Unearthing The History of a City !!

A place is known by its history, its culture and its art and we as humans must learn to appreciate it. When I came to India one year later I chanced upon this hidden jewel in the Heart of Mumbai The Prince Of Wales Museum. It was built to commerate the visit of King Edward VIII. The facade of the museum on entering reminded me of a castle in Baghdad in ancient times. The Prince of Wales Museum is one of many stately buildings and structures left behind in the Kala Ghoda Area which has numerous remnants of an era gone by. The area itself which is quite a popular art district filled with art galleries and museums in modern Mumbai is named after and equestrian horse which was once ridden by king George V the then Prince of Wales. What interested me was the intricate architecture of these buildings which stood firm and tall even in the cruel hands of time.

                                   

The Prince of Wales museum exhibits an Indo-Saracenic style of architecture. It’s was a common style of architecture favoured by the British for all the buildings and structures they built in India. It was a combination of Indo-Islamic, Mughal and Hindu Temple architecture. The British despite leaving and imprint always gave it and Indian touch. Being originally born in a British colony and them moving to another one of them in recent years I realized besides giving their structures and Indian touch they also gave it a regional touch by envisaging materials locally sourced from the regions they colonialised. Hence when you visit British colonies the architecture might bear striking resemblance to other colonies but the colour is what gives it a unique look. In Mumbai unlike Kolkata most of the British era Buildings are built with  Kurla Basalt and  Malad Trachyte which gives the buildings their buff colour appearance much like medieval castles in England.

As you walk through the large open gates you are welcomed by beautiful green well manicured lawns. Closest to the enterance there is humunguous Buddha artefact which was brought all the way from Srilanka after the tsunami and is a symbol of the pain and suffering in Srilanka after the tsunami. As you walk down the path the adjacent lawns are dotted with ornate statues of Buddha with his palm raised wishing all the tourists a peaceful tour of the museum. As you approach the building what is most noticeable is its huge dome intricately decorated in blue and white designs on a lotus pedestal and is a replica of the Golconda fort dome and the inner sections of the dome is a replica of Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur. A collections of smaller pinnacles and domes surround the large dome. The building has a large dome, and a finial along with protruding balconies and inlaid floors which is reminiscent of Mughal Architecture. Amazingly this whole venture cost just 17,252 dollars.  

The interiors of the Prince of Wales museum is ornate it has beautiful shiny floors and stair cases that wind gracefully which take to you to the different levels in the Museum. The foyer is equisitly designed and is a combination of coloumns, railings and a balcony which is typically seen in a Maratha Mansion,and Jain style interior columns which forms a major part of the central pavilion below the Maratha Balcony in the upper level that overlooks a marble fountain in the center of a lady with a water jar gracefully on her shoulder. This Museum is a treasure trove of India’s rich and varied History with over 50,000 exhibits which starts from the prehistoric times, the first ancient civilizations of Mohenjodaro and Harrappa and goes on to cover art, pottery and lifestyles down the years of the Mughals, The Guptas, The Marathas and the Rashtrakuttas. 

The Main schools of Art which are exhibited in this museum are the Mughal, Rajasthani, Pahari and Deccani School of Arts. It also has exhibits on the life of Krishna and miniature paintings from Akbar’s studio and Akbar’s personal armourment. On the Ground level It has the most amazing sculpture sections where there are sculptures of Vishnu, Brahma and other Hindu gods in Various incarnations. They’re are also exhibits showing the life in royal harems and Buddhist monasteries. The sculpture I loved the most was this series of four miniature sculptures depicting the life of young Buddha from a baby through to his renunciation of the world and his enlightenment  under the bodhi tree. The museum also houses beautiful tapestries some of which are popular art forms from different regions. The thangka paintings made intricately on silk, the detailed madhubani art tapestry on display and the ornate tapestry of Buddha made with jewels were some of my favourites.

The second level houses the Sir Ratan and Dorab Tata art galleries which are home to beautiful oil paintings framed in ornate, carved golden frames all which were part of the Tata family collection of art. Most of them were painted by European artists. A few of them stood out to me of which the crusaders, the two Madonna paintings, the epiphany and a portrait of Lincoln in oil paint were my favourites. A close glimpse would tell you the paintings were in tact despite some being modified to fit into a hanging frame. Damocles was one of the few paintings whose edges were cut to modify for hanging by the its previous buyer prior to its purchase by the Tata family. Ratan Tata had a vast collection of art, paintings,non European objects, fine glass ware and pottery from China which is all on display at Prince of Wales. 2018 Marked the centennial of Ratan Tata’s Birth and so the museum conducted programs to commerate him. Today this installation is an inspiration to fine art students in and around Mumbai many of whom you can spot sketching much of the exhibits on display 

The third level is home to a fine collection of glass ware made of jade and other precious stones. There is also a collection of beautiful porcelain statues. Porcelain was popular in China and it was made by mixing kaolin and feldspar. It was and art form that never made its way to Europe in ancient times. Glass ware of all sizes colours and shapes can be found here. Besides this there is a collection of armaments and various shapes of swords and weaponry. It was interesting to see how weaponry and clothes changed down the ages as depicted in the exhibits. Swords after being weapons with just handles became weapons that had covered sections for your hand. Akbar’s personal suit of armour is also an exhibit in this part of the museum. What thrilled me the most was the exhibit of a full chain mail suit of armour on display. This museum has the capacity to make you walk through every era of Indian history and to a certain extent a little bit of European times and Japanese history as well. 

