Building blocks of Bombay

Visionaries, bureaucrats and politicians have, for a while now, been expressing their ambitions of turning Mumbai into a pantheon of steel and glass excess. One can only hope that the city’s architectural heritage is not lost underneath these reflective glass-coated dreams. When you look carefully around in Mumbai, you will discover some distinctly varied architectural styles, which depict the story of the city’s built evolution. 

One of the earliest such styles is the vernacular architecture of fishing villages. Before the British colonized the city, the original seven islands that comprised what was then Bombay were home to the Koli community. These fisherfolk gave rise to a distinctive style of architecture that borrowed from the Portuguese, who ruled the city until as recently as 1660. As conservation architect, Kruti Garg, explains, “The local architectural style emerging from the use of locally available material is what we call the vernacular architecture of the fishing villages.” While these urban villages are fast disappearing in the shadows of towering skyscrapers, you can still take a trip through a quaint past in these Koliwadas, spread across the city, including Worli, Versova, Mahim and Mazgaon. 

Villages in the city

Carrying on the Portuguese flavor are other urban villages like Khotachiwadi in Girgaum, and Matharpacady (alternatively spelt Mathar Pakadi) in Mazgoan. These heritage precincts, dating back to the late 18th century, boast of low-rise houses with distinct Portuguese influences. Made of wood and with tiled roofs, these charming and colorful structures with open verandahs make for a very intimate space bang in the middle of urban chaos. A handful of these houses remain now.

While these are great examples of Indo-Portuguese architecture, there are also several buildings that the Portuguese left behind as their legacy, all built during their reign in Mumbai from 1534 to 1661. “With Bombay becoming a part of the Portuguese dominion, many churches and forts were built in Sion, Mahim, Bandra and Bassein,” says Garg. Of these, some are unrecognizable today. The St Michael’s Church in Mahim was originally built by the Portuguese in 1534 but the present structure (built in 1973) bears little resemblance to the original structure. Similarly, Byculla’s Gloria Church, built in 1632, was broken down in the 20th century and replaced by a Gothic structure. The Church of St John the Baptist in Andheri East was built in 1579 and then later abandoned in the mid-19th century. It still stands decaying there. One Portuguese church that did manage to survive, though, is the splendid St Andrew’s Church in Bandra. 

Just about a mile away from St. Andrew’s is another majestic Portuguese structure, the Castella de Aguada, better known as the Bandra Fort. As Garg points out, “This architectural style was very utilitarian and functional.” 

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Mahim Church.

St Andrew's Church, Bandra.

British neoclassical movement

It was not too long, though, before this utilitarian architecture started to bloom into one that sought form and meaning. As the British took over the city in the 18th and early 19th centuries, they also brought Neoclassical architecture with them. Neoclassical, or “new” classical, was a movement that sprouted primarily in Europe and sought to design buildings inspired by the classical architecture of ancient Greece and Rome. “The classical aesthetic strives to achieve restfulness with an orderly monochromatic presence,” says Garg. According to her, a neoclassical building is likely to have some, but not necessarily all, of these features: symmetry, tall columns rising up to the full height of the building, pediments. What’s a pediment, you ask? It’s the triangular element that rests on top of the columns. A striking example of Neoclassical architecture in Mumbai is the Town Hall (Asiatic Society Library) in South Mumbai’s Fort area. 

Neoclassical soon gave way to Neo Gothic architecture in the 19th century. Gothic architecture is characterized by pointed arches, ribbed vaulted ceilings, quarter foil (four-leaved clover shape) openings, lancet windows (tall narrow windows with pointed arches on top) and stained glass. These elements combined with intricate carvings led to a very light-looking and airy style of architecture. Neo Gothic is a modern revival of this early style and Mumbai is fortunate enough to have some great examples. Crawford Market at Dhobi Talao is a Norman Gothic structure, Bombay University, also in South Mumbai, is a splendid example of Venetian Gothic architecture. Not too far off are the High Court with its English Gothic style, and Victoria Terminus with its Victorian Gothic style. 

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Bombay University.

Victoria Terminus.

Classic icons

The late 19th century saw the birth of Indo-Saracenic architecture in the country, Mumbai included. This was a style that melded various influences, including Hindu, Islamic and Victorian. “So while the floor plans were distinctly Victorian in nature, the exteriors were unmistakably Indian, with domes, arches, spires and minarets,” says Garg. Three grand examples of Indo-Saracenic architecture, again in South Mumbai, are the Prince of Wales Museum, Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Hotel.

The following century -- the 1930s to be more precise -- saw the city embrace the tenets of the Art Deco movement that was sweeping the West. Developing during -- and perhaps because of -- the Machine Age, Art Deco was an ultra-modern and hip take on architecture. The lines were sleek, the forms geometric and the embellishments stylized. Examples of Art Deco architecture are numerous in the city. (In fact, Mumbai has more Art Deco buildings than any other city in the world, save Miami.) The New India Assurance Building in the Fort area, Eros Cinema near Churchgate, Regal Cinema in Colaba are all beautiful showcases of Art Deco at its best.

Prince of Wales Museum.

Taj Mahal Hotel.

New India Assurance Building.

Eros Cinema.