatre was famous for its tamasha or folk dance, extremely popular with the mill workers. It was not merely a dance but an exhilarating and entertaining art of story storytelling interwoven with mythology and music that spoke the language of the mill workers. It was distinctive in its lack of any religious content or connotation. It was a composite form of recreation for the workers post their twelve hour shifts that included pawada or lyrical poetry, skit, song and a very robust and erotic form of dance – lavani. Interestingly, the appeal of tamasha also lay in the fact that most mill workers came from the Ghat-Sangli-Satara-kolhapur area, as did most tamasha artists and they wove cultural nuances from “home” into their performance. 

One doesn’t find a trace of tamasha in the New Hanuman Theatre, as it doubles up as a Ganpati paraphernalia storehouse and a party/ banquet hall except for a shrine in the courtyard. It reads ‘Goddess Mari Aai’. According to local legend, the shrine is dedicated to the most popular tamasha artist of her time, Mari Aai, who got var or possessed by goddess. While most Tamasha artists weren’t considered respectable, Mari Aai finds herself in a place of worship.

 THE DARGAHS

Where do the dargah’s fit in the mill-ieu? Well, according to one story, Lalbaug gets its name from the presence of the 14th century saint, Syed Hazrat Lal Shah Baj Qalandar or Lal Shah Sahib’s dargah at Tavaripada. His younger brother, Chand Shah Sahib ‘s dargah adjoining the Hanuman theatre is part of the layering of Lalbaug.

Over a century and a half old, the dargah was demolished during the 1992-93 communal riots and had to be rebuilt from scratch. A Hindu family has been taking care of the dargah since. Like the most revered deity in this neighbourhood, the two Sufi dargahs have also been associated with wish (mannat) fulfillment.

 THE BAUG

The other story of how Lalbaug gets its name stems from the place where the Parsi colony, Nowroz Baug stands today. Pestonji Wadia, of the Wadia Shipbuilders had built himself a home, identified by the striking red of its walls in 1800s. A posh home and one of the first private residences to be illuminated by gaslights, it helped distinguish the neighbourhood from Parel. Soon, not only the mansion but also the surrounding area was being called Lal Baug.

Parsi Presence. Lalbaug

The Lal Baug or red palace was replaced by Nowroz Baug in 1908.

 THE TALKIES

While the working class families loved tamasha, cinema was more a middle class medium of meant to provide after-work entertainment to mill superintendants and officers. Of the two that immediately come to mind, Ganesh Talkies is just a name and Bharatmata Cinema sits on the edge

Built in 1957, Ganesh Talkies fell on tough times and shut down in 1997. The developers who bought over the dilapidated Ganesh Talkies rented out the premises to a ganesh shaala. The Ganpati idols in different shapes and size, lined up where the seats had once been, facing a non-existent screen, was a quite a sight. Unfortunately, the show couldn’t go on. A multi-storeyed complex stands in its place.

Bharatmata Cinema has been a silent witness to the change in Lalbaug. It was there when the sirens from the mill rang through Lalbaug, it ran shows depending on mill shifts, continued to run through the mill strike, entry of video cassettes, Bombay bomb blasts, satellite tv, multiplexes and redevelopment. Set up in 1939, in one corner of land owned by National Textile Corporation Mill, Bharatmata Cinema continues keep the prices low and screen only Marathi films.

 THE MAWLS

Mills and Chawls. They pretty much dominated the landscape of Lalbaug. Not surprising for Lalbaug with Parel, Worli and Byculla was part of Girangaon or Village of Mills. This 600-acre area in central Mumbai boasted of almost 130 textile mills, majority being cotton mills. The mills flourished until the early 1980s until the Great Bombay Textile strike (1982-1984) which transformed the landscape. The mills shut down, lakhs of mill workers lost their jobs and mill land became available real estate.

The chawls, built next to the factories to house the migrant mill workers lost relevance. Peru Chawl that find place in the narrative of how Lalbaugcha Raja came about, Tejukaya mansion with its 12 chawls, Doctors Compound, Meghwadi Chawl and many others are up for redevelopment. With developers entering Lalbaug and even rebranding it as Upper Worli, the micro-culture is about to change drastically. The mills went first, and now with erasure of a specific kind of housing, a chapter of mumbai history will close, only to be found in words.

 So walking this neighbourhood is a must before the micro-culture gets lost in construction!

LANES OF LALBAUG: IDOL TALK

Each year as the erstwhile mill area of Lalbaug dressed up to welcome the most revered Ganpati idol of Mumbai, Lalbaugcha Raja or the King of Lalbaug, we’d run ‘Lanes of Lalbaug’ to dip into the sea of activity. The idea was to engage with the ganesh shaalas that sprung up in the area, artists giving final touches to the idols, associations busy with erecting tents and pandals to enthrone the idol, the chahal-pahal or hustle bustle that went along with THE time of the year with stories of mills, mill workers, tamasha theatre and artists, aroma of fresh farsan at Chiwda Gali, a tucked in Sufi site (or two!), colourful markets and Marathi Cinema as backdrop.

After ten year of conducting the walk in the pocket, we bowed out last year.  Now, at the back of a pandemic with Lalbaugcha Raja Mandal consciously deciding not to hold the Ganesh Utsav and organising a blood and plasma donation camp instead, it will be the first time in 93 odd years that Lalbaug will not have its Raja.

So, in this two-part article we will be putting together some nodes, stories, histories and all that we have learnt and unlearnt over the years for you to take a Lalbaug walk in words. For this year, for now…Remember he is the one who has pudhchya varshi lavkar ya attached to his chant  - he will be back next year in better times!

Ganesh Chaturthi marks the birth of Lord Ganesh. The festival falls between 20th August and 15th September, in the month of Bhaarapada, according to Hindu calendar. The modern history of this ten-day festival links back to pre-independence era and Lokmanya Tilak, who saw potential in the power of religious festivals to encourage a desire for political independence. He transformed the festival from a small, domestic scale to a large-scale outdoor event that served as a platform to educate people about the importance of swaraj through fiery speeches.

 And the big, outdoorsy Ganpati festival, as it is celebrated today, was born

On the first day of the festival Ganesh Idols are placed in lavishly adorned pavillions erected by various mandals of associations amidst pomp and puja. The idols are immersed on different days of the ten-day long festival however the bigger, more revered idols are immersed on the last two days especially on the final day or Anant Chaudas. Placed on flat bed trucks, the idols are carried to the sea for visrajan or the immersion ceremony in a grand procession with dance, dhol, DJ and cries of Ganpati Bappa Morya…

On the fifth or the sixth day of the festival another major ceremony is performed in many households, Gauri Pujan or Mangala Gauri, to honour the mother of Lord Ganesh. The Gauri idol is brought home one day before the puja, adorned with green bangles, mangalsutra, nose ring and veni. Then, the women get together and sing mangala gauri songs that reflect the life of married Hindu women. After the puja, women visit each other’s homes and offer coconut, cloth, flowers, bananas, rice and even new sarees to the idol and one the next day, usually the sixth day of Ganpati festival, the idols are taken in a procession to be immersed. The first Gauri puja is considered very important for a newly married Maharashtrian woman.

