Colaba Causeway to history, art, and architecture

Pooja Malani from Ahmedabad comes once every two months to the city and makes sure she visits Colaba Causeway. “I started visiting the neighbourhood when I was a student, and have always liked it. Now, I also come to buy things for my exhibitions in Ahmedabad,” she says.

Called the culture-square of the old Bombay, Colaba-Causeway is a major draw for a large number of foreigners visiting the city.

Locals throng to the Causeway for its numerous restaurants, shops, and roadside stalls. Weekend foot falls can run into thousands at any given time in a 300 sq m area including the Gateway of India. The area, however, has witnessed two terror attacks - a bomb blast at Gateway in 2003, and the more recent 2008 attack.

Close to the iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and the Gateway, Causeway also leads up to the high-security Naval Officers Residential Area.

It was in 1838 when Causeway came into existence - the creek dividing the Island of Bombay (Colaba) and Old Woman's Island were joined by land-filling. A tablet marking this event can be seen on a private property next to a temple near the Colaba police station.

The tablet reads: “This tablet marks the site of the former crossing of about 300 years of creek that separated the Island of Bombay from Old Woman's Island. The creek was filled in 1838 (sic).”

Bombay: The Cities Within by Sharda Dwivedi and Rahul Mehrotra states that 1838 was an important milestone because it not only opened up new land for development but it also became the last link in the fusing of Bombay's seven Islands.

“Back then, fishermen would pay their respects to the temple and go for fishing,” said Harshad Kshirsagar, who calls himself the owner of the property where the tablet stands.

“Slowly, the place began to develop with elite residences, the Taj Mahal Hotel, and Regal Cinema being built here. The causeway also has buildings with colonnade architecture where the columns covered the footpath. The colonnade architecture was designed to save people from rains as they walked about,” said Vikas Dilawari, conservation architect.

While the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel came up in 1903, the Gateway came up in 1924, and India's first air-conditioned cinema, Regal, in 1933. All of them are symbols of Mumbai's identity. Then there are shops that draw international crowds for perfumes, carpets, handicrafts, bags, antiques, brass items, and clothes, a hit with both foreign and Indian tourists. These are mostly lined along the pillars of the buildings that cover the footpath giving little space for people to walk. But that only gives people more choices.

“This is my first time here. I am here to shop. Since everyone talks about this place, I wanted to come and see for myself. It seems to be a nice and secure place,” said Sonali Sharma, who is visiting from Bhopal.