NEIGHBOURHOOD
When in Mumbai
Fort “They used to say that the streets were built by opium and the buildings by cotton,” says Sneha Patil, momentarily sounding like she’s been chasing the dragon herself. The guide from Khaki Tours is taking me on the popular Castle2Gateway walk, which focuses on the colonial history around the Fort neighbourhood at the south of Mumbai’s peninsula. Although this part of India had already
MUMBAI SANDWICH
This affordable streetfood staple typically contains beetroot,
boiled potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, onion and mint chutney.
CRICKET Cricket is revered in Mumbai, as
it is throughout the subcontinent. The Indian Premier League team here is the Mumbai Indians,
whose home — no laughing now — is the Wankhede Stadium.
COLABA MARKET
If you don’t like haggling, then this absolutely isn’t the place for you. Just a couple of blocks
away from the opulence of the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, the relentless vibrance of the Colaba Market is a handy reminder that you’re still very much in India.
LEOPOLD CAFE
A city institution since 1871, the Leopold Cafe was one of the
targets of the city’s 2008 terrorist attacks. It’s since come to be a
symbol of defiance and cherished by most Mumbaikars.
MARINE DRIVE
If you’ve overindulged on the paneer and roti, head out for an early-morning run along
Marine Drive. You’ll be joined by hundreds or thousands of locals also keen to get their exercise fix — whether that’s a jog or a spot of yoga — before the sun becomes too intense. Later, couples and
families emerge to enjoy a seaside perambulation along the two- and-a-quarter-mile promenade.
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been colonised by the Portuguese and Dutch, it went through an economic explosion under British rule. At the heart of that boom time were the opium and cotton trades. To come to Mumbai and not visit Fort is
akin to visiting New York City for the first time and avoiding Manhattan — it’s possible, but surely not advisable. This former economic hub remains one
of the city’s most prosperous areas and is, by far, its grandest, architecturally. As the opium and cotton barons grew rich, so they erected vanity projects around the city. The majority still stand today. “This is one of my favourite spots in the
city,” says Sneha, as she looks for a spot on Kala Ghoda Square where we’re less likely to get run over by a marauding auto rickshaw. Spinning on the spot, she gives me a grand tour of wildly varying architectural styles.
“From here, you can see the Rajabai Clock Tower, which is Venetian gothic, then the former Watson’s Hotel, which is an industrial pre-fab. Next to that we have the Army and Navy Building which is typically neoclassical. Next there’s gothic, then Elphinstone College, which is renaissance revival, then come round here and we have traditional Indian and then finally art deco. It’s really remarkable.” We move on, pushing south towards
Mumbai’s most famous landmarks: the Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Palace hotel. They too date back to the British Raj, and their stories are the stuff of local legend. The satisfyingly chunky, endlessly photographed Gateway was famously built to commemorate the arrival to India of King-Emperor George V and Queen-Empress Mary, the first British monarchs to visit the country. “Except it wasn’t finished until 13 years aſter they were here,” says Sneha with a smile. And what about the Taj Palace, just across the road? “Well, the story is that Mr Jamsetji Tat [an Indian industrialist] decided to build it aſter being turned away from Watson’s Hotel because he wasn’t white.” And is that true? “Well, I like the story anyway,” says Sneha knowingly.
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