We have curated five interesting facts about Mumbai's popular locality Girgaon or Girgaum known for its diverse architecture, Portuguese-style buildings, and Raj-era landmarks. The recent industrial development and upcoming metro projects have changed the landscape of Girgaon. Earlier, the area had no high-rise towers and was marked by a close-knit community. In the 19th century, Girgaon and the adjoining agricultural locality of Khetwadi were sparsely populated, with primitive roads and simple houses. It comprised a collection of coconut plantations, garden estates like Borbhat and Mugbhat, and dense forests of ber, ack, and plantain. The extracts have been taken with permission from the book, "Bombay: The Cities Within" by Rahul Mehrotra and Sharada Dwivedi, and published by Eminence Designs Pvt. Ltd. Compiled by Ainie Rizvi
Updated On: 2023-03-04 09:52 AM IST
Compiled by : Ainie Rizvi
In the early decades of the 19th century, important roads such as Parel Road and Breach Candy Road (as Girgaum Road was then called) were widened to 60 feet and in 1839, Grant Road was opened to the public. The new roads made Girgaon, Khetwadi and other neighbouring areas more accessible to rest of the city (Photo Courtesy: Bombay, The Cities Within)
Behind Chowpatty was the locality known as Girgaum or Girgaon, which traces the origin of its name to giri, a hill, and grama, a village - the village situated at the base of Malabar Hill (Photo Courtesy: Ronak Mastakar)
The present-day precinct was dotted with innumerable large and small temples like Gora Ram, Kala Ram and Thakurdwar, believed to have been built by Atmaram Bawa, a scholarly ascetic who died in 1838 (Photo Courtesy: Ronak Mastakar)
Although a large section of the Girgaon locality was at one time owned and developed by Muslim landlords, the community lived in other parts of the town and thus no major mosques were built within the present-day precinct (Photo Courtesy: Ronak Mastakar)
Set amidst the fields and gardens of the quiet localities of present-day Girgaon were several Parsi clubs. One amongst them was the Appa Baugh Club of Khetwadi and another, the Hot Water Club at Girgaon. It may be that hot water formed the principal beverage of the members as an aid to digestion or the members had a peculiar aptitude to getting into hot water (Photo Courtesy: Ronak Mastakar)
The character and density of these areas changed radically soon after the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 when Girgaon and Khetwadi became densely inhabited. Communal disturbances were sporadic and the diverse communities that took up residence within the current locality lived in harmony (Photo Courtesy: Ronak Mastakar)