Central to all celebrations is the idol. You see the idols lined up in shops at Ganesh Galli in Lalbaug and scores of artisans milling around providing last minute touches to the idols in makeshift Ganesh Shaalas, held up by Bamboo and blue tarpaulin. Some hold gigantic idols in vibrant colours while some specialise in small ones – rows upon rows of Ganesh Idols seated, reclining a’la Buddha, standing, playing an instrument, in the likeness of other Gods or a character from a blockbuster film wait to be chosen by devotees.

‘Made in Penn’ idols command higher prices than ones made in Mumbai or elsewhere. Penn has over five hundred units manufacturing idols that craft, sculpt, design, paint and are a source of employment to many. In Mumbai, migrants from UP and Bihar find easy employment and form almost half of city’s idol making workforce. Some college students join in for the experience and extra pocket money. Money or enthusiasm, being a participant in Ganpati idol making is considered a humbling experience for most artisans.

Originally, clay was used to make the idols but to make the idol lighter, cheaper and more attractive, Plaster of Paris started being used. The paints also moved from natural to non-biodegradable. Interestingly, according to ancient Hindu scriptures Ganesh was created from the dirt off Goddess Parvati’s body and it is appropriate that the idol is created with something like clay or mud. Plaster of Paris come with its own challenges – apart from polluting the water, it does not disintegrate easily and many a times the idols or their parts are seen floating in the water after immersion. In the past twenty-thirty years, there has been a trend of large(r) idols, as tall as fifty feet or more and even standing idols.

According to the science of making idols or murtivigyan the height of the idols should ideally not be more than 5 or 6ft tall, ideally in a seated position. Idols standing for more than a day or two exert weight on the feet or the base and there are more chances of it cracking, which is considered inauspicious. Anyhow, with more awareness, there has been a greater thrust to make eco-friendly idols, revert to mud and natural, water based paints and immerse the idols at home, in buckets.

That brings us to the other problem that the festival faces – abandoned idols. The well known and sought after idol makers make Ganesh idols to order but some make idols in anticipation of sale. In a city where space is scarce and costly, and most idol makers rent a room or a temporary shed, the unsold idols have no place to go. At times, they dissolve the idols in buckets of water and reuse the clay, break them or just abandon then in Dadar – Lalbaug belt of Mumbai. Since they cannot be disposed off at dumping grounds due to religious sentiments, the idols are picked up either by Municipal workers or NGOs working with BMC, and submerged in the sea. Not an ideal idol disposal situation but that’s how things stand, for now.

Amongst all the associations and idols in Mumbai, the pride of the place belongs to the famous Lalbaugcha Raja (King of Lalbaug). The mandal is the biggest, most revered and oldest. It attracts an average of 1.5 million devotees each day with the crowds swelling on weekends, Gauri puja and on immersion day. The mandal, known as the Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal, Lalbaug was founded in the year 1928. The Lalbaug Market at Peru Chawl was shut down in 1932 and the fishermen and vendors who used to sit in the open place prayed to Lord Ganesh for a permanent place. With the consistent efforts of the local councillor, the landlord, Rajabai Tayyabali agreed to give a plot for the construction of a market. As their wish was fulfilled, the fishermen and the traders placed the Ganesh Idol in the area on 12th September 1934, dressed in the customary fashion of the fishermen. Since that day, people believe that Lalbaugcha Raja is navsacha Ganesh or one associated with wish fulfilment, making it one of the most famous Ganpati in Mumbai.

Lalbaug cha Raja, King of Lalbaug, Mumbai

The idol of Lalbaugcha Raja is annually made by Kambli Arts. Late Madhusudan Kambli was commissioned to sculpt the Raja in 1935 and since then the Kambli’s have taken the responsibility to sculpt Lalbaug cha Raja. In 1935, the height of the idol was 5 feet but now the height has been fixed at 14 and the though the eyes, face and the body of Lalbaug cha Raja remain constant, the decorations have become elaborate year on year. Interestingly, a patent protects the idol and Kambli Arts has been granted sole rights and ownership for the Ganpati idol pattern.

While the Kamblis sculpt, Pawar stitches a special line of clothing for Lalbaugcha Raja with a team of four or five people. Though the idol wears similar set of clothes, they are changed twice a day – one at 3 am and again at 3pm. In total, twenty-three sets of clothes are required for the 10-day festival. Though many famous designers have expressed a desire to dress the city’s most famous Ganesha, the association trusts Pawar’s skills to clothe him. On the first day of the festival, the idol is dressed in 39 metres long pitambar or yellow dhoti, along with a 6metres long stole and a waist belt.  Apart from this, the idol is also adorned with about 7 to 8 kg gold.

Located a couple of lanes away from the Lalbaugcha Raja is the Mumbaicha Raja in Ganesh Lane. It was formed for the benefit of the mill workers in 1928, making it the oldest one in the area. The mandal is well known for its novel themes every year -often a replica of a famous temple in India.

So much about the festival, two main pandals of Lalbaug and a bit about the idols. During the festival, one is so focussed on Ganpati darshan or navigating the crowd and that one hardly notices the Lalbaug neighbourhood – in the next part we will unfurl it all as we walk the Lanes of Lalbaug.

Whatever be the case, Mumbai dressed up for Lord Ganesh is an experience that one should not miss. The air is electric. You just have to get your feet in, admire the idols, walk with the crowd, dance, eat and join in the cheer with Ganpati Bappa Morya!

Idol Talk, Lanes of Lalbaug Poster, Beyond Bombay, Vaydehi.K

To be continued…Lanes of Lalbaug - Idol Walk

DELHI: A CITY IN SONGS

‘Yeh dilli hai mere yaar, bas ishq, mohabbat, pyaar…’

Add fixers, brokers, middlemen, meddle-ness, broken appointments, big cars, big-ger abuses, land grabbing, sprawling gardens, tombs, monuments, Punjabi music, North-South divide, colonies, campus, high- heeled malls, winters, politics, bureaucracy, muscle, chaat and chola bhatura to the syntax and it completes the Delhi song - more or less.

 It takes you everywhere.

When Rishi Kapoor screams ‘Mehbooba…’ at India Gate in Chandni (1989) and the song breaks into ‘…shaher suna tha dilli…ladki mujh se milli’ he is loud, in love and screaming from the rooftop or rather Raisina about his dilli waali girlfriend. And we see the grand buildings of the Central Vista standing tall, not to be outdone!

