Two centuries in two hours

The Mumbai Heritage Walk a guided annual tour is a walk through the architectural landmarks dotting South Mumbai reliving the city's past

Two centuries in two hours

The Mumbai Heritage Walk a guided annual tour is a walk through the architectural landmarks dotting South Mumbai reliving the city's past

Mumbai's history is inscribed in stone. Its magnificent monuments and buildings from another era speak about the city's past. Unfortunately, foreign tourists use the city as a transit point to go to Goa or other cities in India.

This year, the Indian Merchants' Chamber (IMC) held a heritage walk in association with VFS Global Services Pvt. Limited, with a view to showcase Mumbai's rich past and encourage tourists to stay here longer.

Pradip Madhavji (in black) and other participants at the Gateway for the Heritage Walk

To start with, the participants were given a brief history of Mumbai. The walk covered 25-odd monuments like the David Sassoon Library, Kala Ghoda, the Taj Hotel.
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"It is absolutely fascinating," said a beaming Aed Malone after the walk. He is an expat from Scotland and has been living in the city for the past three years.

Seo Hang-Lee, Consul-General of Korea, who has been living in the city for over a year, enthusiastically declared himself a Mumbaikar.

"I am taking this sort of a walk for the first time but I already consider myself a Mumbaikar," said Lee.

The group had some local Mumbaikars too. Aban Bana and Dilnawaz Bana, who are fourth generation Mumbaikars, say the city's landmarks always have something new to offer. "I am a fourth generation Mumbaikar.

I believe that such walks help you to rediscover the city," said Aban Bana (60), a schoolteacher. "People are not even aware of the inheritance," said Aban's sister, Dilnawaz Bana, a naturopath.

Pradip Madhavji, Chairman of the Tourism & Hospitality Committee, IMC, summed it up succinctly, "Mumbai can offer more than just money."

Gateway of India Today, the Gateway of India with its tourists, touts, photographers and of course the ubiquitous pigeons is easily the city's most recognisable symbol.

Whether it is taking the barges to the Elephanta or Ajanta and Ellora or simply watching the waves crashing on to the rocks below, the Gateway always has hordes of people, who might be blissfully unaware that the structure they are getting themselves photographed against was initially built in 1911 to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Bombay.

The original building, which looked more like a miniature Taj Mahal, was replaced by the imposing structure that we see today in 1924. It was designed in the Indo-Saracenic style by architect, Sir George Wittet.

The style is symbolic of the cosmopolitan nature of the city because the Gateway is a combination of both Hindu and Muslim architecture.

"I call it people's monument as the money for the monument was raised through public subscription," said Sampada Shirali, tour guide from the Bombay Heritage Walks.

Several Gateway revival plans have been touted through the years by city conservationists, but many of them have run into some roadblock or the other.

Taj Hotel The Taj hotel had Mumbai's first licensed bar and ballroom. The brainchild of Parsi industrialist Sir Jamshedji Tata, the hotel was established in 1903. It is said that Jamshedji decided to open this hotel after he was denied admission into the Watson's Hotel in Mumbai as Indians during that time were denied permission to enter luxury hotels.

The architecture is an amalgamation of indigenous and European style. The balconies are called the jharoka (meaning glimpse) style balconies. These balconies allowed guests to catch a glimpse of the street life below.
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"In the past, a motor car, a horse driven chariot and an elephant were provided to the guests when they wanted to tour the city," said Shirali. Today, with parking spaces for cars at a premium, where on earth would one park an elephant? "Oh! what luxury," quipped a participant as he marvelled at the Taj for a while.

David Sassoon Library The David Sassoon Library was built during 1869-70 and was a gift from David Sassoon to the city. The total cost of the library was Rs 1,25,000 and Sassoon gifted Rs 60,000 to the library.Sassoon came here to trade in carpets and finally became a textile merchant. The structure is made up of yellow basalt stone.

There were just 10-15 people in the library when our group arrived. While most of them came to the library to prepare for competitive examinations, one couldn't miss the precious books stacked on various bookshelves. Most of them were collecting dust. "Do I need to be a member of the library to read the books here?" asked a participant. "I think you need to be a member, but am not sure," replied Shirali.

Holy Name Cathedral Opened in 1905, this Cathedral was designed by W A Chambers. The stained glass windows in the Cathedral were taken down during the Second World War in case they got damaged. They were put back after the war was over.

