Bandra Fort (Castella de Aguada), Mumbai

Bandra Fort (Castella de Aguada), Mumbai

Castella de Aguada (Portuguese: "Fort of the Waterpoint"), also known as the Bandra Fort, is a fort in Mumbai. It is located at Land's End in Bandra. It was built by the Portuguese in 1640 as a watchtower overlooking Mahim Bay, the Arabian Sea and the southern island of Mahim. The strategic value of the fort was enhanced in 1661 after the Portuguese ceded the seven islands of Bombay that lay to the immediate south of Bandra to the British. The name indicates its origin as a place where fresh water was available in the form of a fountain ("Aguada") for Portuguese ships cruising the coasts in the initial period of Portuguese presence. The fort lies over several levels, from sea level to an altitude of 24 metres (79 ft). One can visit the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Point at the end of the fort towards the sea. This Point offers an amazing view of the sea to your right. And on your left and front you have the the Bandra Worli Sea Link and another remaining arch. At almost all times, this area is a favourite for couples. The place overall is filled with litter and to for a history lover. Castella de Aguada has been featured in several Hindi films, such as Dil Chahta Hai and Buddha Mil Gaya.

The Portuguese, who had established a base in the area in 1534 after defeating Bahadur Shah of Gujarat, built several sea forts along the western Indian coastline. Castella de Aguada was one such strategically located fort, overlooking the Mahim Bay to the south, the Arabian Sea to the west, the islands of Worli to the south and the town of Mahim to the south west. The fort also guarded the northern sea route into Mumbai Harbour. This sea route, a large estuary, was later reclaimed from the sea in the nineteenth century. During the Portuguese rule, it was armed with seven cannons and other smaller guns as defence. A freshwater spring in the vicinity supplied potable water to passing ships, thus lending the fort its name.

After the decline of the Portuguese in the early 18th century, the Marathas became the largest threat to British possessions. Sensing an impending Portuguese defeat, the British partially demolished the fort as a precautionary measure. The demolition would obviate the possibility of the fort being captured by the Marathas, with the possibility of it being used as a forward military base to attack British Bombay.

In 1739 the island was invaded by the Marathas; it was ruled by them until 1774 when the British gained possession of the area during the First Anglo-Maratha War. In 1830, the British donated large parts of Salsette Island, including Land's End, to Byramjee Jeejeebhoy, a Parsi philanthropist. Jeejeeboy then established his residence on the hill where the fort is located, and the cape was renamed Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Point.

In 2003, a conservation program was started by Bandra Band Stand Residents Trust to save the fort. It was spearheaded by a local Member of Parliament (MP), Shabana Azmi, who funded part of the effort from her allotted funds. The brick arch of one of the gateways on the verge of collapse, and the foundation masonry of the fort wall that was in danger of tidal erosion were repaired. The nearby Taj Land's End hotel is responsible for maintenance of the fort, having inherited it from the previous owners.

The fort is owned by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Included in the fort makeover are the preservation of the natural rock formations, providing pathways, and the creation of an amphitheatre. The architect for the makeover was P.K. Das, who had earlier redesigned the Carter Road area.

From Bandra West Station, take any public transport (auto or bus) to reach there.

Mani Bhavan, Mumbai

Mani Bhavan, Mumbai

Mani Bhavan is a simple old-style, two storied building on Laburnum Road, Mumbai. Whenever Gandhiji was in Mumbai between 1917 to 1934, he stayed here.It is now converted into a museum and research centre.

Mumbai and its inhabitants have played a very prominent part in India's unique struggle for freedom. Gandhiji was rightly proud of its patriotic and cosmopolitan citizens. Mani Bhavan is one of the few important places hallowed by Mahatma Gandhi's close association.

Mani Bhavan, a modest two-storied building on the Laburnum Road in the comparatively quiet locality called Gamdevi, served as Gandhiji's Bombay head-quarters for about seventeen long and eventful years (1917-1934). It belonged to Shri Revashankar Jagjeevan Jhaveri, who was Gandhi's friend and a host during that period. It was from Mani Bhavan that Gandhi initiated  Civil Disobedience, Satyagraha, Swadeshi, Khadi and Khilafat movements. In 1955 the building was dedicated as a memorial to Gandhiji and to the very important activities of great significance he initiated from that place.