Song sung loud, Mehbooba from Chandni (1989)

Quite a contrast to the subtle and private expression of love in ‘Dil ka bhanwar kare pukar…’ from Tere Ghar Ke Saamne (1963), perhaps the last song to be shot inside Delhi’s Qutab Minar. The romance blossoms as the duo, Dev Anand and Nutan, descend the spiral staircase of the Minar. Both, Delhi history and its landmarks, tug and nudge in songs - for instance, one cannot ignore the imposing presence of Humayun’s tomb in ‘Shukran Allah…’ from Kurbaan, the catchy ‘Choomantar...’ song from the film Mere Brother Ki Dulhan(2011) or ‘Chand Sifarish…’ from Fanaa to name a few. A far cry from what the song ‘…aaja hum ghum ho jaaye…’ suggests - they do anything but fade into the background 

Romance jumps from landmarks to Lajpat Nagar (and the like) with songs like ‘Paani da rang…’ from Vicky Donor (2012) that don’t just serenade but take you through the close proximity of middle class lives and terrace romances. In the song ‘Ambarsariya…’ from Fukrey (2013) the hero even sends a kite message to his love interest with ‘Kya tu mujhse frandship karegi…’ asking her to give ‘kanni’ if the answer is yes and then jumping terraces to her. Can it be more Dilli colony?  

The colonies tagged ‘punju’ on the Delhi map with beauty parlour aunties, nosey neighbours, shopping in plastic baskets, bijis, pairi paunas and aloo paranthas have more to offer - they tie in dreams and aspirations too. You see it in Do Dooni Chaar (2010) where the gauging meter of Duggal family’s upward mobility lies in owning a car. In the face of disappointments that includes selling kangan to give sagan at a wedding the family still manages to dance-bindaas on ‘Na Baaja bajeya, Na ghodi chadheya….’ at a family wedding - after gulab jamuns mind you!

In Band Baaja Baraat (2010), Anushka Sharma is full of tarkibein to make her wedding planner dream a reality. Thanks to a willing partner in Bittu and break at a colony ‘lane’ wedding she ‘Ainvayi…Ainvayi’s her way into farm house and destination weddings. Marriages in general are a national obsession. Add Delhi to the mix and it gets bigger, badass, boozier and bindass complete with intrigues and complications. There have been many films that have explored the wedding genre but nothing compares to Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding (2001). That is a love song to Delhi. Comedy, dance, romance, family hostilities, abuse, bathroom smoking Pimmi aunties, golf playing Lalit uncles, ghazal singing family member, marigold chewing wedding planner hitting on househelp, lots of singing, ribbing, dancing, eating and all else ties foot-tappingly together in the Bally Sagoo remix ‘Aaja Nachle…o aaja nachle…’ complete with the monsoon rain and characteristic spontaneity of a Punjabi-dilli- farmhouse kind wedding!

There is one common thread running through the colonies, condos and farmhouses of Delhi - property sharks. The song ‘ Ab kya karenge bhaiya, ab kahan jayenge…’ from Khosla ka Ghosla (2006) speaks of the helplessness of a man who invests his life’s earnings into a plot of land only to realise that it has been usurped by a ruthless land shark. But he doesn’t give in without a fight! The gold rings toting, Jai Mata-ing Khurana from the film has real life avatars in real estate of Delhi exploiting buyers on an everyday basis.

Khurana, Property Dealer, Khosla Ka Ghosla

While discussing homes, a living space unique to the dilliwaalas is the humble barsaati. It is a small room at the top of a house with a large terrace that became of a way of life for the artists and idealists in the 80s. ‘Unconventional living conditions for unconventional work.’ was how it went. You see the camaraderie between three young barsaati-mates in the jaunty song ‘Pyar Lagawat…’ from Chashme Baddoor (1981). and you also see love blossoming between a blind girl and a supposed terrorist (unconventional much?) on a barsaati terrace, in barsaat with ‘ Yeh saajish hai boondon ki… dekho na’ from Fanaa.

From Fanaa to fun and Fukrey’s title song ‘Fuk fuk Fukrey…bhaaga bhooth langoti leke chaddar taan ke tu chup re…’ Agree, the lyrics are a departure from Ghalib’s poetry, a far far departure but so is Delhi. It is no longer the dilli Zauq couldn’t bear to leave. Today, Delhi is an aggregate of individual wants. But the reason the song finds place here is the energy it come with - of the young and restless college goers owning the city with ‘…raat ko jayenge India Gate’. A drive to India Gate at night spells Delhi like nothing else. It has been wonderfully captured in the song ‘Masti ki paathshaala…’ from Rang De Basanti with the leads as DU students swaying and saluting the Amar Jawan Jyoti while gedi-maroing around India Gate. They don’t show the ice cream carts but off-screen that’s a plus plus to the drive…

While dharna culture belongs to Kolkata alone, dharna or candle light vigil at India Gate (or Jantar Mantar) belongs to Delhi.  Campus politics finds its way to the site in the song ‘Tu mun shudi…’ from Raanjhanaa (2013) where collegians take on the police, get water-cannoned but continue to sit around in protest as the sun sets with the gorgeous chhatri and India Gate as the backdrop.  In Rang De Basanti’s iconic ‘Khoon Chala….’ the police unleash themselves on peaceful protestors sitting to mourn and fight for the death of their friend, an IAF officer, a victim of corruption in the Defence Ministry. We meet Delhi that cuts, burns, rapes kills,  - the gun toting, muscle flexing, drunk on power and paisa version of the city in the quick montages of the song ‘Kaat Kaleja Dilli, le gayi kaat kaleja dilli…’ from the real life based film No One Killed Jessica (2011). We know the chilling story. The trigger-happy moment where Delhi with a gun in hand stares and aims resonates in the lines ‘Thaam doonali hatthe, door ke taane matthe…’. It is raw. It is not a person. It is a city. Dilli…

It wears Jekyll & Hyde well.

If one side is sinister, the other is spiritual. We jump into the latter side of Delhi with the song ‘Kun Faya Kun...’ from Rockstar (2011). The song not only takes you through the by-lanes of Nizamuddin leading up to the dargah, it takes you on a Sufi high. The bais khwaja ki chaukhat city has been home to a thriving culture of Sufism since 13th Century. People of all faiths found spiritual solace in Sufi khanqahs or retreats, as shown in the song, adding a mystical component to the narrative of Delhi.

