A grand and great city like Mumbai is never static – it moves all the time. Many a turning point comes in its journey, some small, some really significant. Those are the ones that change the city forever, for good or for bad, says Sidharth Bhatia.
Great cities never stop. They keep moving. A city like Mumbai not just moves, it does so at a bewildering pace, not allowing anyone to pause to catch a breath, forget smell the flowers. Often, newcomers to Mumbai ask, why is everyone in the city in such a hurry and where are they all going? Good questions, these, and it is difficult to answer them. We know of course that people are going somewhere, to work, to meet someone or may be just heading home, but in no other city in India at least do people stride so purposefully all the time.
In such circumstances, how can anyone stop, look back and notice any turning points? Ask the average Mumbaikar whether he or she feels that the city has changed, and the answer will inevitably be, Yes! Mumbai is not the same city I grew up in, or even not the city I recall from 10 years ago. It is changing all the time. With some pushing, he or she will even point out the changes. But when did that change happen? That becomes difficult to answer. At the very local level, it could be when an old bungalow gave way to a skyscraper or a much loved restaurant disappeared and a fancy coffee shop took its place. People have memories and they feel attached to those memories. But those are micro changes.
At the larger, macro level, changes are driven by policy and by the momentous events that follow. The entire mill district of central Mumbai, which was responsible for the dramatic growth of the city in the 19th century and after, has almost totally disappeared, thanks to the government’s decision to hand it over to builders. In the place of chimney stacks and mills, we can see malls, gleaming office blocks and skyscrapers.
Many turning points have been brought about by reclamation, that has been initiated several times over the years. From the joining together of the seven islands that originally made Bombay, to the creation of Marine Drive to the emergence of Nariman Point and now to the newest proposal of reclaiming more land for a coastal road that will run across the city’s western shore, reclaiming land from the sea has been a major preoccupation of governments over the decades.
For better or for worse, this has changed the city completely. Think what would the city be without Marine Drive? Or, Nariman Point, for example, that created an entirely new business district that was glittering when it came up and now is losing out to other centres.
Indeed, the Bandra Kurla complex itself was a major game changer. Old timers will recall that the vast stretch from Bandra east onwards to Kurla was a swamp with one small road that used to lead to a Drive In cinema which did not really catch on.
Then, when the decision to auction plots was taken, and infrastructure was created, BKC, as it came to be called, became the hottest property in town, with corporates and builders rushing here. Today it is an enclave with excellent infrastructure and smart buildings—transportation to and from the station is still a challenge and the neighbourhood still has to get some night life, but BKC is a much coveted area for companies and offices.
Not all turning points are infrastructure related. Often, the city undergoes an upheaval that changes it forever. The riots of 1992-93 and the bomb blasts in March 1993 were a searing blow to the city’s famed cosmopolitanism and altered its social dynamics in ways that are being felt even today. Mumbai has suffered terrorist attacks more than most, whether it is the blasts in the local trains or in Zaveri Bazaar or in ChattrapatiShivaji Terminus, the TajMahal Hotel, Leopold’s and Oberoi on November 26, 2008. The physical changes that have come after these episodes can be seen all around us; the psychological effects are less visible. Yet Mumbai, with all the resolve at its command continues to move on. Some call it the indomitable Mumbai spirit, others say it is just the compulsion to earn a living.
Not all turning points are so dramatic, of course, nor do all of them have a negative impact. In many ways, small and big, Mumbai has changed for the better. The emphasis on digitizing the city, the burgeoning art scene and of course, Bollywood, which has been headquartered here for decades. Plus, Mumbai is seeing some exciting new developments in infrastructure, which will change the way the city moves and travels.
In keeping with a commitment to look at Mumbai in a fresh, innovative way, the Free Press Journal brings this supplement on the occasion of its … anniversary on the theme of Turning Points of Mumbai. Well known writers and domain experts have written on different aspects of the city, examining it not from just the traditional angles but also in new ways. How has Mumbai changed and what contributed to those changes? That is the thought behind this special supplement.
We hope you will enjoy it and more importantly, learn a bit more about our great city.
