Last weekend saw my friend Lynn and I take another KHAKI tour (Keeping Heritage Alive and Kicking in India). This time the tour explored the Bandra neighborhood.
Bandra is known as The Queen of the Suburbs, or neighborhoods, of Mumbai. The word Bandra comes from the Persian word for port (bandar). Until 1950 it was a separate municipality and as Mumbai grew it was incorporated (engulfed?). Out of the original 23 islands that comprised Mumbai, Bandra used 8 of them! Interesting, when the Portuguese arrived, the area was ruled by Sultanates (Shilahara to be exact), not the Mughals as I previously believed. Their rule had never extended into Mumbai. I also learned the marriage and dowry which gave Mumbai to the British was part of Portugal’s plan to have Britain as an ally in their war against Spain. However, Bandra was not part of the dowry, so this was international waters at the time. Portuguese rule of the area started in 1534 when a pirate from Goa took over the area for Portugal.
We started our walk near the Bandra Fort, currently under renovation (they are making an amphitheater). The original fort was dismantled when the Marathas invaded the area around 1770. As an undefended area, Portugal asked the British for help but since both sets of troops were highly outnumbered by the Marathas, the advice was to dismantle the fort and move on. This was done. Under the Portuguese, the fort area was a stop for ships to get drinking water before setting out to further ports. This was also how you entered the city of Mumbai.
Inside the fort area is a 300-year-old temple called Kadeshwari Devi Temple. While we did not go inside, it honors of the goddess who is known as the mother goddesses. While waiting for the tour to begin, there were many women carrying what I assume were offering for the temple.
At one point, this fort area was the summer home of one of the original members of the Parsi family with the name Gigi (still prominent in the area) who leased the land for 10pounds a year from the British.
Currently, this area is home to the Taj Lands End Hotel. Until the Mumbai terrorist attack in the 1980s, there was another hotel here, Sierra Hotel, that was the first five star hotel in the area and a lot of Bollywood stars would stay there in the 1970/ 1980s. It was therefore one of the targets and the damage it sustained during the attack made it inhabitable and it was taken down. The hotel had a natural pool created by a natural pond called Soldiers Pond which still exists today.
Over the years there were a lot of ‘I scratch your back you stretch mine’ deals for land and businesses so much of the original beauty and purposes of this area was destroyed. You can see how the original bandstand and promenade used to look, while today the seaside is jam packed with apartment towers.
The seaside has little charm, but most interesting is that the freshwater spouts used in the past still deliver fresh water and you will find women collecting water or washing clothes in the morning. The rocks are all volcanic. I enjoyed seeing the tide pools, but that was about it in terms of seaside charm.
Years ago, this area was lined with sanatoriums and stately homes. The sanatoriums -the wellness centers of their day – were based on religions, and each group housed those recovering from TB and other illnesses that needed the fresh, sea air.
Slowly these sanatoriums have been exchanged for apartment buildings. There are a few such homes left, this one belonging to a famous actor who once a week comes out to greet his fans through a wire cage!
Below is a building belonging to a Muslim sect, and when the road was widened, they moved it back stone by stone! It is run by a trust right now, and there have been many attempts to make is financially viable, like a marriage hall.
Next is a fascinating Ashram started by Fr. Conceicao Rodrigues. He was a devotee of Fr Agnel, who wanted to modernize Christianity and combine it with all major faiths. As expected, his ideas were not well received in Goa and he had to leave, settling here. Fr Agnel’s relics are resting here and over the years this complex has been an orphanage and a trade school. Today is has post-graduate schools, training colleges and other educational institutions On the entrance you can see a lot of emblems from various religions. Inside there is a lot of original architecture so returning on a weekend is now on the ’to do’ list.
We turned onto a street and headed up the hill to the more residential part of Bandra. We passed this abandoned building which is in some sort of probate as members of the Parsi community decide what to do with it. Along this building we saw the actor’s entrance where there was a full airport style metal scanner, and the liquor delivery was being examined bottle by bottle. Paranoia or appropriate fear? I don’t remember the name of the actor thankfully in case any of his relatives attend my school!
On a more positive note, we passed this building where every room has a view of the sea. We were asked to guess what it was, and we were all wrong. It is building dedicated to hospice care, started by an oncologist by the name of Dr Louis Jose. The care is exceptional, and the funeral is even taken care of by the trust, no matter what religion. Our guide knew someone who ended their days at Shanti Avedna Sadam and he had only good things to say about it.
Like in the Wadala area, there were military barracks here that have been used well over the years. Along with the partition refugees, orphaned children from Polish concentrations camps were housed in two buildings and supported by a local wealthy merchant. The children traveled by truck through Europe, the ‘stans’, and many other countries to arrive at their new home. There is a monument to those who supported this in Poland.