What this song does for Nizamuddin Dargah, ‘Arziyan…Marammat muqaddar ki karde maula’ from Delhi-6 (2009) does for Jama Masjid and in depicting the ganga-jamuni tehzeeb that Old Delhi retains – on one side you see heads bent in prayer in the largest congregational mosque and on the other an aarti is underway. Delhi 6 might have failed at the box office but its success shines in its songs that showcase a way of life in old Delhi right from drying chillies and papads on terraces in ‘Sasural Genda Phool….’ kabootarbaazi in ‘Masakalli…’, the fervour of Ram Leela, the kuchas and katras, havelis, markets, garam jalebis, kite flying and even the transformation of a purani dilli girl into her modern avatar as she travels out of the old into new. The orchestra of sights, smells, sounds shines through in ‘ gali hai mastano ki dilli…. dilli’ number from the film. Delhi has grown into climate-controlled shopping malls, think ‘Suno Aisha…’ at Emporio in the film Aisha, and high-rise condos but the daily life that goes on at a street level in Chandni Chowk continues to captivate

A lot happens on terraces, Sasural Genda Phool, Delhi 6

Many corners, many films and many songs catch different pulses racing through different pockets of Delhi. You can find your version/ aversion of Delhi in songs - at worst steal, at best borrow

‘Maange ki ghodi hai toh kya, baithe toh dulha ban gaye….’

The city makes allowances!

BOMBAY: A CITY IN SONGS

‘Bajuuuu…’

 The song starts in a true mumbaiyya vein, breaks into ‘…babu samjho ishare, horn pukare…’ and with that the three Kumar brothers take us on a merry spin around some now-identifiable-now-not parts of South Bombay in the film Chalti Ka Naam Gadi (1958). Eros Cinema stands tall in the background as we go through peopled streets and watch cross-ers, walkers, workers, shoppers and idlers negotiate space between taxis and trams. Everything and everyone is on the move for ’…yahan chalti ko gadi kehte hain pyare’, as if one will cease to exist if one stops. Point noted and we take the city in stride. Merrily so…

But only until we are plucked out of the fun and thrown head-on into the haunting alienation and angst of Farooq Sheikh as a taxi driver, walking the tight rope of inclusion and exclusion as he motors through the city, quite soul-lessly, in this song from the film Gaman (1978),

‘Seene main jalan ankhon main toofan sa kyun hai,

  is shaher main har shaks pareshan sa kyun hai…’

While this song, uncomfortably tears at you, ‘Bambai Nagariya’ from a fairly recent film Taxi No. 9211(2006) does so in quick montages of the city. It is a young, fast tour of the city from Rajabai Tower, to Marine Drive, VT, Oval maidan, Fort, dance bars, people climbing BEST buses and trains, moving, throwing things, shoving, pushing, hitting, working, counting money and sleeping on footpath. The entire city is experienced at a street level with poignant lines like ‘…sone ki raahon main sone ko jagah nahin hai…’ that evoke Mark Twain’s famous observation on the alfresco sleeping forms on Bombay footpaths in his book Follow the Equator and comparing them to “counterfeit corpses”.

That brings us to the ever-so important concern of the middle class to own a house in the space- starved city. The film Gharaonda (1977) identifies this aspiration and through the song ‘Do deewane shaher mein, raat mein dopahar mein…aabodana dhoondte hain’ shows us a couple, wound in office romance, at a construction site dreaming their perfect “home” before tying the knot.

The asmani dreams come crashing when they lose their money to the builders and the flat never comes up. Identifiable right? The dream turns into a nightmare and the as the mood changes so does the song, to ‘Ek akela is shaher mein…’ tying urban challenge to loneliness in the face of a shattered dream.

Marine Drive, Wake Up Sid!

However, Bombay allows space to dream, if not one to sleep and rented accommodations become sites for those to take root. Rents & dreams are often shared by youngsters who flock to the city chasing their dreams and dream some more. Marine Drive as a site of reflection in contemporary Bombay comes across beautifully in the song  ‘Goonja sa hai koi iktara…’ from the film Wake Up Sid! (2009). The iktara traditionally used to spread wisdom finds its ways into the lyrics of the song as Konkona Sen connects to her inner self and has a moment of realisation that her flat mate is also her soulmate. He on the other hand, ignorant of her feelings, wakes up and chases his dreams. Two awakenings merge in the frame with the Tetrapods softening the tide’s erosive action as the waves gently flow around the table set for two against the sun and the sea. 

 The table spreads (or rather stretches) in Sai Paranjpe’s wonderful depiction of community living in the film Katha (1983) – loosely based on the classic, The Hare & The Tortoise tale, set in a chawl. The mill owners built chawls in the early 1900s to accommodate the migrant workers. They were like mini-villages in maximum city where life unfurled somewhere between common courtyards and shared utilities. The song, ‘Kaun aaya, Kaun aaya…’, sung nearly by the whole chawl, depicts a kind of camraderie among people tied to each other by a certain ethos (and chaos spelt by lack of privacy) and celebrate it.

Chawl Scene, Katha

The wooden beamed chawls shown in the song have been sitting on the edge of extinction. With the mills shutting down after the Great Bombay Textile Strike (1982), mill culture falling apart and mills turning into malls, it is just a matter of time that the chawl culture will be completely lost to urban consumption.

The collapse of Mumbai’s textile industry tore the social fabric of the city and as unemployment, resentment, anger and despair soared the ‘village of mills’ or Girangaon became a recruiting ground for the underworld. Mumbai became ‘Mumbhai’. Criminal activities like kidnapping, extortions, ‘suparis’ or contract killings, ‘haftas’, Government permissions, politics, money laundering, construction, dance bars and crude vocab with words like bhaigiri, khalas, lafda find their way into the song ‘I am Mumbhai’ from the film Bombay Boys (1998).  The refrain ‘…Bhai se puchne ka’ placed the Bhai or Don at the center, bragging of his ability to bring the city to its knees.

‘Uski khopdi satak gayi to…sara Mumbai rukta.’

Proven chillingly true as we delve into Bombay’s bloodied underbelly – much has been written!

What makes Bombay stop today is the rain but it was not so earlier. The rain didn’t frighten or flood then, it was made of a lovely soak, romance, promises, a turn of season and recharging. That emotion is wonderfully captured in the song ‘Rimjhim gire saawan, sulag sulag jaye mann…’ from Manzil (1979) in which Amitabh Bachchan and Moushumi Chatterjee, saree suit et al, take us for walk in the Bombay rains, splashing water at Flora Fountain, Oval Maidan with Rajabai tower and The High Court bearing witness to them enjoying, completely unmindful of the rain or for that matter people under black umbrellas going about their business.

They walk on, cling, and indulge in some innocent PDA at Marine Drive, without the cops or the moral police breathing down their neck. The song freezes the romance of Bombay rain, its magic…

 The magic lifts as we shift the the gaze into the 9:10AM Western Railway local train from Bandra to Churchgate in Baaton Baaton Mein (1979) and watch the love story of Tony and Nancy unfurl over the song ‘Suniye, kahiye…baaton baaton main pyar ho jayega.’ Through the song we get a peek into a very distinct visual as well as cultural landscape of Bandra. We get a glimpse into the lives of the Catholics or Anglo Indians loosely called maka paos or bread eaters, considered fairly cosmopolitan with a distinct sense of clothing, food, music and way of speaking.  

