What?
Early 20th century bungalows in Bandra, one of the suburbs of Bombay (Mumbai).Why visit?
With the land prices in Bombay reaching stratospheric levels, these low-rise bungalows are slowly disappearing. The land they stand on is simply too valuable!
Where?
In Bandra, one of the Western Suburbs of Bombay. Map.
IN THE EARLY 20th century Bandra was a little village, about 15km north of Bombay. Although settled since the 16th century by the Portuguese (who built the first church and a fort) and before that by the native Koli people, this was a quiet village far outside the city where relatively affluent civil servants came to retire and live in comfortable bungalows and small houses.
Fast forward to the 21st century. Bandra has become part of the city of Bombay (Mumbai), and has become one of the most desirable places to live for affluent Indians and well-to-do expatriates. The landscape of Bandra is changing as the low-rise buildings are being torn down to be replaced by high-rise apartment blocks...
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| Bandra today... the few low-rises will probably disappear in the next few years... |
Many of the old bungalows (the term is used loosely in India to refer to a single-family home, even if it has multiple stories) have already disappeared and those that remain are dwarfed by the glass-and-concrete tower blocks of today.
The bungalows reflect the various architectural styles in fashion in the early 20th century- from rustic mock-'ye olde English' cottages to cool Art Deco.
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| This beautiful but dilapidated villa takes pride of place on a junction near St Andrew's church and Bandstand. |
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| One of my favourites. it's well-maintained with lots of detailed carving and wood trimmings. Perry Rd with Leo Rd. |
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| This one on busy Hill Rd features a large neo-classical pediment and typical 'Bombay Gothic' windows. |
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| A prime example of Art Deco elegance on Perry Rd, near St. Leo Rd. |
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| Another favourite with a beautiful porch on Mt Carmel Rd. |
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| The Ave Maria bungalow |
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| Mendonca features a belated Christmas star and a little Maria grotto. |
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| St Sebastian who, as usual, looks like a gay pin-up. |
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| A Crucifix near Pali Market witnesses the area's Christian heritage. |
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| This house belonged to a Muslim family... |
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| ...as indicated by the inscription on the roof and the green colour. |
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| Although I can't know for sure, but it looks like this may have belonged to a Jewish family. Hill Rd opposite Mehboob Studios. |
Unscrupulous developers try to buy these bungalows in order to use the land to build another tower... there are many legal disputes. As a result, some bungalows feature signs asserting the owner's rights and permanent guards.
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| The sign say 'This Property is not for Sale'. The guard didn't like my picture-taking. |
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| Understood? |
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| The high rises are crowding in! |
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| Cool Art Deco lines one on Perry Rd. |
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| No 18 Mt Carmel rd. |
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| Roma |
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| Peace Haven is often used to shoot movies. |
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| An eclectic European-style building. |
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| Another gem on Perry Rd. |
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| This one is carefully hidden on St Anne's Rd, on the backside of St Anne's Church. |
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| And lastly, admire the creative metal grille of this door! |
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| One of our readers, Neil Pereira, sent us this picture of his family home, Clamar Cottage, near Pali Naka, and built in the late '40s, early '50s. |
Getting there:
Bandra can be reached by train or car from South Bombay.
The bungalows are spread on numerous roads. Check the following roads, but do wander into side streets to make your own discoveries. Perry Rd has some fabulous buildings. Streets leading off from here that are worth a look are St Alexious Rd, St Andrew's Rd, and St Leo Rd, as well as St Dominic Rd. (Now is a good chance to brush up on your knowledge of Catholic Saints.)
Then move down south, Mt Carmel Rd, and the area around Rebello Rd and St Sebastian Rd.
Useful links:
Hindustan Times: The burden of history
Bombay Architecture Blog
Comments
PS I've noticed a lot of traffic the past few days, most likely coming from sharing on Facebook. Could you post a link to the source pls? I'd much appreciate it.Thx
Is there anything more you can share about this beautiful house? Did you grow up there?
Also, as I said there is lots of traffic coming to this page from FB. Has it been shared on a public page and if so, could you get me the link? Thanks!
My memory tells me the picture was taken off Pali Mala- which technically may not be Pali Village but it is definitely not Ranwar. I've search the web but can't find any conclusive answers. Of course, my memory may be failing me.
Also, if you could tell me how you ended up on tshi page, that would be appreciated. Thx.
I am perfectly aware of who St Sebastian was (assuming he ever existed- none of us were around 1800 years ago). I have nothing unkind to say about him.
What we know for sure is that a man shot by numerous arrows in real life is unlikely to have looked like that statue- he would be a miserable mess and it would not be a pretty sight. However, the artist who made this statue, like many artists before him, has chosen to prettify it, and make him handsome, attractive, muscular, with good looks. That's a choice.
