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A walk to uncover the forgotten tales of south Bombay's iconic bazaar

Updated on: 13 September,2017 05:58 AM IST  |  Mumbai
Shunashir Sen | shunashir.sen@mid-day.com

Join a walking tour and uncover forgotten tales surrounding some of SoBo's iconic bazaars

A walk to uncover the forgotten tales of south Bombay's iconic bazaar

A building in the market
A building in the market


Great tragedy befell Bombay on April 14, 1944. Europe was in the midst of World War II. So, the British had sent a ship called SS Fort Stikine carrying, among other goods, cotton and ammunition to Victoria Docks in the city to keep them safe from the Nazis. But the bales of cotton caught fire and when the flames reached the ammunition, two explosions took place. These were so great in nature that a resultant fire ravaged parts of South Bombay and the goods kept inside the ship were sent hurtling all over the area, killing hundreds of people.


But some found a silver lining in this tragedy, or a gold one, rather. This is because one of the goods on the ship was gold, which the British had also sent to India for safekeeping. In fact, there was £890,000 worth of gold bullion in the form of bars kept inside 31 crates, which, too, were sent flying all over. So, in effect, it was raining gold in the city that day, with a lot of it falling on even people's heads and injuring them.


An aerial view of Bhendi Bazaar
An aerial view of Bhendi Bazaar

"Some people returned the gold to the authorities. But others became very rich overnight," says Deepa Nandi of RaahGeer, an initiative that organises walks to uncover forgotten stories like the tragedy of 1944. One such walk, in collaboration with Alliance Française, is planned for next week and will focus on the bazaars in South Mumbai.

"We will initially take a tour of the Crawford Market lane, crossing smaller markets on the way," Nandi says. "We will also cross Zaveri Bazaar and Chira Bazaar, stop for snacks and head towards Bhendi Bazaar, before visiting the Mumbadevi temple and ending the walk at Chor Bazaar," she shares.

The walk covers Zaveri Bazaar
The walk covers Zaveri Bazaar

Over the course of this journey, participants will learn about how — despite the mall culture that's invaded our lives — bazaars retain their relevance even today. They will also visit spots like the one-room house that industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani shared with a family when he began his trading business. That apart, they will meet a tea seller who lost an eye during the bomb blasts of 1992. He still mans his stall at the same place in Masjid Bunder, though he remains too traumatised to talk about that fateful day.

The idea, Nandi says, is to show people how even seemingly 'crowded' and 'ugly' places can actually be quite beautiful.

"We don't know what will happen to Zaveri Bazaar, say, 10 years from now. But while you can't really connect with a place like Navi Mumbai, here, you feel as if your ancestors are calling out to you. Foreigners sometimes come to India and say it's a smelly country. That's bulls***. Step into a spice market, and you'll be amazed at the fragrances there," she ends.

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