Gamdevi - The neighbourhood which has charm, heritage and Indian feminism stories.

Today when Mumbai along with other cities across the world is grappling with a pandemic of Coronavirus, over 125 years ago, the city had faced one of the worst epidemics of its kind, the Bombay plague in 1896. The plague crisis prompted the civic authorities to create the "Bombay City Improvement trust" in Dec 1898 with the aim to improve sanitation and living conditions in the city. The trust opened up northern suburbs to decongest the colonial Bombay and thus neighborhoods like "Gamdevi" grew out as a need for affordable and well-planned housing colonies of the twentieth century. Gamdevi attracted a lot of communities like Gujaratis, Saraswat Brahmins. Many owned private mansions like diamond merchant Revashankar Jhaveri who built a private mansion which we today know as "Mani Bhavan". It was the focal point of Gandhiji from 1917 to 1934 for his political activities.

It was here in the historic four walls of Mani Bhavan, Gandhiji launched the non-cooperation movement, swadeshi, khadi, khilafat movement. In 1955, the building was taken over by the Gandhi Samarak Nidhi in order to maintain it as a memorial to the father of the nation - Mahatma Gandhi. Today Mani Bhavan has a library and a wonderful museum of memorabilia of Gandhiji.

Apart from Gujaratis, the Konkani-speaking Brahmin community from Chitrapur also moved to Gamdevi and built Asia's first co-operative housing society in 1915. The identical buildings of the Saraswat co-op housing society exist to this day. It was here that an urban co-operative banking institution was also born in 1918 and today we know it as Saraswat Bank.

The beautiful Laburnum road which is home to both Mani Bhavan and Sarawat co-op society is named after the yellow flowering Laburnum trees that were planted here over 100 years ago. Some private mansions on the road include Berry Villa of the Mody family, Bilva Kunj, and Mukund house of the Mathuradas Dwarkadas family. 

Another beautiful street in the locality is Cirrus Avenue, named after Sirish - a flowering plant which was planted here. Today the street is named Vaccha Gandhi marg - after Modi Sorabji Vacchagandhi Agiary on this road. The Parsi Agiary was built by descendants of Seth Modi Hirji Vaccha who built the first Tower of Silence in Malabar Hill in 1672. The residence of the Vaccha family and some mansions on the avenue.

Remnants of the past. An old cast iron fire alarm box still stands here. There used to be a mechanism inside the box to inform the nearest fire brigade in case of a fire outbreak. Mumbai was the first city to have a fire brigade service in India.

But when it comes to Gamdevi, the first place that comes to mind is the erstwhile Gowalia tank which we know today as "August Kranti Maidan". It was known as the Gowalia tank because there was a water tank where cows from nearby areas would come to quench their thirst and also the cow herders who are known as Gowalia's would gather during mid-day while their cows would graze nearby. This was in eighteenth-century but the tank was filled and it was on this very ground that Mahatma Gandhi made his Quit India speech on 8th August 1942 and asked the British to leave India. Hence today we know it as August Kranti Maidan. A memorial stands today commemorating that event of 1942.

Adjacent to the ground lies Alexandra road, It is because trees of Sultan Champa or Surangi in Marathi were planted along this road which gave it the name. But today we know the road as Dr. Kashibai Navrange road. Dr. Kashibai Navrange was a social reformer and the first Indian women doctor to open her own clinic. She floated a Milk fund for pregnant and lactating mothers under the auspices of Arya Mahila Samaj. 

Another social reformist and Sanskrit scholar - Pandita Ramabai (1858-1922) was a champion of women's rights. She founded Arya Mahila Samaj in 1882 herein Gamdevi, Arya Mahila Samaj building has hostel on the road for women students and is named as Dr. Kashibai Nawrange memorial hostel. There is another hostel named after Pandita Ramabai on the same road.

Further ahead lies St Columba girls high school, one of the oldest schools in Mumbai was established in 1832 by Margaret Wilson, wife of John Wilson. Wilson college is named after John Wilson who was a missionary educator and a lobbyist for the Archaeological Survey of India.

Seva Sadan's school building stands across the main road.

