The team behind Bombay Heritage Walks station a time machine on the steps of the grand Asiatic Library to transport you to 1661, zipping through 348 years in just a little over 2 hours. Ready for a ride?
The team behind Bombay Heritage Walks station a time machine on the steps of the grand Asiatic Library to transport you to 1661, zipping through 348 years in just a little over 2 hours. Ready for a ride?
It seems, the wedding of a daughter is as much cause for worry to a king as to a pauper. The only differenceu00a0- the King of Portugal had seven islands that made up Bombay, to give away as dowry to get his daughter, Catherine of Braganza, married to King Charles II. Rumour has it that she was so ugly, the Portuguese felt they had to pacify Charles by gifting him the port city we live in.
This funny and salacious anecdote that marks the beginning of the making of Bombay kick-started our early morning heritage walk on a muggy October morning. From the grand white Asiatic Society, we treaded through Horniman Circle, walked past St Thomas Cathedral, the Mumbai University and finally ended feasting our eyes on the green expanse that is the Oval Maidan.
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The memorials at the St Thomas Cathedral |
u00a0Cloth pankhas (fans) hung on these wrought iron structures in the St Thomas Cathedral, which were then attached to ropes held by servants outside the Cathedral, who moved them to fan the congregation. |
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The figures on the facade of the Mumbai University represented Indian communities and trades they were involved in |
The heritage walk concludes at the Oval Maidan pics/shadab khan |
America is missing from the globe in this library
We stood on the majestic steps of the Asiatic Society Library, while our guide Alisha Sadikot, a presenter with the Bombay Heritage Walks, pointed to the rain-drenched Horniman Circle garden that was once the spot where bales of cotton were thrashed, cleaned and shipped off. American tourist Paul Kosak, who was accompanying us on the tour, raised a curious eyebrow when she said the American Civil War had proved beneficial for cotton traders in India, since America, then the largest manufacturer of cotton, had stopped production. But the real killer nugget of information was that his grand continent was missing on an ancient globe that stood on a table at the Library.
Young officer who was struck by a rocket
Walking down the steps where Queen Victoria's proclamation as Queen of India was read out, we moved towards the gate of the Horniman Circle, flanked on both ends by Neo Classical buildings.
Crossing over, we encountered flying buttresses (used to transmit the horizontal thrust of a vaulted ceiling through the walls and across an intervening space to a counterweight outside the building. As a result, the buttress seemingly flies through the air) of the St Thomas Cathedral, built in 1718, and hence the oldest British building in Mumbai.
Inside, there was even a grander, though slightly eerie, sight to behold. Here, many a Briton were laid to rest under elaborate marble tabletsu00a0- experienced generals who died fighting, young officers (one killed by a rocket!), some only as old as 20, clerks and young maids all lie together in the silent, supernatural interior.
The University's Indian connection
A walk to the Flora Fountain revealed that most Neo Classical, Gothic and Art Deco buildings here bore an Indian touch. The Mumbai University building was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, who ironically never came to India, and sent designs from London that were executed by architects here. Scott would perhaps have thrown a fit if he ever saw the final translation, although the effect is marvelous. And hence exist eight marvellous statues depicting communities from West India on the Rajabai Tower, sculpted by local artisan Mukund Ramchandra.
Our walk ended at Oval Maidan, which is where Alisha said, so did the Fort area in days gone by. The sea lapped the fringes of the maidan. But that's a sight you can only imagine.
Bombay Heritage Walks organises walks for groups and individuals. Minimum cost: Rs 1,500 for a group of three. Mail info@bombayheritagewalks.com or call 23690992
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