Heritage Hide

When it comes to its architecture Mumbai is a city of contradictions Between the hustle and bustle lie promenades lined with extraordinarily designed residences offices schools banks cinemas hospitals and even a petrol pump at Ballard Estate built at the turn of the last century The most popular are the Art Deco buildings which areas like Marine Drive and Oval Maidan are famous for Gaining prominence during the First World War the sleek geometric lines paired with bold vibrant colours evolved as a design that would provide maximum style at a minimum costldquoItrsquos safe to say that collectively Mumbai has the largest number of Art Deco buildings in the worldrdquo proclaims Atul Kumar founder and trustee of Art Deco Mumbai What curiously started as an Instagram handle in the middle of 2016 eventually saw a loyal community steadily exchanging pictures questions or sharing stories of heritage homes they lived in Having spent decades working on conserving and advocating restorations of heritage structures across the city today Kumar chronicles the history of this design movement one building at a timeldquoWe canrsquot rely on the government or wait around for policies when it comes to conserving our architectural treasures People living in these buildings donrsquot always know much about its history but are thirsty to learn more When they find out that an eminent architect built their home or a peculiar design element in a room is worth a small fortune they start to take a keener interest in preserving and protecting the spaces they live inrdquo he suggestsThe nonprofit initiative run by Kumar and his team also regularly organises walks around the cityrsquos Art Deco precincts During the pandemic however these are conducted online with tours comprising Deco on the Oval Swadeshi Moderne in Fort and Marine Drive Deco Therersquos also Expression of Indian Identity which explores the deacutecoratif elements in Matunga Different from its South Mumbai counterpart this neighbourhood houses unique Indian Deco symbols with font and script details in Hindi and GujaratiBut beyond this streamlined deacutecoratif design our city also boasts of other colonialstyle movements ranging from IndoSaracenic and Gothic to Neoclassical When architect and restorer Nikhil Mahashur hosted a lecture on heritage architecture in the Kala Ghoda precinct he noticed double the number of students turning up for the walking tour the next day ldquoThey were more interested in seeing the minute architectural details and decorative faccedilades in person than hearing about it in a classrdquo he recalls An interest in the subject was further fuelled during the time he was restoring Harpal House in Kala Ghoda This gave him the idea to start Walkitecture for people to discover the history of the city through its buildings and streetscapesldquoWe often hear about London looking a lot like Mumbai only cleanerrdquo jokes Mahashur explaining that this isnrsquot far from the truth ldquoWhat is now Kala Ghoda was known as Frerersquos Town named after Henry Bartle Frere who was the Governor of Bombay from 1862 to 1867 At the time the city was also witnessing the cotton boom and with it came more and more traders pouring into the city from the West Frere in turn wanted to redevelop the city and all its public facilities and brought in a committee of British architects for the job This is why today we have such a rich and varied mix of Western European styles in just one small districtrdquoAtul Kumar Nikhil Mahashur and Mogan RodriguesWhat started as a passion project five years ago for architectural students at the colleges he gave lectures in is now open to a wide audience on any day of the week Walkitecture comprises tours across the nooks and gullies of Kala Ghoda Fort Colaba Oval Maidan and Marine DriveFor some the cityrsquos history is closely linked to their indigenous heritage As a member of an indigenous community East Indian Mogan Rodrigues has been hosting heritage walks that focus on discovering and creating more awareness about his sometimesmisunderstood community ldquoTherersquos a lot of information about our unique community thatrsquos slowly getting wiped out Not much has been written about us nor documentedrdquo he lamentsLargely influenced by the Portuguese the communityrsquos customs culture and traditions have blended elements of the European country with the local ways of Maharashtra To highlight these nuances Rodrigues conducts daylong tours on Dharavi Island home to several East Indians where one can witness their village set up their professions ports churches and homes against the islandrsquos tropical landscape beaches and seaside cliffsldquoThe first thing yoursquoll notice is the PortugueseMediterranean influence in the architecture of each of these homes With redtiled roofs stucco walls and arches juxtaposed against brightlycoloured faccedilades these lesserknown heritage structures are a celebration of the last remaining bastions of the communityrdquo At the end of the tour visitors can gorge on an authentic East Indian lunch Through each walk the trio notes how Mumbaikars love their city despite the infrastructural challenges thrown at them daily ldquoSince no one has till date published these intricate bits of information on a formal or public platform we have to rely on storytelling to learn about our heritage structuresrdquo says Kumar adding ldquoPeople are always open to conversations and discovering more about the homes they live in or the landmarks theyrsquove grown up around Theyrsquore delighted when they come across this growing community thatrsquos become a rich resource of informationrdquoEver wonder which colonial style of architecture yoursquore looking at Herersquos a ready reckonerART DECOgtgt Eros Cinemagtgt Breach Candy Hospitalgtgt New India Assurance Buildinggtgt Campion Schoolgtgt Government Law Collegegtgt BEST BhavanINDO SARACENICgtgt The Taj Mahal Palacegtgt Western Railway Head Officegtgt Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalayagtgt Readymoney MansionGOTHICgtgt Bombay High Courtgtgt David Sassoon Library and Reading Roomgtgt Elphinstone Buildinggtgt Old SecretariatNEOCLASSICALgtgt Army and Navy Buildinggtgt Lansdowne Housegtgt Schoen Housegtgt Seth Gangalal V Mulji Nandlal Pyaugtgt Church of St Andrew and St ColumbaWHAT WalkitectureWHERE 9820318042 Nikhil MahashurFOR Prices start at Rs 500 but are free for all students