It was a penny-drop moment for most of the participants who had accompanied this columnist on what was meant to be a walk around a charming Art Deco neighbourhood [Hindu Colony] on a pleasant November morning. It turned out to be more of a reality check.
For yours truly, it was a heart-tugging inevitable eyesore, compounded by dread and disappointment. We were staring at a massive blue barricade that fronted Krishna Kunj, a 1933-established building near the Patkar Guruji Chowk. The shock was deeper, given that exactly a week ago, when I walked the same route, the building was intact, with no trace of impending doom. Apart from the photographs I had clicked of this vernacular building with traditional timberwork and a tiled roof, reminiscent of structures in the Konkan, there were no other reminders of this building. The participants had to be content with those frames to imagine its earlier grandeur.
As me moved along the route, such unfortunate reminders popped up at every turn and corner, as if the group was subject to a game of hide-and-seek where they had to literally seek out the Art Deco and other traditional two-three-storey buildings, many of which were in a state of neglect, amidst these towers throughout our planned path. Another notable observation was the destruction of the once-broad, leafy footpaths that lined every building in the colony. These monstrous high-rises have created treacherous ramp-like entries and exits using pedestrian-unfriendly material like smooth marble that have not only raised the height of the otherwise levelled footpaths, but have also made it a hazard, especially for senior residents who prefer to walk around their once-untouched neighbourhood. We are unsure if these Maybach and BMW-driving neighbours are remotely aware of this nuisance factor.
Krishna Kunj, prior to its demolition. Pics/Fiona Fernandez
Hindu Colony and Parsi Colony, its counterpart on the opposite side of Dr Ambedkar Road, were part of the Dadar-Matunga Estate Scheme V developed in the 1920s by the Bombay Improvement Trust, which was the main city development authority of that time. The then Bombay Government had set up this trust to decongest crowded areas of the city and offer affordable residential spaces. The late Kamu Iyer, respected architect, urban planner, and former Hindu Colony resident, wrote in his eponymous book, Boombay: From Precincts to Sprawl (Popular Prakashan) that rents in Hindu Colony “were affordable, and most renters in the area were middle-class, which brought a certain homogeneity to the neighbourhood.” It was this familiar warmth that I recall how friends from the area would describe what they once called home. Not anymore. Towards the end of our walk, another redevelopment signboard at Shree Mahalaxmi Niwas near Dadar TT reiterated the overarching concern; its rich font in Devanagari, curvilinear, airy balconies and vernacular design elements reminded the group of the loss of another Art Deco building. As with the other demolished buildings along our route, the oral histories of this building’s residents were also lost forever.
This sword of redevelopment hangs over Hindu Colony. It’s important that heritage stakeholders — including those representing our civic body – as well as allies and importantly, residents join hands and help safeguard the last surviving reminders of this important cluster of planned urban development, where local architects celebrated an indigenous style of architecture. Development, as we continue to see, will carry on, relentlessly. However, its overarching impact on Mumbai’s vibrant, diverse local histories, from a socio-cultural and heritage standpoint, will be wiped away forever, if guidelines and regulations to stall such a mindless breach of our urban history, are not implemented.
Dare I say, that day isn’t far away when Hindu Colony might get the unwanted title of ‘High-Rise Colony’, and people around won’t as much as stop to ask why or how this transformation happened.
mid-day’s Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the city’s sights, sounds, smells and stones…wherever the ink and the inclination takes her.
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