Walk in the Dockyard area of Mazgaon, Mumbai

On the harbour railway line in Mumbai, Dockyard Road is a station that serves the neighbourhood of Mazgaon. We have crossed this station numerous times without giving it a second thought. On this day, we alight here and it is the first time we actively see and think about Mazgaon. Once we get out of the station, we realise the railway station is perched on a hill! We walk to Our Lady of the Rosary Church. We are here for the Discover Dockyard walk offered by Khaki Tours.

The history of Mumbai

Originally Mumbai was an archipelago of 7 marshy islands—Colaba, Little Colaba, Bombay, Worli, Mahim, Parel and Mazgaon. It was ruled by successive indigenous kings until it came under the control of the Portuguese. When Prince Charles II of England married Catherine of Braganza, a Portuguese princess, these islands were passed on to the British as dowry.

The fort area in the island of Bombay became the centre of British rule and trade. Eventually the city expanded. Vegetation was cleared, and the islands were successively “joined” by filling the sea with rocks and boulders, a process known as “reclaimation”. The city with its suburbs in its current avatar has more than 20 islands joined together, for example the islands of Trombay, Salsette and so on.

History of Mazgaon

The island of Mazgaon used to be an extensively hilly, forested, and verdant area. Here rice farmers, toddy tappers and the fishermen community known as the Kolis have thrived from time immemorial. When the Portuguese took over, they authorised Antonio Pessoa, a Portuguese soldier, as “wazador” in charge of the island. He was mainly an official who would collect taxes from the inhabitants here. Overtime the reigns passed to the D’Lima and D’Souza families.

The Portuguese were religious. They were actively converting the indigenous people of Mazgaon into Catholic Christianity. The converted inhabitants in Mazgaon(and Mumbai) have taken on a new identity as the East Indian Christians. This was particularly done by them to distinguish themselves from the Goan Christians. Even though Mumbai is to the west of India, the nomenclature “East Indian” signifies east with respect to Goa’s geographical position in India.

Under the British Governor Sir Bartle Frere, the walls of the literal Fort of Bombay(currently the Fort area) came down. Once this happened the elites who lived inside the fort used their wealth to establish estates away from the city centre, in the clean green area of Mazgaon – turning it into a posh locality.

Ships from Hong Kong that docked in the Mazgaon dockyard brought the bubonic plague in Bombay in 1896 that claimed numerous lives. The area subsequently fell out of favour. Simultaneously, forests were being cleared on Malabar hill to make residential space. The rich vacated Mazgaon for Malabar Hill and the vacuum was filled by economically weaker sections of the population (as they do not have the option of relocating to expensive areas). The design of the houses and neighbourhoods transformed to serve the practical needs of the currently residing population.

The walk starts

The hill is the first topic of discussion as we start our journey. The hilltop is home to a beautiful garden named Kaka Baptista Garden and a reservoir. It turns out that Joseph Kaka Baptista, born in Matharpacady village was a freedom fighter who went on to become the mayor of Bombay. He was very close to Lokmanya Tilak.

The quest to find the original Gloria Church

Gloria Church, a Roman Catholic church stands in Byculla currently. However, its story has origins in east Mazgaon. It was originally built by the Portuguese somewhere here and was later moved. When the British started ruling Mazgaon, even though they were business and money-minded and not much religious, they still wanted to break the hegemony of Catholic Christianity. Triggered by this motive they established their own Italian Carmelite Church, Our Lady of the Rosary, the very spot where we are standing right now.

This is also how Gloria church found a competitor.

The story dwells on Parish rivalries, competition of the churches and the elite vs non-elite divide of the time. It feels like we are transported to the late 1700s when all this drama was happening. We find a clue that could lead to the original spot of the church. In one of the lanes here we meet the original cross of the Gloria Church, still revered and worshipped. Finally, inside the Bombay Port Trust residential colony we see the very first location of the Gloria church.

Muslims, Parsis, Kolis

We see bits and pieces of history strewn around Our Lady of the Rosary church, after which we we hit D’Lima street and go to a spot that used to be a water tank. This water tank was established by Nawab Ayaz Ali. Our guide shows us markers of the past. When the British established piped water supply, the tank, like other tanks of Bombay, was filled in and now it has turned into a playground. The neighbourhood full of old houses were supposedly ground zero of the Nawab’s palace (that has eventually crumbled without trace).

We are made aware of how many times the “ownership” of Mazgaon had changed hands. How the naval might of the Siddis(inhabitants of Africa who arrived in the subcontinent through Arab slave trade) troubled Mazgaon. How a Parsi collaborated with the Kolis to make sure Mazgaon is passed to the British. The “real-life” stories and the details conjure up vivid imaginations.

