He was a top cop in the days when the term really meant something. Slipping into clever disguises just to bust 19th-century crime rings, he formed night patrols and rallied the city's first force. Swarthy Charles Forjett blackened his face further, donned desi outfits, spoke local lingo and slunk along streets feeling the pulse of the people. The genial hero hardly christened Forjett Street for sporting incognito avatars alone. Volume 1 of the Bombay City Gazetteer describes Forjett (only "Deputy" and "Acting" Commissioner of Police, 1856-64, being Anglo-Indian): "His foresight and extraordinary knowledge of the vernacular saved Bombay from a mutiny of the garrison." Whatever the veracity of that claim to uncover 1857 "conspiracies", the desi-at-heart detective would quite enjoy knowing the road he christened thrums in a robust mesh of Maharashtrians, Marwaris, Gujaratis, Muslims and North Indians. With generous numbers of Parsis and Iranis gratified that the street they settled on has always exuded a culinary vibe.

Nilesh Amonkar, seen here with his oldest mechanic Ramesh from Nainital who has been with Sitaram Auto Works for 50 years, feels Forjett Street still retains its basic character. Pic/Ashish Rane