                             

The Elphinstone College across the street was first seat of learning and played a role in spreading western education in Mumbai. It was also the source from which originated Mumbai’s largest and most important academic institution called Mumbai University which moderates education in colleges across Mumbai. The British laid a heavy emphasis on education and so as Mumbai became a popular port for maritime trade which aided trading along the silk route  to Southeast Asia the British felt education of the masses was necessary and so they opened Elphinstone College which sits next door to the David Sasoon Library which was built in memory of David Sasoon a Baghdadi Jew who escaped persecution in Persia under Pasha Dawud and came to Mumbai. He contributed much to Mumbai by creating many synagogues, hospitals, dispensaries, schools and a convalescents homes for elderly people in Pune. It was built by his son Albert Sasoon who also built the Historic Sasoon Docks in 1857 which was the first wet dock of its kind and by far is the oldest docks in Mumbai. It is also the only docks open to the public and houses street  art installations by artists round the world as part of the Start Urban Art festival last November in Mumbai. 

The main attraction of Fort Mumbai area is the Gateway of India. It is a humongous intricately carved arch made to commence the arrival of Queen Mary and King George the V in 1911. Like the Prince of Wales museum and Victoria Terminus this gateway also is a display of Indo Saracenic architecture. It sports a Roman triumphal arch and a combination of 16th century Gujarati architecture. It is a display of mixed architectural elements of Hindu and Muslim architecture. The Arch is taken from Muslim architecture and combined with intricate perforated screens from Gwalior. It has a 48 inch dome in the centre which is not vary visible from the outside. The whole structure was created using yellow basalt. It houses seven jetty’s one is entirely a part of the atomic research centre and the other is part of the the Royal Mumbai Yacht Club. One Jetty has since been closed down. The remaining jetty’s host ferries which take people on tours of the Elephanta Caves and Alibaugh. The Gateway is a symbolic monument from Mumbai of a by gone era under British rule and in ancient times it was a symbol of the rising power and majesty of the British Empire. 

       

Victoria terminus is the oldest railway station in Mumbai and a UNESCO world Heritage site. It was first built as Bori Bunder in 1887 and then later reconstructed as Victoria Terminus to commemorate the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria. It houses a total of 14 platforms and took ten years to complete the longest time for any building to be completed during the British era. It has a high Victorian gothic architecture and is a combination of Victorian Italianate gothic revival architecture and a Indian classical architecture. The outer turrets, skylines, pointed arches and eccentric

ground plan were close to Indian classical architecture. The  exterior tiles wood carvings, tiles, railings, balustrades, ornaments and fine staircases were a contribution from students at the Jamshedji Jeejebhoy School of Art. The dome of Victoria Terminus is a series of dovetailed Ribs with no centring which is an over achievement of its time. The building hosts many statuses depicting commerce agriculture and science. The main dome hosts the statue of progress. It was designed as a series of large rooms and is a utilitarian building. The star room which is now a booking room has ornate floors of Italian Marble and polished Indian blue stones and an ornate ceiling covered red blue and gold and filled with clusters of golden stars .Victoria Terminus stands as a 19th Century Marvel of Railway Architecture for its advanced architectural and technological solution.

Off course the queens necklace is a must visit you can view the skyline of Mumbai shrouded in smog from a city that’s burning the midnight oil consistently. You also get a glimpse of the Oberoi trident and the Bombay Stock Exchange which is why Mumbai is known as the financial capital of India. The flora fountain in the heart of Mumbai is a beautiful marble fountain in the heart of fort Mumbai area. It was erected after the British destroyed the fort which was present in the area. The fort had four gates of which only one remains which is Churchgate which is the closest local train station which connects you to the whole of Mumbai.The fountain meant to help improve drainage and sanitation in the area in the aftermath of the removal of the fort. It has a statue of flora the Greek goddess of flowering plants. Maybe the British built it in the hope that Mumbai would bloom and flourish which it did and became one of Britain’s prime ports in India. It’s amazing to walk around and take in the sites of fort Mumbai area only watch out for the crazy traffic. On the whole Mumbai is like an oyster it has two huge shells but hides magnificent jewels within. So as I pen down my thoughts on a lazy warm afternoon in Mumbai I thank god for a wonderful trip to Mumbai and for my husband his family who showed me around Mumbai and made this trip so much fun and I hope 2019 has more trips for me in store