Next, we turned around and I saw stands selling colorful candles, that I erroneously first thought were feathers. These are candles to light in Mount Mary Catholic Church…leave it to wonderful India to have such colorful candles! On sale are also devotional wax candles in various shapes which are for everything from a new home to US visas and even divorces! Since a lot of non-Christians come to pray for something here, you can even buy Hindi garlands. Most praying is done at the foot of the altar where a statue of Mary holding baby Jesus stands. The hand was cut off in the 1700s by pirates looking for gold. Since most people stored their personal valuables in churches back then, this was seen as a good plundering place. The missing hand is covered by a cloth but the Jesus statue was not taken.
This church, originally a mud hut, was built in the 1700s and has been renovated over the years. One is not allowed to take photos inside, but I did get one accidental shot while walking up the aisle. The Bandra fair (also known as the Mount Mary fair) is held here around Annunciation (the birth of Mary). Yes, this is now added to my ‘to do’ list!
Looking down this hill, where the fair is held, you can see in the far distance a road. There is a wonderful story about that road. There was a childless Hindu woman who was urged by her friend to pray to the Mary statue in this church. Her prayers were answered and when her son was 9 years old (the age when life expectancy increases) she wanted the government to build a road connecting the two islands. The Brits were not interested, so she had it built. For perpetuity it cannot have tolls and is still heavily used to this day. After the road was built, the British became interested in this area for commence now that the area was easy to access. Of course.
Now we were walking in a tree lined neighborhood with the first Anglican Church in Mumbai (St. Stephen’s) and a mini amphitheater which is a happening place on Sundays. This curved ‘stage’ can be fully accessed by wheelchairs and has a lovely atmosphere. In general, this part of Mumbai has a more European feel to it, I assume maintaining some elements of colonial rule.
Two homes (known as bungalows) still standing today:
On this street lived (or lives?) a famous director Bimal Roy particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films (the first film to be nominated for an Oscar, I believe it was called Mother India) and housed a major film studio that today is used for exhibitions. The love story of him and his wife stems from when there was a fire in the studio during filming. He saved the leading lady whom he later married! Since most of the roads here are named after saints and Bandra legislators, it says a lot that this road is named after him. A little factoid: centuries ago this area was a coconut grove and a major farming area for the inhabitants of old Mumbai.
As we walked on and as the sun began to set, we passed this stone marker that was discovered underground in 2018 and placed on the pedestal here. A nice reminder of the history of this area.
Next, we focused on the Christian influences in this area. The first cooperative society was built here by Cyril Rebello and to this day you can only sell to Christians. There are many roadside crucifixes erected mainly as borders or for prayers, but this one is a plague cross! I love how there is a Ganesh statue next to a Nativity scene. One must cover all bases when praying!
Inside huge Mumbai and medium sized Bandra is a tiny village known as Ranwar (which means something akin to ‘settlement at the edge of the forest). It is a lovely, old Portuguese village that is worth walking around in. Here lives the East Indian community of Christians. The name stems from their need to distinguish themselves from Goan and Bangaloroan Christians. They petitioned to be named this, and the British crown agreed. The name was chosen because many of them worked for the East India company which had been shut down 15 years prior to them becoming an official community. My coworker Carol Rebello (no relation to Cyril) is a member of this community and shared some of this valuable information. Their local masala is stored in beer bottles, made during a festival each year when you can see the spices drying on the streets. This is why it is called Beer Bottle Masala. It has 13 ingredients and is ‘a little bit’ spicy, which in my vernacular means very spicy. You can still buy some of this homemade masala. Another reason to return!
This is the village square, and the cross was erected in 1866.
There were many tiny alleys and beautiful crucifixes dotted throughout the village.
Our tour ended at Saint Andrew’s Church, the oldest church in Bandra built in 1575. We entered from the back which is why the ground graves are here. The church façade is under renovation, and we didn’t have time to go inside. During this portion of the tour, it was interesting to see information about Christianity shared by someone not of the faith. The phrases and description were not what I am used to and there were little tidbits not fully informed. For example, he said that crosses are almost always made of wood and this one was unusual as it was made from stone.
Next, we were meeting my friend and colleague Jonathan for drinks and dinner. As I was looking through my texts for the name of the bar I tripped and fell right on my camera. As everyone crowded around me to see if I was OK, my only concern was for my camera which seems to be OK. A further hilarious moment was when I texted Jonathan if we should take an Uber or auto rickshaw to his location. His response, ‘you just walked by the bar taking photos!’. Off we went to this adorable little place where we had a great time with Jonathan and his friends
Seeing all the development in Bandra, much of it not for the better, I better appreciate the work that KHAKI is doing to enlighten locals and tourists (Indian and otherwise) of the power of maintaining some connection to the past.
The street art from our walk.