The name "Gamdevi" indicates that it is dedicated to the village goddess and the name is derived from the word "Grama" in Sanskrit which means village and Devi meaning goddess. A 200 years old temple dedicated to goddess Durga also referred to as Lilavati by her devotees. Another temple that shares space with this temple is the Narmadeshwar temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. 

Narmadeshwar temple is a beautiful temple with two shrines, one dedicated to Lord Shiva while another one is dedicated to Lord Dattatreya. Ornate wood pillars and wood ceilings adorn the temple premises. The temple is managed by the descendants of the Chaudhary family who has originally built the temple in 1832. 

There are few deepstambhs in temple compound which are illuminated with oil lamps on special occasions or festivity. Two of them have plaques that state the year and name of the donor who donated funds for its construction.

Close to the temple, A narrow lane called "Bhendi Galli" is home to a surprise, a silent sentinel of Mumbai. The 6foot tall exact replica of the famous "Gateway of India". The person who made this replica - Mr. Raobahadur Yeshwantrao Harishchandra Desai, was the superintendent of the team involved in building the arched gate - Gateway of India. The model that stands is made from the same material that Gateway is made of,  yellow sandstone from Kharodi Rajasthan. Unfortunately, he could only make one side of the Gateway before he passed away.

Today the model replica stands in society compound where once the house of Mr. Desai stood and is taken care of by the descendants of Raobahadur Desai.

As I move out on another side of Bhendi Galli, There is a flyover called "Kennedy bridge", The bridge gets a mention as "Bridge of winds" or "Pavan pul" in one of the greatest short-story writer and author - Sadat Hasan Manto (1912-1955) in his book 'My name is Radha". Kennedy Bridge is named after an engineer and secretary at Bombay Public works and Railway department, Sir Michael Kavanagh Kennedy. Not many are aware that the most loved Marine drive was known as "Kennedy Sea Face" after the engineer. 

Just under the Kennedy Bridge lies a lane with crumbling villas, The Harishchandra Goregaonkar Marg. The lane is still home to descendants of Harishchandra Goregaonkar who was a reputed building contractor, credited with constructing Police HQ opposite Crawford market and also the Ram Mandir after which the newest station on the local western railway line is named.

Just on the opposite side of the road from where Kennedy Bridge starts lies a compound with a gate which says "Jyoti studio compound", Today there are a lot of garages around. One wouldn't believe that the compound full of motor repairing garages was the birthplace of Bollywood. It is here many famous celebrities career was launched including Prithviraj Kapoor - the patriarch of the first family of Bollywood. Bollywood's first talking film "Alam Ara under the banner of Imperial Films company was directed by Ardeshir Irani right here. Being very close to the railway tracks, Irani shot the film in the night to keep off the sound from the railway tracks.

Gamdevi - a neighborhood named after the goddess temple has been a crossroad of Indian feminism, Yet another story of a lady, Dr. Rukhmabai Raut originates here in Gamdevi. Born in 1864 in a traditional Maharashtrian family, she was married at the tender age of 11 to one Dadaji Bhikaji. Though she was married early, her physician stepfather insisted that she completes her education before she moved in with her husband. 12 years later, her husband demanded that she come and stay with her but Rukhmabai refused, saying she had not given her consent to child marriage. The case was filed as per Hindu law and the court ruled that she either stay with her husband or face prosecution. She refused to bow down and was ready to serve the penalty. She got support from various quarters including the famous German Max Mueller and social reformer Pandita Ramabai and appealed to Queen Victoria. This brought the Age of consent act of 1891 which set the legal age limit at which one can get married.

Dr. Rukhmabai Raut went to England later to study medicine at the London School of Medicine. After returning she served as Dr in Surat and Rajkot cities. After her death in 1950, She donated the building behind her bungalow for a school in Gamdevi which still stands as Sharda Mandir High School. 

My last stop was Theosophical Society of India's Blavatsky lodge building, Dr. Annie Besant made the movement popular in India. The two-storied building with stone Jharokhas and built from Malad stone has a hall and a library with over 7000 books. 

Gamdevi is an interesting neighborhood in South Mumbai full of stories of Indian feminism and a lot of heritage with charming streets and avenues full of Laburnum and Alexandra flowering trees.