Many of the houses and temples in the precinct drew inspiration from the vernacular architecture of Gujarat and Rajasthan, regions from which its residents had come. Photo Courtesy: iStock
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)
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