The murals were done by an Italian brother (brother is a stage before one is ordained as a priest) when the Plaster of Paris was still wet, so that the colours could be absorbed and completely retained by the murals (below).

A bell called Paulina can be seen just outside the cathedral. This bell was gifted by Pope Paul VI. Today, an envoy of the current Pope Benedict, the Eminence Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Archbishop Emeritus of Westminster, (UK) is visiting the city, to mark the silver anniversary of another Pope - John Paul II's visit to Mumbai, 25 years earlier.u00a0u00a0u00a0

Wellington Fountain The Fountain was built in 1865 to commemorate the visit of the Duke of Wellington in 1801 and 1804 to India. Wellington, who defeated the Marathas as well as Tipu Sultan, did not get much recognition back in England and was merely referred to as the Sepoy General. Only after the Duke fought against Napolean Bonaparte did he get recognition for his valour.
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"It is said that the Duke learnt the daily ritual of bathing from the Indians," said Shirali. This statement annoyed a few foreigners who were part of the group. "What do you think that we don't take a bath every day?" asked one of them. "But the concept of a daily ritual is very Indian," explained Shirali.

The Fountain, which was initially made of Portland Stone, was given an oil paint coating by the local authorities, little knowing that the paint seeps through the porous stone causing damage to the structure. Presently, the area around the Fountain serves as a parking lot. With the noise of the traffic around, Shirali had to increase her decibel level to be audible.

Rajabai Clock Tower The tower located within the Mumbai University campus was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, an English architect. Scott never came to India to build the tower. The design was sent to Mumbai. Indian supervisors and workers started constructing the building based on the design. Premchand Roychand, an Indian businessman also known as the 'Cotton King' donated a princely sum to construct the building, which was named after his mother Rajabai. 'Rule Britannia'. 'God Save the King' were played from the tower for Britishers in the country to feel at home.

State Police Head Quarters Initially known as the Royal Alfred Sailors' Home, it now houses the State Police Headquarters. Built in 1876, it was designed in Gothic style by F W Stevens. The building at the Regal Circle was constructed with blue basalt along with natural-coloured stones. "For the Britishers everything had to be royal, regal and majestic," said Shirali.

Dhanraj Mahal The Mahal in Colaba built in 1938, was the largest and costliest single building structure in the city at that time. The building was named after Raja Dhanrajgiri Narsinghgirji of Hyderabad, who had commissioned the project. "The annexe building of the Watson hotel, which stood there, was demolished to build the Dhanraj Mahal," said Shirali as she passed around a book which contained pictures of the annexe that stood there once.

Watson Hotel This is the first structure to be built on the periphery of Kalaghoda. The cast iron pillars were directly shipped in from London. The locals were afraid to even pass by the hotel as they thought it was some kind of a prison! The first film in India was screened here in the year 1896 by the Luminere brothers. Philosopher-scholar Mark Twain is believed to have stayed here. "He attended a Parsi funeral and an Indian wedding ceremony in Mumbai. He even wrote about a turban ceremony which he attended," explained Shirali. "Must have been quite amusing for him too," was one comment.

Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue It is said that this synagogue was built in 1884 by Jacob Elias Sassoon and his brother Albert in memory of their father, Eliyahoo Sassoon who was David Sassoon's son. The synagogue is known for its beautiful stained glass and the highly ornamental Jewish prayer hall. Many of the members were slightly disappointed as the group was denied permission to enter the synagogue due to security concerns. "The Chabad house was attacked during the 26/11 terror attacks, after which security around the synagogue has been beefed up," said Shirali pointing at the police who were just outside the synagogue.

Prince of Wales Museum Opened in 1923, it was designed by Sir George Wittet in the Indo-Sarcenic style. The museum is set in a crescent shaped compound. During the Second World War, the museum served as a children's welfare centre and functioned as a military hospital. "The trees are blocking the view but you can see the museum behind," said Shirali. The museum houses collections of Indian art.

Regal Cinema The Regal cinema (behind the Wellington fountain, left) was opened in 1933. Designed by Charles Stevens, son of Frederick William Stevens , the structure has an art-deco style. "Even then, it was fully air conditioned and had an underground parking lot," said Shirali.