Mumbai has always been known for its enterprise and breakneck speed. But once it was also known for a sophisticated, leisured way of life, the hallmarks of which were its grand bungalows.
Mumbai has always been known for its enterprise and breakneck speed. But once it was also known for a sophisticated, leisured way of life, the hallmarks of which were its grand bungalows. Rajshri Mehta and Suhit Kelkar document the demise of an essential aspect of the city.
His eyes squinted in concentration, 44-year-old Ramesh, a contract labourer, neatly packs iron sheets on wooden columns around Tulsi Bhavan, a 60-year-old bungalow, at Santacruz. A similar effort is underway at the one-storey Sobhagya Mahal at Walkeshwar.
As he readies Tulsi Bhavan for demolition, Ramesh is unaware of the changes he is helping effect. Encouraged by the city's endless demand for space, many bungalows and mansions, styled on the lines of Mumbai's colonial past and an intrinsic part of its heritage, are giving way to highrise apartment blocks.
While no official statistics are available, real-estate industry experts believe not more than 300 odd bungalows survive in the city today. The 1.5-acre Tulsi Bhawan, the residence of philanthropist Tulsidas Khimji, is one of them.
At Girgaon, a 20-storey residential tower is in the final stages of completion on a plot where once stood the two-storey bungalow Khilachand House owned by philanthropist and industrialist Sheth Khilachand Devchand. The bungalow was sold off for about Rs100 crore.
Last year, Cosy Corner, a Malabar Hill bungalow owned by the Cama family, owners of Asia's oldest newspaper, The Mumbai Samachar, was sold to a group of diamond merchants for about Rs110 crore. A multi-storey apartment block with a floor space of 58,500 sq ft will replace it.
On Peddar road, Carmichael Road and Malabar Hill — aptly termed Millionaires' Row — perhaps only 40 bungalows remain. Some of the big estates on this stretch belong to the Mafatlals, Birlas and Dahanukars. There are also the Raj-style Hill Side villa owned by the family of former Attorney-General Soli Sorabjee, the Gamadia estate and most importantly, Bhabha House, where Homi Bhabha, the founder of the Atomic Research Centre, once lived — his brother still stays there.
Not that there aren't takers for bungalows or their preservation anymore. Ratan Tata, director of Tata Sons, is setting up a museum at The Cairns, spread over a plot of 50,590 sq ft, in memory of its famous tenant, industrialist and aviator JRD Tata. Kumarmangalam Birla, managing director of the AV Birla Group, recently constructed a bungalow at Altamount Road. And construction is underway for a two-storey bungalow for Mukesh Ambani, chairman, Reliance Industries.
Thanks to vague rules governing the transfer of leases on collector land, some bungalows have been left untouched. And notwithstanding the flouting of heritage norms, the heritage tag still protects properties such as Khilachand Bungalow on Napean Sea Road.
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