The past consists of multiple realities which merge for the observer to perceive a certain constellation in a given time

Mumbai

Time travel has always been a fascination to people. Similar to the mystic endeavour of the alchemists to produce gold, there have been those who have attempted to create time machines. An easier method would be to imagine the transformations which might consist solely of creative interpretations. That is what we are left with. The past consists of multiple realties which merge for the observer to perceive a certain constellation in a given time. As the position of the observer changes the visual relationship between the attributes laid out within the depth of the historic dimension transforms. This is time travel through the four-dimensional city.

I was told there was no archaeology below Bombay because it did not have any prominent history before the Europeans arrived. This might be true in respect to our conventional understanding of monumental heritage, however the

area had previously gone through centuries of less intrusive habitation. There were the animist Koli fishing communities, the Buddhist monks who created the exquisite cave monasteries and then the trade began along the coast to Arabia and Europe. In second century BCE Greek geographer Ptolemy refers to Heptanesia, the seven islands that were Bombay.

As a maritime centre islands attracted the attention of local rulers as well as the travellers. It was in the 16th century that the Moslem rulers of Gujarat signed a peace and trade treaty handing over the islands to the Portuguese. A century later the islands were passed on to the British as a wedding dowry from Catherine of Portugal to King Charles II of England. This was the same period when Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj fought against the domination of the Mughals as a Hindu crusader, who later became the hero for Hindu nationalists, particularly in the state of Maharashtra.

For the British this was the gateway to India and in 1924 they literally built a gateway. This, however, was achieved following a process spanning over two centuries of military strategy, innovative engineering and possibly the greed that transformed the city into becoming the commercial hub of India. The Stock Exchange building rises high above the skyline of the South Mumbai close to the provocative 17 storey residential tower of Mukesh Ambani. Long before these edifices were built in the late 18th century the seven islands of Bombay were strung together into a single landmass.

The grandeur of empire and the vision for developing the conquered lands through industrialisation were depicted through the construction of the railways and Victoria Terminus. This majestic structure uses the architectural vocabulary

of gothic cathedrals to beautify the unfamiliar stark and rational industrial function. This edifice has become a World Heritage property and as per the nomination is considered ‘an outstanding example of Victorian Gothic Revival

architecture in India’ which ‘became the symbol of Bombay as the ‘Gothic City’ and the major international mercantile port of India’. The inscription professes that ‘remarkable stone dome, turrets, pointed arches and eccentric ground plans are close to traditional Indian palace architecture.’

My initial impression of Bombay was derived from watching the movie ‘Bombay’ in Manisha Koirala’s hometown Biratnagar. The critically acclaimed movie was about the communal riots of the early 1990s and Manisha acted brilliantly as Shaila Banu a Muslim woman who was married to a Hindu. It was about hope that the threadbare bonds between the Hindus and the Muslims will prevail against the mindless destruction of religious extremism. It was also about a city which was struggling for an identity. The communal riots were followed by a string of reactions expressed through nationalistic and religious fervour. The names from the colonial period were officially obliterated and replaced by locally appealing heroes. Victoria Terminus became Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. Bombay became Mumbai.

(The author is an architect and can be contacted through paharnepal@hotmail.com)