The lecture was eye opening. Mumbai was created in an initiative manner by Portuguese and was completed by British.
From Battle of Plassey of 17th century to the 20th century the way Mumbai changed historically and also geographically was explained by him. All the forts in Mumbai,their transformation and historical facts were explained.
From Sultans of Gujarat to Yadavas- all the amazing facts. The best ever lecture we have had till date. His whole explanation and unknown facts made the lecture more interesting.
- Sejal Gotad
Possibly the most enchanting session of this year's heritage course was Mr. Kurush Dalal's superb lecture on the past, present and future of Mumbai! He helped us trace the rich past of this city right since the age of the powerful ancient dynasties like Satavahanas, Vakatakas, etc. He further enlightened us about life in Mumbai during the medieval times, right before the British arrived, followed by the British Bombay and the independence movements in the city. This session was totally full of facts and figures to which one would really give any profound thought, if it were not for passionate historians like Mr.Dalal.
Hence, I would only say that more such enlightening sessions should be organised, so that the aspiring historians get more than just a glimpse into their own culture and heritage.
- Ojas Chaudhari
Journey of discovering inhabitants of Bombay starts with finding a Baradevi idol near the present parel which dates back to fifth century and has the vakataka style present in it.
Then the change of rule in Mumbai from Shilharas to mohamedan period which saw the building of Haji Ali Durgah (The oldest occuied building of Mumbai) to the Portuguese then as a dowry to the British crown to be given away on a lease to The East India Company and taken back by the British crown.
The coming of Portugese saw the first forts being made in Bombay which continued with the British as Bombay rose to power with Surat's instability about security.
The next major transformation came with uniting the islands and taking down the fort wall
With the coming of the mills, this city grew rapidly further uniting the salcet islands and making this the city of Mumbai.
The further plans of this city see it's expansion till palghar , Kalyan-dombivli to penn and alibaug making Mumbai the first true megacity of India.
- Aparna Salgaonkar
The Worli Fort was built by the British as a precautionary measure around 1675 overlooking the Mahim Bay. The Fort is situated at a strategically important place from where the British Navy could see the vessels approaching the western coast of our country. The Worli Fort is does not attract many tourist because of the surrounding fishing areas. The Fort is in the middle of the Worli Fishing Village.
First, we stopped at the Chakreshwar lake in Nalasopara West. Outside the temple along the compound wall are a row of stone carvings. Legend has it that these were all retrieved from the lake, presumably as a result of destruction of the original temple by the Portuguese who apparently destroyed most of the temples in the Bassein area after they took it over from the Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat in the treaty of 1533 for helping him to counter the threat posed by the Mughals. The most impressive is this idol of Brahma with four faces that represent the four Vedas.
Later we went to what remains as ruins of a Buddhist stupa. In April 1882, Bhagvanlal Indraji, a noted archaeologist excavated at the Burud Rajache Kot mound in Merdes village, near Sopara. . From the center of the stupa (inside a brick built chamber) a large stone coffer was excavated which contained eight bronze images of Maitreya Buddha which belong to the c. 8th-9th century CE. This coffer also enclosed relic caskets of copper, silver, stone, crystal and gold, along with numerous gold flowers and fragments of a begging bowl. A silver coin of Gautamiputra Satakarni (Satvahans) was also found from the mound.
The visit to the Heras Museum in St. Xavier's College was
fascinating; the statues and stone carvings were so mesmerising! Looking at the
Lokmanya Tilak house, the well-known author Rudyard Kipling's home, the canon
weapon, the Elphistone College and the 38 steps were so intimidating! The
Crawford market main gate and the three fountains within it were carved so
intricately with all the animals on it. Feeling so great after knowing and
seeing all this places.
The entire walk was an enlightening experience and by the
end of it my mind said , “Who said that history is boring?” This is just the
beginning of a new journey meant to explore the unsung and ignored heritage,
which is a treat to the minds of history lovers!
