Mumbai is not just a city, it is a sentiment. An emotion that resonates within every Mumbaikar and dwellers from all over the nation–who flock to the city of dreams–embracing it as their own. Be it the never dying spirit or the bustling diversity, Mumbai is truly all accommodating! The local trains are witness, there is no place personified like the economic capital of the country.
And it doesn’t matter if you call it ‘Mumbai’ or ‘Bombay’, there is no denying the fact that the place has a life of its own! In an attempt to capture this essence, in its past glory and present, photographer, Yuvraj Khanna has framed a photo series that will take you in back in time. Contrasting and comparing, it’ll show you euphoric days in Mumbai, now and then!
1. The photo is the Gateway of India during pre-independence where once you could spot some classic beauties parked literally right next to it.
The area now is cordoned off to cars and is strictly a pedestrian zone with the addition of barricades around the gateway.
2. Long before the Khans and the Kapoors, it was the heroines from the Jewish community that scorched the movie screens!
This photo is an advertisement showing one such lady namely Rose Ezra, a famous actress from the 1930s, who’s endorsing a Packard car in front of the Gateway!
3. The lone electric tram crossing the Mumbai Municipal Corporation in the early 1900s!
Such a calm scenario in the Mumbai we know now is hardly imaginable!
4. Bullock carts, caravans and even horse-run tram cars. This is what the traffic looked like in Mumbai in the 1880s!
The concept of horse-run tram car was entirely new to me where two horses would together pull a small open air tram-like structure pulling scores of people at a time.
5. This new year, Kala Godha has been given a new lease of life courtesy the new 20-foot black horse statute that now neighs with pride.
This photo shows the old statute of King Edward VI as it stood in the early 1900s that originally gave the place its name. The name lingered on much after the removal of the old statute in the 60s, luckily the black horse is now back in Mumbai!
6. Imagine the Gateway in the 1950s being quaint enough for an afternoon siesta!
7. A snake charmer in front of the Gateway in the early 1900s!
While pigeons have taken over the tract of land in the picture, the stereotype arguably still hasn’t completely disappeared
8. A lady in black dead-center of the frame in front of the then Victoria Terminus in the 1880s
9. Right from 1910 to 2016, it’s still a common sight to see people pose in front of CST for pictures, though caravans and bullock carts are seen less often now.
10. A protest under British rule in front of Town Hall brought back to life!
11. This postcard issued pre-independence shows the Municipal Corporation Building without the statute of Pherozeshah Mehta and sans the tasteless ventilation shafts that have been installed by the authorities right in front of the heritage structure.
It is exactly how I thought it would be, only better! And who needs a time machine when you have pictures to get reminiscing?!
All the pictures and captions have been used with required permissions from the photographer.