Steeped in history

Located in Borivali (west), the area popularly called IC Colony evolved from a small quiet village nestled in jungle area into a thriving suburb over the last 30 years. The old bungalows have given way to three- or four-storey buildings. And many of these  have become seven-plus storeys. The colony has a large Christian population most of who are Roman Catholics. The original settlers of the area were the East Indians.

The colony is named after the church — Immaculate Conception Church. The Church itself is part of something that began 500 years ago when foreign missionaries first came to India.

It was built by the Franciscans in 1547 along with a monastery, only to be destroyed by the Marathas in the 17th century, and rebuilt many years later by patrons from the Bandra Catholic community.

The ruins of the old church lie alongside the newer construction, which was built in 1912. A colossal structure, the church is a popular hangout for teenagers. Built on a height, it is particularly sought after for the splendid view it offers of the city. The Sunday evening mass is something of a phenomenon with people spilling out into the church grounds and on to the roads.

There was a time, not so long ago, when music lovers would make a beeline for this colony — it was amongst the first places that saw the trend of getting songs compiled on a cassette for a price. Music World (which has closed down now) was one such place that recorded songs from a CD on to a cassette for just Rs150.

Among other IC attractions are the Sunday morning guitar classes by Rupert (who gave the score for the famous Hutch ad jingle) at St Francis High School, and the widely used Catholic lingo attributed to the ‘Mac’ (Macapao) culture.