Mani Bhavan has a story to tell as it housed Gandhiji occasionally during the times when he grew in stature and strength, from a queer type of an agitator to a world figure by successfully introducing satyagraha (individual as well as mass) as a new and effective weapon to fight all evil and injustice.

The visitors from all over the world come to  Mani Bhavan, to see the Room that Gandhiji occupied,  its  Picture Gallery, the Library Hall and the Terrace where he was arrested on January 4, 1932.

Gandhiji was a dynamic person and he kept on evolving. Even a change in his outward dress indicated an inner change. Soon after his return from South Africa, he flung away the European style of dressing and took to the Indian style. Then again his original Kathiawadi turban was replaced by a Kashmiri cap which in its turn was discarded in favour of a white-cap popularly known as the Gandhi cap. The change ultimately culminated in a bare loin cloth- a significant symbol representing the Indian peasantry and its poverty. Perhaps Mani Bhavan is the only place besides the Sabarmati Ashram, where he donned all these dresses in their sequence.

Inside the museum

Library: It consists of around 50,000 books & periodicals in reference and lending sections. It contains books on and by Gandhi, Gandhian thoughts, freedom movements and allied subjects. Our Library boasts of many out of print books. The Library is open on all weekdays, from 9.30 am to 6.00 pm. and on Saturdays, 9.30 am to 2.00 pm. It remains closed on public holidays.

Auditorium: On the first floor is the auditorium where films on Gandhiji are shown from time to time and recordings of his speeches are played on request. It is also used for holding meetings, seminars, discussions and various competitions for school and college students arranged by the Gandhi Study' Circle.

Gandhiji's Room: The room on the second floor which used to be the living room and working place of Gandhiji has been preserved as far as possible in its original setting.

Glimpses of Gandhi In Mini Figures: Adjoining Gandhiji's Room is the exhibition depicting Gandhiji's life through mini figures in about twenty-eight tableaux, prepared by Smt. Sushila Gokhale-Patel.

Picture Gallery: The rooms on either side of the exhibition have been turned into a Picture Gallery which gives glimpses of Gandhiji in Mani Bhavan and important events in his life. It displays photographic posters depicting important events and Photostats of some significant letters, articles and documents written by and about Gandhiji with appropriate captions in Hindi and English. A few replicas of Gandhiji's belongings and models of his birth place, Sabarmati Ashram, Sevagram Kutir, Phoenix Ashram and his prison cell are also on display.

The Terrace: A bronze plaque with an inscription now marks the place of the tent in which Gandhiji was arrested in January, 1932. He used to sleep and hold his prayers on this terrace.

Research Institute: Mani Bhavan is recognised as a Research Institute preparing students for Ph.D. degree in Gandhian Thought and Rural Development by University of Bombay.

Sales Counter: At the sales counter in the entrance hall are sold Gandhi Postage Stamps, Photographs, Gandhian Literature, Statues, Medallions etc.

Location: 19 Laburnam Rd, Near Malabar Hill, Gamdevi, Mumbai Phone: 022 23805864

Visiting Hours : The Museum is open on all the days of the week from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

- Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali, 1912

Horniman Circle, Mumbai

Horniman Circle, Mumbai

Horniman Circle Gardens in Mumbai is a mega park in the Fort District of South Mumbai. Encompassing an area of 10.101 sq meters, the Horniman Circle Gardens is surrounded by premier banks.

Primarily known as Bombay Greens in the 18th Century, Horniman Circle Gardens was meant to be an open space in the middle of the Walled city. With well laid out walkways, the Bombay Greens had trees planted all around. Later the whole complex was renamed as Elphinstone Circle after the then Governor, Lord Elphinstone.

