Mumbai today is a wonderful melting pot of all cultures. Gifted as a Royal dowry by the Portuguese to the British in mid-1600s akin to Tangier (Morocco), the colonization here not only brought art and culture, but also a lot of Colonial era Architecture that grace the eastern side of South Mumbai. The Agri-Kolis are the original inhabitants of the islands. Interestingly in the olden days, the east side of Mumbai was more developed because of the harbour, where ships could dock and that’s how trade flourished, bringing in vast richness due to exports including cotton. It was no wonder back then the railways were introduced here to facilitate deliveries from other parts of India to Mumbai. And why cotton? When the American civil war broke out, the British supplies of cotton stopped and they looked east to source cotton.
Over a century as the land around the 7 islands of Mumbai began to be reclaimed, a new style of art deco residential buildings emerged in mid 1900s, on one of what we call today the Queen’s Necklace or the curvy Marine Drive. Being a port city, a lot of motifs included waves, port holes, bows of ship, rising sun rays, curvy balconies rippling its synonymity in the grille design as well.
Sharing some glimpses of the Art Deco buildings in South Mumbai and some popular iconic structures.
I have a friend from there, an author, who travels to my country (Sri Lanka) frequently. Every time we meet, he talks about the cool architecture with great enthusiasm. I’d like to visit myself one of these days
Welcome to Mumbai @ThamaraKandabada ! Since you are a bit familiar with the city by your friend, it would be worth a visit. Meanwhile, do share a pic of any Art Deco building if existing in your city;)
I love how much passion you have for architecture, @Prodeep . and thank you for explaining the culture of Mumbai. I always search for the connection between historical and economical features to understand cultural influences.
Also, those arches <3… I’m stunned by all that detail.
Thank you for the kind words @IrrPavlova ! A lot of people who come to city are also enamoured by what the city offers each day with its rapidly changing dynamics. Due to the historical influences in art, culture, trade, it is no surprise that Mumbai today is not only the financial capital but also the Hollywood of the east. Early years, jazz musicians from Goa would come to the city and jam with the foreigners to create music and that camaraderie rippled even in Bollywood music to some extent;)
Thank you for the details, @Prodeep . Jazz in the streets sounds so much like what I would like to have around all the time. I’d be out walking, talking and dancing to deep conversations and feelings all around. Are these nights still a thing?
Oh great @IrrPavlova @@I would love that too! Unfortunately not so much on the streets here but all live performances are in clubs from bands abroad. One of the biggest jazz festival is the Mahindra Blues event which happens annually in Feb. Most major performances are scheduled between Nov and Feb and last about 2-3 days per event. Infact last Nov, there were bands from Cuba, US, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Panama, Japan, Canada, Australia, France including India for a big international performance event at the National centre for Performing Arts in Marine Drive. There are open air band performances in the city in Bandra’s Bandstand and Carter Road area but not necessarily Jazz. Nevertheless before the country’s Independence was declared, Jazz street performances were popular especially in the south Bombay area
Cheers!
Thank you for sharing these details, @Prodeep . Make sure you make a post about at least one of those Nov-Feb performances. I’m very curious to see how they look.
Sure will @IrrPavlova when it happens next, especially the Jazz concerts. Meanwhile am sharing pics of two concerts I attended in Jan. Both concerts were open to public, one in an amphitheatre and the other on a club ground.
One was a tribute to late singer Queen by a local band true to his music and rocking the audience. We consider Freddie Mercury a Mumbai boy because he went to school not far from here and also his parents were Parsis from here.
The other concert was a lovely band from Canada Boogie Wonder belting out a medley of all hits all the way from 80s and got the crowd swinging all through!
Thank you for sharing, @Prodeep . I can agree with you about Freddie. It’s so nice you could be there for the Queens tribute. I’m sure the experience was breathtaking
Make sure you post videos of the jazz concerts when the time comes.
when it happens next, especially the Jazz concerts. Meanwhile am sharing pics of two concerts I attended in Jan. Both concerts were open to public, one in an amphitheatre and the other on a club ground.