Some stories are plain shocking

The most shocking of all revelations is probably the fact that Mazgaon’s hills that exist no more were quarried to fill in the sea and make land for living. This also makes us think that all the hills in the archipelago of Bombay and nearby islands must have been destroyed by humans for reclaimation. Hills became plains and the sea became land!

It sends chill down my spine to think of the level of destruction and alteration humans did with nature in this “city”. I also shiver to think when nature will “reclaim” everything back what level of calamity it would unleash on Mumbaikars including me and the people I love.

Love stories

We spot beautiful houses. Some exist in present times, like the interesting house of ace historian Rafique Baghdadi. Others used to exist on hills of the past. Beautiful white houses on hilltops that ships could use as landmarks. There is an intense but tragic love story that brewed in one such house and it connected Bombay and London.

There is another love story, of two Bollywood stalwarts that cooked up in a house in the sleepy part of the neighbourhood. Unfortunately, even this story ends on a sad note.

Goan connections and kudds

As the Mazgaon port developed, it attracted workforces from Goan villages. By that time, the Portuguese in Goa had already converted most of the indigenous population to Christianity. These Catholic Christians served as seamen and were out in the sea for long voyages. They often congregated in Mazgaon and Dhobi Talao area of Bombay for employment.

A section of the Goan population also settled in Bombay permanently. The Portuguese had originally introduced pao or bread and breadmaking to the Goans. The Goans in turn introduced the “pao” in the menu cards of Bombay. The revered vadapao (deep fried spiced potato chop clubbed inside a bun-bread) and paobhaji (bun-bread served with spicy vegetable curry) that are synonymous with Mumbai had origins here.

The churches in Goan villages set up inexpensive rest houses at Mazgaon and Dhobi Talao for the Catholic residents of the respective villages who came to Bombay for work. These are known as “kudd,” which in Konkani means “rooms”. These are humble dormitories with one metal trunk allotted to each person. Guests in kudds also called “Goan clubs” need to adhere to some Christian rules and regulations. Breaking these rules invites punishments.

We walk in the frontyard of one such kudd. The building is visibly old but the toran-like motifs at the entry point makes for lovely photo-ops. A man saunters in the balcony but immediately shies away after seeing our group. Kudds are still functional even though their relevance has now reduced.

The only Chinese Temple in Mumbai

A brightly red tinted building with Chinese décor gives the hint that we have reached the right spot. We go inside. It is a two storied building standing on a sleepy lane. The main temple is on the first floor. Once inside, ornate decorations, Chinese lanterns, glass painted windows, metals engraved with Cantonese/Mandarin alphabets and paintings featuring characters from the Chinese mythological pantheon keeps us attentive. We are free to light candles and offer prayers.

Once upon a time employment opportunity as seamen had drawn in the Chinese here. The area had a big Chinatown complete with a market, inn, eateries, temple, and residences. After the 1962 Indo-China war and the way the-then Indian government mistreated the diaspora by keeping them in internment camps, sending them off to China and looting their properties, the neighbourhood collapsed. Currently only 3-4 Chinese-Indian families remain here.

This Chinatown however comes alive on Chinese New Years. Dragon dances and several community rituals are performed with much gusto.

Detective in the Dockyard

Remnants of the past are littered throughout, if only we know how to look for them. Iron gates with Bombay Port Trust insignia indicate the previous usage of a building. Little Chinese stickers on a door signal the erstwhile presence of a thriving community. An old house with a raised plinth is a cue that the sea was much closer. Another one with a vanishingly narrow edge and a flush tank hanging outside the wall screams that some promises regarding ownership of land were never fulfilled.

We come across a railway track that exclusively serves Bombay Port Trust. We walk on “Gunpowder Road,” a road that leads to Darukhana, a locality that was once the storehouse of gunpowder. Somewhere down the timeline “barood” (gunpowder) became “daru” (alcohol). Tales of brave Babu Genu (a martyr) and the legend of raining gold come to the fore. We see a temple of Balochistan that is revered by both Hindus and Muslims. We witness an edict stone with Telegu inscriptions on top of a hill.

We would have never discovered all this on our own. This is one of the best heritage walks till date that we have attended. If you are interested in history and heritage please do attend this one!

Details:

• Price– INR 699 + tax per head.
• Duration– 3 hours
• Timing– Usually around 8 AM on a weekend
• Location– Our Lady of the Rosary Church, Mazgaon
• How to book– Khaki Tours conduct this walk. They announce weekly/monthly schedule of their walks on their website and Instagram page (@khaki.tours) .
• Requirement– This tour is very intense with all the special but hidden in plain sight spots and stories that this reveals. Recommend good walking shoes, drinking water and a cap.

*****

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