Albeit stereotypical we trace the love developing in local trains, visit the houses of overly anxious aunties wearing dresses in loud prints with a golden cross dangling at their breast, young pretty girls in leg-showing skirts taking the train to work in “town”, boys playing violin, laced table covers and couches and dates materializing at Bandra bandstand - before the big film stars nested in here…before its ‘gentrification’.

 Interestingly, what no song, not even the recent number from Aashiqui 2 (2013) ‘ Chahoon mein ya na…’ or the loud, lavni-style dance with Vidya Balan as a kolin ‘Mala Jau de’ from Ferrari ki Sawari (2012), could do for Worli Koliwada, Coldplay did with their song ‘ Hymn for the Weekend.’ They got the eyeballs on this narrow stretch of land that lies between Worli & Bandra celebrating its capacity to hold on to a Koli way of life despite the developers playing knock-knock. The colourful temple towers, bylanes and the band playing against the backdrop of sunset, sea and trawlers stays in the mind’s eye.

Hymn for the Weekend, Coldplay, Worli Koliwada,

While on the subject of celebration you cannot ignore what the annual 10 day Ganapti festival means to the city. Songs like ‘Deva O Deva, Ganpati Deva’ from Hum se Badhkar kaun (1981) ‘ Mourya re’ from Don (2006) and ‘Deva Shree Ganesha’ Agneepath (2012) take you into the festivities and fervour of the giant street pandal party that the city participates in as the Ganpati idols get ready for the visarjan ceremony. There is colour, prayer, spectacle and scale in the festival and the songs show all of that and more with a bit star-ry sparkle. Belief ties the above mentioned songs to the sufi song ‘Piya Haji Ali’ from Fiza(2000) and it also turns our attention to the women sitting outside the Sufi saint’s dargah, though as per the law today they are allowed go enter the inner sanctum at par with men. The accessibility of the dargah for people from all faiths is something to hinge the city on. It’s a cultural pot-pourri after all.

You can dance to the tunes of the city a’la Amitabh Bachchan in ‘Yeh hai Mumbai Nagariya tu dekh babua’ from the movie Don (1978), pointing out the various contradictions the city is made of or you can be your ‘muqaddar ka sikandar’ and take on the city. The city makes all such allowances as people continue to bet on it. It manifests itself as a haadson ka shaher for the ones who cannot adapt to its pace and people but for the one’s who can, the song changes seamlessly from ‘Aye dil hai mushkil jeena yahan…’, the Bombay classic from CID(1956) to ‘Aye dil hai aasan jeena yahan…yeh hai Bombay meri jaan.’

You can’t help but fall in love - It has no laundry list of rules. It is infectious and it is said, “Once you start living in Mumbai, working in Mumbai, You cannot live anywhere else.”

… just have to sing the song right…

Coming up Part 2: DELHI: A CITY IN SONGS

MAPPING MEHRAULI

Hue naamwar be nishaan kaise kaise

Zameen kha gayi aasman kaise kaise

(Unknown lie those who were famous once, into dust were trampled the trappings of the famous)

I first read these lines in Rana Safvi's book, Where Stones Speak, many years ago and each time I have visited Mehrauli Village they have come back. They’ve been a lens, a crutch and even a comfortable chair to view the uncomfortable coexistence of the old and the new from - one struggling to exist and the other sprouting organically.

Spreading south of the octagonal tomb of Adham Khan, the urban-historic Mehrauli village, tucked away from the touristy commerce of Qutab Minar or Mehrauli Archaeological lies in wait - for someone to ask its stories, strewn in the crumbling remains.

Here are a few:

BAD BLOOD

Adham Khan’s tomb, opposite the Mehrauli Bus Terminus, stands in the middle of a busy street where buses ply every other minute. It is a busy place with squatters, hanger-ons, walkers, monkeys, children and pigeons but it stands to tell a story, many stories.

Mughal Emperor Akbar had two wet nurses – Maham Angah and Jiji Angah who couldn’t see eye to eye and their families were always engaged in rivalry. Maham Angah’s son, Adham Khan was granted the position of a general in Akbar’s army. According to Ain-i-Akbari, in 1561, he was sent to capture Malwa (MP today) ruled by an Afghan, Baz Bahadur. Adham not only defeated Baz Bahadur but went on a killing spree and took over the war spoils sending just three elephants to Akbar. When this news reached Akbar, he managed to summon him back to Agra. In a fit of rage, blaming Atgah Khan, Prime Minister and Jiji’s Angah’s husband, for his downfall, Adham Khan stabbed him. Akbar had him punished by having him repeatedly thrown from the ramparts of Agra Fort unto death.

Adham Khan’s body was then brought to Delhi and buried here. On Maham Angah’s death, her body was also buried next to her son. In the Sur-Lodi and Sayyid dynasty octagonal tombs were associated with traitors and it is possible that Akbar had Adham Khan’s tomb built in the style.

After the fall of the Mughals, a British officer, Sir Blake of the Bengal Civil Service took a fancy to the octagonal tomb and converted it into his private residence. He removed the graves in order to make way for a grand dining hall. After his demise, the tomb was used as a British Rest House and later as a Police Station and a Post office until Lord Curzon had the bungalow vacated and restored the grave of Adham Khan. Maham Angah’s grave was never found.

Legend has it that many women resist visiting the tomb because it carries the curse of Rani Roopmati, whose lover -Baz Bahadur was killed by Adham Khan.

SEEKING THE SAINT

A short distance from Adham Khan’s tomb is the shrine of the Sufi Saint Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar ‘Kaki’. He came from Osh in Fergana valley to Delhi after the conquest of the Delhi by Qutbuddin  Aibak and later became the spiritual master of Iltutmish (the second Slave Sultan of Delhi).  His real name was Qutbuddin and Bakhtiyar was a title given to him. The ‘Kaki’ was added in deference to a miracle that he performed related to kaak, small bread cakes. It is believed that a local baker’s wife taunted the saint’s wife and refused to offer anything on credit. On hearing this, he forbade his wife to go to the shop again and from that day onwards, kaak would appear miraculously in a small niche in his house everyday. Of course, there are multiple stories about why he was called ‘Kaki’, all equally fascinating.