Portraying him this way appealed of course to those attracted to strong, beautiful male bodies. Women, but also gay men. Here's what Wikipedia says:
' The earliest gay icon may have been Saint Sebastian, a Christian saint and martyr, whose combination of strong and shirtless physique, symbolic arrow-pierced flesh and rapturous look of pain have intrigued artists, both gay and straight, for centuries and began the first explicitly gay cult in the nineteenth century. Journalist Richard A. Kaye wrote, "Contemporary gay men have seen in Sebastian at once a stunning advertisement for homosexual desire (indeed, a homoerotic ideal), and a prototypical portrait of tortured closet case."
Due to Saint Sebastian's status as gay icon, Tennessee Williams chose to use the saint's name for the martyred character Sebastian in his play, Suddenly, Last Summer. The name was also used by Oscar Wilde–as Sebastian Melmoth–when in exile after his release from prison. Wilde, an Irish writer and poet, was about as "out of the closet" as was possible for the late 19th century, and is himself considered to be a gay icon.'
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_icon
So there's the rationale. Whether you like it or not, St Sebastian HAS functioned as a symbol/lust object for homosexual men throughout the ages.
Nobody is denying you the right to believe in St Sebastian, or to be a Christian. This article was written, in case you hadn't noticed, with a clear love and admiration for the Christian community of Bandra.
Yet you, partly through ignorance, chose to be offended and as a result want to restrict others in what they can say and write. Please, try and be more tolerant.
By all means, practice your religion, but keep in mind that all religions contain elements that may strike outsiders as slightly absurd. At Minor Sights we believe all religions have both elements that are admirable, but we also reserve the right to point our the funny elements in every one of them.
Isn't love for others, including for those who think/are differently, the central tenet of your religion?
Best regards
I live in the vicinity of St. Theresa's school & church in Bandra, (in a bungalow that was built in the 1950's) and there are still a few other bungalows around. St. Theresa's church & school is just off Linking road.
My place is closer to Pali naka... Another location for a few cottages would be Pali village... or what ever is left of it....
And, btw, I found Minor Sights thru a link posted on a Facebook page
BTW can you help resolve the question posted below by Joel Pinto? Is that image from Ranwar rather than the Pali Naka area? I'm not in Bombay now so can't check myself... thx!
Thx!
This is the location of it on Google Maps... (Look for "Ranwar Village Square")
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Ranwar,+Bandra+West,+Mumbai,+Maharashtra,+India/@19.0534089,72.8272123,233m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x3be7c940857eb0c9:0x9b64be44c9a0e39c?hl=en
Thank you for this absolutely lovely article!
I've stayed for the better part of four years in Bandra, and these houses are a throwback to the Bandra that was when I was a child - including the stories and salacious scandals that occurred within!
There are other houses like this in Matunga's Parsi colony area as well, and I daresay much better kept (can't be too sure now though).
I'll be coming back to this blog often, for more such content! :)
p.s. I came here through a link published on Facebook
p.p.s. LOL'ed at the St Sebastian comment - and I am Catholic. Thank you for sticking to your guns. A religion which cannot welcome civil discussion is dangerously intolerant, in and of itself.
Thank you for Minor Sights.
Both my wife and I, in the late 50's early 60's were born in Bandra and stayed there for most of our childhood and youth till we moved abroad in 1991. I stayed at Kooka Villa at Bandstand. I studied at St. Stansilaus and my wife at St. Joseph's.
There were some lovely Bungalows on the stretch from St. Andrews to Bandstand - most are now gone.
Maybe your readers should send you some old pictures so you can post Bandra as it is "now vs then"
A lovely era gone by - once everybody knew everybody - now as one of the commenter's as posted "hava pani sub baand!".
Still go back once a year to visit folks - but its not the same any-more. Now its hard to cross the road at the Mehboob Studio Gardens, and its faster to walk from Mehboob Studio to St Peters Church rather than drive; cycling as I once used to school everyday is impossible!
Look forward to more picture of Bandra of the 60's to the 80's until the Raheja's and other builders destroyed it!!
Congrats on the good work - a labour of love indeed!
PS - I came to this site through a link a friend emailed me!
PPS - Admire you for sticking to your stand on St Sebastian. By stating facts you are not being "disrespectful"! To bad if your readers feel affronted. They should read about Pope Francis and what the Vatican says about homosexuality. http://time.com/3502522/pope-francis-vatican-catholic-church-homosexuality/
I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures of times gone by.
I'd be happy to post some pictures of the olden days. My contact details are on the 'about this site' page.
Best.
Road. .which, like most of the old beautiful houses was demolished in order to make room for modern flats. My neighbours were Imtiaz and Amjad Khan, both well known on the Indian screen. I left Bandra for the U.K. when I was 19 years old but Bandra never left me..It never will.
Colleen Barber.
Were you really born in Khotachiwadi? It would be great if you could look at and comment on our article about this area here:
http://www.minorsights.com/2014/05/india-khotachiwadi-neighbourhood-of.html
I have been to these places often as I live in Bombay.
What I am witnessing is that the tide of destruction has already set in, and these beautiful houses will soon disappear.
A very painful experience to see them go one by one.
Sudhir Shah.