I n d I a n o windia then & now

Text

v i r s a n g h v i

Photo Research & Edi t ing

p r a m o d k a p o o r

panorama of mumbai

The skyline of Mumbai, the city of lights. Always an important point of entry into India and a major port of trade, Mumbai (known

as Bombay till 1995) began to grow on a large scale during the late eighteenth century. With increasing prosperity and growing

political power during the nineteenth century, the British embarked upon large-scale engineering works in Mumbai. The sixty

years between the completion of the vellard at Breach Candy (1784) and the construction of the Mahim Causeway (1845) is the period in

which the seven islands were merged into one landmass. These immense works, in turn, attracted construction workers, who began to come

to Mumbai from 1757 on. A regular civil administration was put in place during this period. In 1853 a 35 kilometre long railway line

between Thane and Mumbai was inaugurated—the first in India. Four years later, in 1857, the first cotton mill was founded in Mumbai.

With the cotton mills came large-scale migrations of Marathi workers, and the chawls which accommodated them. The city had found its

shape. Today, Mumbai (renamed in 1995 in honour of Mumba Devi, but still called Bombay by staunch Mumbaikars) remains a bustling

hub of commercial activity. Thousands flock to the big city, attracted by the bright lights and the hope of a better life. Mumbai is the centre

of the entertainment industry, the ubiquitous Bollywood, a genre of films that every Indian is familiar with. Following its own set of rules

and its own pace of life, Mumbai is chaotic and lively, harsh and beautiful. Mumbai houses some of the most beautiful architectural relics

of its colonial legacy.

previous page 1: India’s literary doyen, Rabindranath Tagore’s works were vast and varied: over one thousand poems; nearly two

dozen plays; eight novels; eight volumes of short stories; more than two thousand songs, of which he wrote both the words and the music;

and a mass of prose on literary, social, religious, political, and other topics. He was also an artist and an educationist, and won the Nobel

Prize for Literature, making him one of modern India’s foremost geniuses. The statue of Tagore in Calcutta is reminiscent of his legacy.

photo credits: india now

abhijit bhatlekar / outlook magazine: 109

ajay aggarwal / hindustan times: 84

amit pasricha: Cover, 3-6 & 8, 26-27, 42-43, 63, 78

anne garde: 96, 97; ashok dilwali: 28-30 & 31

corbis: 23, 24-25, 41, 44, 45,

54, 55, 56-57, 58-60 & 61, 64-65, 72, 73, 76, 77, 86, 87,

88-89 (above), 90, 100, 106, 107, 108, 113, 117, 119

dinesh khanna: 47, 71, 79; d.n. dube: 118

getty images: 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 32, 33, 35, 39, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52-53,

74, 75, 83, 85, 91, 92-93, 110, 114,

gireesh / outlook magazine: 37; gmr group: 98

manoj patil: 99; mohit midha: 89 (below)

mustafa Quraishi: 62; muthuraman v: 94, 95

orison: 38 ; pramod pushkarna: 34

prashant panjiar / outlook magazine: 111

roli collection: 13, 17, 68, 69, 105

sarvesh: 103, 115; shantanu das: 82

sondeep shankar: 36, 66, 67, 70, 101

t. tiwari / outlook magazine: 112

the hindu photo archives: 11, 116

thomas kelly: 1, 46, 80, 81, 104

virendra singh / hindustan times: 102

I n d I a n o windia then & now

Text

v i r s a n g h v i

Photo Research & Edi t ing

p r a m o d k a p o o r

panorama of mumbai

The skyline of Mumbai, the city of lights. Always an important point of entry into India and a major port of trade, Mumbai (known

as Bombay till 1995) began to grow on a large scale during the late eighteenth century. With increasing prosperity and growing

political power during the nineteenth century, the British embarked upon large-scale engineering works in Mumbai. The sixty

years between the completion of the vellard at Breach Candy (1784) and the construction of the Mahim Causeway (1845) is the period in

which the seven islands were merged into one landmass. These immense works, in turn, attracted construction workers, who began to come

to Mumbai from 1757 on. A regular civil administration was put in place during this period. In 1853 a 35 kilometre long railway line

between Thane and Mumbai was inaugurated—the first in India. Four years later, in 1857, the first cotton mill was founded in Mumbai.

With the cotton mills came large-scale migrations of Marathi workers, and the chawls which accommodated them. The city had found its

shape. Today, Mumbai (renamed in 1995 in honour of Mumba Devi, but still called Bombay by staunch Mumbaikars) remains a bustling

hub of commercial activity. Thousands flock to the big city, attracted by the bright lights and the hope of a better life. Mumbai is the centre

of the entertainment industry, the ubiquitous Bollywood, a genre of films that every Indian is familiar with. Following its own set of rules

and its own pace of life, Mumbai is chaotic and lively, harsh and beautiful. Mumbai houses some of the most beautiful architectural relics

of its colonial legacy.

previous page 1: India’s literary doyen, Rabindranath Tagore’s works were vast and varied: over one thousand poems; nearly two

dozen plays; eight novels; eight volumes of short stories; more than two thousand songs, of which he wrote both the words and the music;

and a mass of prose on literary, social, religious, political, and other topics. He was also an artist and an educationist, and won the Nobel

Prize for Literature, making him one of modern India’s foremost geniuses. The statue of Tagore in Calcutta is reminiscent of his legacy.

photo credits: india now

abhijit bhatlekar / outlook magazine: 109

ajay aggarwal / hindustan times: 84

amit pasricha: Cover, 3-6 & 8, 26-27, 42-43, 63, 78

anne garde: 96, 97; ashok dilwali: 28-30 & 31

corbis: 23, 24-25, 41, 44, 45,

54, 55, 56-57, 58-60 & 61, 64-65, 72, 73, 76, 77, 86, 87,

88-89 (above), 90, 100, 106, 107, 108, 113, 117, 119

dinesh khanna: 47, 71, 79; d.n. dube: 118

getty images: 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 32, 33, 35, 39, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52-53,

74, 75, 83, 85, 91, 92-93, 110, 114,

gireesh / outlook magazine: 37; gmr group: 98

manoj patil: 99; mohit midha: 89 (below)

mustafa Quraishi: 62; muthuraman v: 94, 95

orison: 38 ; pramod pushkarna: 34

prashant panjiar / outlook magazine: 111

roli collection: 13, 17, 68, 69, 105

sarvesh: 103, 115; shantanu das: 82

sondeep shankar: 36, 66, 67, 70, 101

t. tiwari / outlook magazine: 112

the hindu photo archives: 11, 116

thomas kelly: 1, 46, 80, 81, 104

virendra singh / hindustan times: 102

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~ 12 ~ ~ 14 ~~ 13 ~

~ 20 ~ ~ 21 ~~ 20 ~

~ 20 ~ ~ 21 ~~ 20 ~