Shrine of Bakhtiyar ‘Kaki’, Mehrauli Village,

As you walk towards the shrine, that feeling of having left the city behind takes over - the narrow lanes flanked by eateries, displaying dished in huge aluminium pots or firing their tandoors, the smell of mutton and the as you turn the corner, roses, meant for offering at the shrine, play hide and seek with your senses. The shrine isn’t overly crowded, except for a few beggars suspended between absence and presence. If you luck out, you might hear a qawwali too. Not as elaborate as its Nizamuddin counterpart but beautiful in its simplicity much like the shrine.

PAST PALACE

Walk out of the shrine and you stand facing Zafar Mahal, the summer palace of the Mughals, named after the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar. The imposing entrance known as the Haathi (Elephant) gate was designed to allow easy entry of the elephants with his haudah. The rest of the structure with Moti Masjid, dalans and rooms and courtyards was built by Akbar Shah II. It was the last great monument built by the Mughals though seeing its condition one can hardly call it that anymore. The royal family would reside here after the monsoons and during the Phoolwalo’n Ki Sair festival (still celebrated!) It must have offered a magnificent view of Mehrauli at one time, now it is hemmed by construction on all sides.

 As you walk around the precinct, you get a sense of the exhausted resources and waning power of the Mughal Empire when it was built. But the sense of loss comes through the small enclosure near Moti Masjid where the later three Mughal kings, Shah Alam I, Bahadur Shah I, Akbar II are buried. There is a small grassy patch between the last two graves, left open and empty as it was supposed to be Bahadur Shah Zafar’s final resting place but he was exiled to Rangoon by the British after the Revolt of 1857 and buried there. As I stared at the place the famous lines of the Emperor in exile came rushing:

  Kitna hai badnaseeb Zafar, dafn ke liye

Do gaz zameen na mil saki kuche yaar mein

  (How unfortunate is Zafar, he could not be buried, In two yards of land in the lanes of his beloved)

  A place of sighs. Truly.

FOR WANT OF WATER

There are two other sites that catch your eye as you navigate the narrow lanes and by-lanes of Mehrauli village – Gandhak ki Baoli & Hauz e Shamsi.

Gandhak ki Baoli (stepwell) is a well fed by natural sulphur or gandhak and therefore the name. It was built during the reign of Iltutmish. It is said that one day when Iltutmish came visiting Saint Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar ‘Kaki’, he found him distressed. When he learnt the reason of the saint’s distress not being able to bathe due to shortage of water, Iltutmish took it upon himself to build a step- well near the shrine for the saint to bathe at will. The result was the five tiered Gandhak Ki Baoli. It must have been a charming place once upon a time but seems like it has been left to decay.

If you walk towards the other end of Mehrauli through its bazaars you will see Jahaz Mahal (from the Lodi period) and right next to it is the Hauz e Shamsi. Iltutmish built the water reservoir in 1230 AD.  According to legend, to feed the need of the growing population of Mehrauli, Iltutmish wanted to build a water tank but was undecided about its location. One night, The Prophet came in his dreams and instructed him to build a tank in the place where he found the hoof marks of his winged horse, Buraq. The Sultan accompanied by Qutub Sahab went to look, found the exact place and built the tank around it. Many stories surround this Hauz. There is also a belief that if someone recites the Quran from sunset to dawn sitting near the Hauz e Shamsi , his prayers will be answered.

Hijron Ka Khanqah, Mehrauli Village

Apart from the landmarks Jahaz Mahal and Jharana, a must ‘find and stop’ place is Hijron Ka Khanqah – a Sufi spiritual retreat and a burial spot of the eunuchs from the Lodi period maintained by the eunuchs of Turkman Gate (Old Delhi). The only one of its kind and it is a pleasure to see that amidst the decaying medieval buildings around this place is being kept in a fairly pristine condition.

You have to walk on in Mehrauli. It is a trip worth taking

‘Mapping Mehrauli’ Walk banner, Beyond Delhi. By: Vaydehi.K

About the Walk

Mapping Mehrauli was rolled out in 2012. Shaking the historic lethargy, walking into the lanes less known, engaging with the neighbourhood bore fruits and Mehrauli opened up and let us in. Over the years we have conducted multiple walks in this area with writers, expats, students, teachers, historians, artists and more - each adding to the narrative of this neighbourhood.

Mehrauli doesn’t end with the Qutub Minar, Mehrauli Archaeological Gardens, an Olive brunch, dip into Sabyasachi or other beautifully designed store or the latest addition to the list, The Grammar Room. There is more. You just have to walk a little ahead.

Books Referenced:

Rana Safvi, (2015) Where Stones Speak, Harper Element, Harper Collins, INDIA.

Swapna Liddle, (2011), Delhi:14 Historical Walks, Westland Limited

Raza Rumi, (2013), Delhi by Heart, Harper Collins, INDIA

Abrahm Eraly, The Age of Wrath: History of the Delhi Sultanate, Viking, Penguin Group

Nitya Jacob, Jalyatra: Exploring India's Traditional Water Management Systems, Chapter 2: Forgotten history lessons, Delhi’s missed date with water

WANDERING IN WORLI

The kolis were here first.

It is an oft-repeated sentence in books, conversations, lectures and studies that revolve around Mumbai history. They might have been pushed to the edges but the kolis continue, as do their koliwadas or fishing villages, holding on to a way of life despite the odds stacked against them.

Amongst others, Worli Koliwada is perhaps the most visible, jutting out as a narrow strip of land, with cars zipping past it on the Bandra Worli Sea Link. And naturally, the most locally bypassed. Yet, it makes it presence felt. The Fort, rising from the cluster of colourful houses, the blue, orange and white boats dotting the sea, with bhagwa flags and the waves dashing against the rocks do catch the eye. More than five hundred years old, Worli Koliwada is a poignant reminder of a unique cultural identity of the Koli community - their personal, shared, living and fishing space.

It is believed that fishermen moved up and down the western coast of India never really settling at any place but in the 12th Century when King Pratapbimb established his formal kingdom Mahikawati (Mahim), he invited sixty-six kulas or tribes to become part of his new kingdom and kolis were one of them. The very first into the fold of Worli Koliwada were the nine Patil brothers. They. in turn, invited others from their tribe and the village grew.

The original inhabitants of this growing fishing village are the Son Kolis, who have the highest status among kolis. The name ‘son’ comes from golden or yellow of the turmeric sacred to Khandoba, the family god of the kolis. Sharing space with the Son kolis are the Mahadev kolis, the first koli migrants into this microculture and the Christian Kolis, who converted to Christianity under the Portuguese.  Interestingly, the Christian Kolis retained some of their pre-christian traditions, mixing it with their acquired identity – one encounters this ad- mixing at the Mother Mary grotto, right at the entrance of the village. Mother Mary is dressed in a bright saree and gold jewellery like the kolins with marigold garlands hung as offerings. Fusion much?