In the late 19th Century the condition of the park became atrocious and appeared as the dumping ground for the debris. However, the then Police Commissioner Charles Forjett resurrected the circle with active support from governors Lord Mountstuart Elphinstone and Sir Bartle Frère. By 1872, the Garden gained a new and captivating look. It was renamed after India's Independence in 1947 into Horniman Circle Gardens, after Benjamin Horniman, a pro-freedom editor of the Bombay Chronicle.

A replica of London's Park Crescent, the Horniman Circle has the neoclassical colonnade that faces a small park, flanked by the Historic Asiatic Society Library. Consisting of a circular ensemble of buildings, the Horniman Circle Gardens is one among the most dynamic urban design settlements in Mumbai with pioneering structures from British Colonial era.

Years of neglect since 1947 caused deep damage to this historic landmark of Mumbai. However, with an active citizen initiative, the Horniman Circle Gardens saw another phase of restoration. Today the Horniman Circle Garden Trust and the Horniman Circle Association are making some praiseworthy works of restoration of this colonial vestige.

One can easily reach Horniman Circle Gardens by boarding buses or trains, or by hiring autos or taxis from the city. Board a local or hire a taxi/auto or bus.

St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai

St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai

 

The island of Bombay which was a Portuguese possession became a part of the dowry of the Portuguese princess Infanta Catherine of Braganza on her marriage to Charles II of England under the Anglo Portuguese treaty of June 1661. In 1668 King Charles transferred it to the East India Company for a loan of pounds Sterling 50,000 at 6% interest and with a rental of pounds Sterling 10 per annum! 

At that time the main center of the East India Company in Western India was Surat. The President of the Company in Surat assumed the additional role of Governor of Bombay from 1668. Gerald Angier, who was the Governor from 1669, took the initiative to build a Church for the English community. The foundation stone for the Church was laid in 1676 at the present site of the St. Thomas' Cathedral. But construction was suspended for almost 40 years due to several setbacks such as shortage of finance, revolt against the Company in 1683, the siege of Bombay by Sidi Yakub in 1689, a plague epidemic from 1686-96, etc.

One of the gates in the Fort which the East India Company had built to protect their settlement was the entrance to the St. Thomas Church. It was called Churchgate. That is why the whole area towards the West of the Church is called “Churchgate” even today. The street leading to the Church was originally called Churchgate Street and has been more recently renamed (like many streets in Bombay) and is now known as Veer Nariman Road. 

In 1714, a 27-year-old, enthusiastic Chaplain, Richard Cobbe, M.A., arrived on the scene and took the initiative to complete the building of the Church. It was opened for divine service on Christmas Day 1718. Ever since then, it has been in use as a Church. 

This church was named after St. Thomas who was one of the 12 Disciples of Christ and was the Apostle to India. After the crucifixion of Christ, Thomas came to the South West (Malabar) coast of India along with traders who traditionally imported spices from Malabar. He established the Christian Church in Kerala in the first century A.D. 

St. Thomas Church in Bombay became a Cathedral in July 1837 when the See of Bombay with a Bishop was founded. The tower and the clock at the Western End were added in 1838. About 25 years later a major renovation scheme was launched to enlarge the chancel. This was completed by 1865.

In the 1920's the original tiled roof over the chancel was replaced by a concrete slab. Cracks in this slab allowed seepage of water into the porbandar stone walls in the apse. The leakage became a serious threat to the structure by the turn of the 21 st century. Therefore a second major renovation of the Cathedral was undertaken in 2002-03. The leaking concrete slab roof over the apse was replaced by the original tiled roof. Simultaneously the stained glass windows over the altar and the St. Thomas Chapel on the southside were restored to their original condition. Completion of this renovation was marked by a special service on Xmas day 2003.

The Cathedral, which is located within a few yards of Flora Fountain, is open on all days from 7.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. The monuments on the walls inside the Cathedral are a witness to the history of Bombay Presidency from early 18 th century. 

All are welcome to visit and to spend a few moments in meditation. Holy Communion Service is held every Sunday at 8.45 a.m.

Location : Gateway of India, Mumbai

Camera : Sony Cybershot H10