Mumbai: Former history professor records last remaining crosses in city

The cross at the Missionaries of Charity on Chapel Road Santacruz is named after this cross its origin can be traced back to 1850 PicsPoonam BathijaIt was circa 2007 when the city was well on its way to demolishing illegal shrines and crosses Acircu00c2u0080mdash mostly for building reconstruction and road widening projectsacircAcircu00c2u0080Acircu00c2u0088mdash that Agnes de Sa then a professor of history at the Mumbai University embarked on her study of the Christian symbol She wanted to start ldquorecording those that were still remainingrdquoIn Kalina at an East Indian pocket or lsquogauthanrsquo the residents fought with the builder to retain the cross that was within the premises of a heritage bungalow which was pulled down Initially the builder turned a deaf ear but thanks to the persistence of the residents and a local community called the Jolly Boys Association the cross was reinstated outside the new buildingGoing from one cross to another be it in within church premises or graveyards slums and unassuming nooks and corners on streets she painstakingly put together her recordings to do her bit to document heritage Now it has all culminated into a paper she presented at the 4th Archaeology of Maharashtra International Conference at the University of Mumbai on SaturdayAnd while the wayside crosses fight an existential crisis their counterparts in the far flung Vasai appear to be getting a fresh coat of paint This one at Remedy Church is a prime example ldquoUnlike the Portuguese crosses in Mumbai that sport somber hues of white and sometimes blue the ones in Vasai are painted bright red and yellow To me thatrsquos a symbol of Indian culturerdquo PicHanif PatelSpeaking of her research de Sa says ldquoWhile some crosses come with the most fascinating stories and anecdotes from history there are numerous that people know nothing about not even when they date back too And that is of interest toordquo For instance we are told that Santacruz gets its name from a cross that is currently within the premises of the Missionaries of Charity home on Chapel Road Santacruz WestGraveyards usually offer a glimpse of a variety of crosses be it in terms of embellishments or structure says de Sa Typically they are made of white marble The Celtic cross mdash the one mounted on a circle at the centre called the Nimbus mdash is a common sight in graveyards ldquoFrom the view of religious and social belief it represents the circle of liferdquo Some crosses are also a picture of various imagery of ChristldquoThe words lsquosanta cruzrsquo mean holy cross in Portuguese The story goes back to the 1850s when this region was inhabited by East Indians who had put up a little wooden cross on a hillock Legend has it that the cross started sprouting leaves and thatrsquos how it came to be identified as the holy or the blessed cross Residents in the region requested the government to name the area after the cross Another reason we know that Santacruz got its name from this cross is because the station came up much later in 1888 while the naming happened around 1867rdquo says the historian Currently there are three crosses lined up in a glass case ldquoThe innermost one which is wooden is supposed to be the oldest one although not the originalrdquo she addsMemorial crosses are a rarity Mumbai lays claim to just one on the lawns of the Afghan Church in Colaba ldquoItrsquos a Celtic cross with four panels on which is inscribed a list of the soldiers of the British Raj in a hierarchical order who lost their lives in various battlesrdquo PicDatta KumbharThe number of crosses has taken a sharp nosedive through the years de Sa observes ldquoMany crosses are getting destroyed or being rebuilt Fancy structures are replacing old ones which is good mdash the sign of the cross remains but it is not heritage To me heritage is important However when I see the problems that people face in maintaining heritage I feel that if the cross continues in different forms thatrsquos also okay In another 100 years if that remains that will be heritage toordquo she signs off