That is not where it ends, little grottos of Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus dot the area and at the lands end, next to Vetal Deo Temple, stands a small church with the idol of Jesus placed on a small fishing boat, in keeping with the fishing tradition of the koliwada. It is here that the Christian Kolis hold a mass to mark the beginning of the fishing season. “The day” that marks the new business is celebrated as Narali Punaw or Purnima by all kolis. On this day, the fishermen offer coconut to the sea to appease the sea & wind gods for a good fishing season. The coconuts are decorated and taken in processions led by songas (people in fancy dress) followed by vajantri (people who play musical instruments) and people with offerings. The Police Patil or the headman enters the sea first until water reaches his waist and immerses a coconut. Everyone follows. The other important festival celebrated here is shimga or Holi.

Celebrations are aplenty whether it be singing or dancing at the launch or return of boats at the bandar, purchase of a new boat, betrothal ceremony or shakarpura, naming ceremony, wedding or religious ones like the Mahashivratri and Shravan at the Mahadeo temple or the Golpha Devi festival.

 Golpha Devi is the tutelary goddess of the Son kolis of Worli. No auspicious task, personal or community related is carried out without invoking her through a ritual known as the ‘kaul’. It is almost like seeking out the goddess to ‘take a call’ on pending decisions. The kaul involves the temple priest placing two flower buds to the right and the left of the idol and interpreting it as a good or a bad omen, depending on which bud falls first. The Golpha Devi temple houses the idols of Golpha Devi, Harna Devi and Sakba Devi, carved in stone. However, since a lot less kolis go out fishing and the younger walk out of the village to jobs unrelated to fishing, the kauls have reduced. The Golpha Devi festival has also reduced from a 3-day to an overnight festival. One temple’s loss in kauls is another’s gain in footfalls. The Mahadev temple, established in 1904, has since attracted more people as it has become a site not just for worship but also programmes like yoga, reading from scriptures, meditation, music etc which a lot of youngsters gravitate towards.

 Besides shared rites, rituals and authentic food served in patravali, the narrow zigzag lanes and steps running through the koliwada connect people, opening out into small squares at regular intervals. Hang out spaces, fish drying spaces, cricket field, gossip or wedding venue; the squares transform themselves according to need. While on the subject of wedding, it is imperative to mention that Son kolis are endogamous and there have been instances when kolis who married outside the community have been excommunicated - perhaps not the case any longer but marry they must. In fact, if you have wondered where the kolins, known to be aggressive and quarrelsome, get their voice from, it is thanks to their culture. The women have a position of power in a koli household since they bring the kurga or daily earning into the household. Men fish (and drink!), women sell the catch. She is an economically productive member of the family and in keeping with that they follow the custom of Bride price. Though Bride Price is not practised in Hindu culture per se, here it is proposed and solemnised in the presence of the Patil and elders of both the families during the shakarpura or bethrotal ceremony. If a koli is unable to pay a bride price he is either restricted in his selection of a partner or remains a bachelor - latter being unacceptable as his occupation demands a wife. The Christians kolis have an option of embracing religious vocation, if they don’t marry.

 Colourful and loud, the houses of the kolis of Worli koliwada reflect their lives. Purple, yellow, mustard, blue, orange, depending on the choice of the residents are the houses form a distinctive visual language. Inside, with the exception of new constructions, most houses have a small oti (verandah), chool (kitchen space), a common room and a devghar or temple space. It is said the most curious feature of some of the Son koli is the tradition of dressing up a corpse, placing it in a sitting position, photographing them and later, hanging the picture on their walls. If one takes a peep into some houses, you might see the pictures of old people – dead or alive, one cannot say!

There are periods of activity and inactivity, of people flitting in and out, songs, celebrations and then there is business, helmed by the Nakhwa Sangha, a kind of cooperative that facilitates the purchase of diesel and ice in bulk, oil subsidies by the Government and loan schemes for the fisher-folk. It acts as an intermediary. Even though they have a system of domestic business cycle in place, it is fraught with trouble. This is the grey that the fisher folk face.

First, there is the problem of the foreign trawlers that take up 75% of their catch and despite repeated protests their licences have not been cancelled by the government. Second, due to incessant development, the breeding grounds of fishes like the mangroves have been compromised. Third, because Worli Koliwada occupies prime real estate in central Mumbai, there has been an influx of tenants, ‘outsiders’ who do not understand the culture and festivities. If the kolis resist there is a chance that tenants might leave, depriving them of much needed rental income. Fourth, is stiff competition from male migrants, who go door-to-door selling fish. Fifth, trash finds its way to the shores of Koliwada. Of course, there is two month suspension of fishing during peak monsoon, June 15 to August 15 each year by the Coast Guard legislative act of 1981-82. Though it is for safety and the fishermen use this time to repair nets, boats and prepare for the next season, it gets very difficult for small time fisher-folk to maintain a good living by dried fish! And finally, there is the matter of instilling pride in the youngsters, who no longer live by fishing, so the culture doesn’t die out but stays and grows.

From the ‘conserved’ (read badly painted) Worli Fort, built by the British in 1675 as a lookout for enemy ships and pirates, Bandra on one side, Worli on the other, Bandra Worli Sea link along, the village behind and the sea on three sides - all seem to be in conversation with each other. Though Bandra Worli Sea link has become a lifeline for commuters in Mumbai it acts as a visual boundary for the kolis of Worli koliwada. It has reduced catch, changed fish patterns and broken sea currents. The proposed coastal road (stalled at the moment) threatened the same or worse –submerging a socio-economic and cultural identity of the vulnerable, bringing ease and prosperity to others.

 The village will continue to hold on… if we know and if we care not just when it features in a Coldplay or Beyonce song or is part of Film backdrop or song or dance sequence - often stereotyping the kolins in nauwaris with baskets on their heads!

 To enter Worli Koliwada is to leave the city behind. To dismiss this unique koli ethos as a ‘slum’ – ignorance!

Our ‘Wandering in Worli’ walk. Banner, Vaydehi Khandelwal

About the Walk

We, at Beyond Bombay, conceptualised this walk in 2010 and ran it for the first time in the pre-monsoon month of May '2011. The idea behind this walk was to take a dive into this locally bypassed pocket and let a heady mix of history, stories, mythology, folklore, music and other fishy tales unfurl different facets of Worli Koliwada.

The article is just a scratch, a hook that hopes more people will wander down this micro -culture and take in what it has to offer.

NOTE:

The article first appeared on GaonConnection in 2020: https://en.gaonconnection.com/tag/kolis-of-worli-koliwada/

For main nodes of the walk and more info follow this from May 2011:

https://www.mid-day.com/articles/worli-see-link/122407

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Continued…

The antique city, the capital, Hindustan ka dil – Dilli or Delhi is a name synonymous with history, power and prestige. The etymology, however, remains unclear.

 There are many stories associated with the origin of the name Delhi. The most popular is that it is named after Raja Dhilu or Dilu of Kannauj, a Mauryan king who reigned in the first century B.C.  The next one stems from the eleventh century and refers to the Tomar King, Anangpal and the famous Iron Pillar. The story is called Kili Dhilli Katha or the tale of the loose nail. It says that a holy man told King Anangpal that the pillar was driven into the hood of Vasuki, the serpent king who supports the earth from below. It was prophesised that Anangpal’s kingdom would survive as long as the pillar remained firm in the ground. The king, being a king, insisted on uprooting the pillar to verify this truth, which resulted in the pillar and the land (also the kingdom) becoming loose or dhili.  Hence, the name.

 Under the Tomars, many Jain merchants came into the fold of the new capital and coins called ‘Dehliwal’ were circulated. The people using the coins were called dehliwale. However, according to Persian chronicles the name ‘Dehli’ was only used with the advent of Turks. Some say it was a corruption of dehleez or threshold, symbolizing the city to be one to the Indo-Gangetic plains.

 Delhi took on different forms and names under the different dynasties that ruled thereafter. Each dynasty came, overthrew the existing one, nearly reduced it to rubble and built their capital in a different part of the city. As a result we have Mehrauli, Siri, Tughluqabad, Jahapanah, Firozabad, Dinpanah, Sher Shah Garh and Shahjahanabad or purani dilli, as we know it today. The spirit of the city was staccato.

 Punctuated by tombs, distinct architecture and poetry dilli became a place to reckon with under Shah Jahan. It was a centre of trade, arts, music and literature. Urdu was developed here. Mughlai menu was set here. Mushairas and Music bounced off the walls of Shahjahanbad and it drew people in.

 With the fall of the Mughal Empire and subsequent rise of British Empire, in 1911, in a grand durbar, the British announced shifting their capital from Calcutta to Delhi. This was done to establish them as natural successors to the power and privileges of the preceding dynasties for it was believed that “whoever ruled dilli, ruled India”. According to English phonology, there cannot be an ‘h’ at the end of a syllable and Dehli was anglicised to Delhi.

 Instead of ruling from Shahjahanabad, The British chose a central part of the city, Raisina hill and around which was free from monuments and decided to build their capital here. It took twenty years to build the Imperial capital under the British architects Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens and Herbert Baker. The capital was built in a style designed to impress upon the minds of the ‘natives’ the superiority of Western Civilization. The spirit of the city changed once more. There is mention that they want to call it Georgabad after King George II but it never came about and by popular usage the new city took on the name New Delhi. And so it has stayed.

 It is the hub of political power. It continues to grow as an aggregate of individual wants. Some of the newer areas made of squares of concrete or glass and steel have no conversation with its rich past. Yet, you cannot ignore the strains ‘yeh shehar nahin hai, mehfil hai’ – a mehfil of texture, history, nostalgia, poetry, people, streets, art, culture, music, tombs and monuments.

You might not find it at first but it comes to you…

Books Read & Referenced:

Rana Safvi, City of my Heart

Rana Safvi, Where Stones Speak

Swapna Liddle, Delhi: 14 Historic Walks

Swapna Liddle, Chandni Chowk, The Mughal City of Old Delhi

Rana Dasgupta, Capital

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet..."
                                                  -Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene II

When Juliet says it in Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo & Juliet, she’s saying that changing what something is called doesn’t change what it inherently is

In a poetic world, it is beautiful. In terms of cities, names take on meanings and become part of its people’s identities. When a city changes names, it assumes the identity of the ruler or the politics of its time. It is no wonder then cities like Mumbai and Delhi, that have changed hands multiple times have assumed different names at different points in history.

The first historical reference to the city we call Mumbai today was given by Ptolemy in 150 BCE. He plotted a cluster of seven islands and called it Heptanesia. This cluster assumed a different identity with the Portuguese sailing into its deep natural harbour in 1508 and calling it Bom Bahia or good bay. They even referred to it as a ilha da boa vida or island of good life. Their ambition did not extend beyond the good life and avowed aim, buscar Christaos e especiaria – to seek Christians and spices. The English received it as part of Charles II’s marriage contract with the Portuguese princess, Catherine of Braganza in 1662. It is said that since she was never to bear a child, it was the sole enduring advantage to accrue to Britain from the marriage. Well, as awful that sounds it did work to an “advantage” not directly for Charles but The East India Company. They always had designs on Bombay but when the Portuguese began making unofficial overtures to buy back the islands from Charles II, The East India Company decided to acquire it for themselves. The King, uninterested in his distant land and chronically short of money agreed to hand it over to them in exchange for a loan of 50,000 pounds repayable at 6 percent interest and a yearly rent of 10 Pounds. 

The agreement was signed in May 1668 making The East India Company ‘the true and absolute Lords and Proprietors of the Fort and the Island…’. Under the English Bom Bahia got anglicised to Bombay, and continued after the English left.

From ‘the city, which by God’s assistance is intended to be built.’ (Gerald Aungier, 1672) to Urbs Prima in Indis, port city, maximum city, fairy-tale city to a city of dreams, movement, films, sounds, smells, colours, and ethnicities – Bombay acquired meaning. Its muchness palpable on streets, in claustrophobia of structures, packed restaurants, packed dabbas, film sets, outside film-star homes, by the sea, under a tree, at bus stops, in trains, on platforms, hotels, pocket sized parks, swanky apartments, old pakhdis, vague parties, inane meetings and even books. It became an identifying emotion.

Then, came the name, Mumbai. It wasn’t new; it just wasn’t in use. It was the name the kolis, the original inhabitants of the islands, called the islands after their patron goddess Mumba, also referred to as Mumba-aai (aai: mother in Marathi). Legend has it that a cruel giant, Mumbarka plundered the islands for fun, disrupting the life of the kolis. Petrified the city dwellers sought guidance from Brahma and he created a goddess with eight arms who slayed Mumbarka. The goddess was called Mumba.

With Shiv Sena coming to power in 1995, came the ‘need’ to discard associations with the Colonial past and usher in a strong ‘Marathi identity’. Bombay became Mumbai. Federal agencies, businesses, newspapers and people were ordered to adopt the change.  And that was that.

Easier to change on paper than on the tongue for when you have hung out with the name for so long, its difficult to let it go. That’s why, perhaps, one still hears ‘Mumbai is a city, Bombay is an emotion.’

To be continued…(Delhi names)

Books Referenced:

Gillian Tindall, City of Gold.

Sharada Dwivedi. Bombay:The Cities Within

Prashant Kidambi, Bombay before Mumbai

Rahul Mehrotra & Sharada Dwivedi, Fort Walks: Around Bombay’s Fort Area

Pauline Rohatgi, Pheroza Godrej, Bombay to Mumbai: Changing Perspectives