Mumbai Stole Land from the Sea

-This city didn’t wait for space it built its own.

Everyday , people visit or hang out at Colaba especially Marine Drive with their friends or family , but many of them don’t know the fact that the land they are walking on was once never existed and the Mumbai they live in or visit was divided into seven islands.

HISTORY

In colonial times, Bombay was seen as a city of opportunity by the British people but it had one major problem that was there wasn’t enough land that existed. The britisher decided to take this matter in their own hands. With Backbay, Colaba, and Marine Drive, the British engineers created space where there was none, crafting the foundations of South Mumbai’s identity.

(PHOTO IS TAKEN FROM GOOGLE AND THE AUTHOR DOES NOT HOLD THE RIGHTS)

During the initial stage in the 17th & 18th centuries, Britishers thought of & saw Bombay as a trading sector, a port that was profitable for them but travelling between the seven islands of Bombay was a major issues for them. Therefore, they decided to build their own land on the water surface .

In the early 19th century the reclamation scheme was offered by the British government . The goal was to connect Nariman point with Malabar Hill which would be connected with a long road and different types of buildings and gardens. With this, many buildings were constructed like the Bombay High Court, the University of Mumbai , Rajabai Clock Tower, etc. This helped Bombay to get its Victorian-Gothic architecture.

(PHOTO IS TAKEN FROM GOOGLE AND THE AUTHOR DOES NOT HOLD THE RIGHTS)

In the 1930s, this city completed one of the most major projects that Marine Drive, with its completion, many Art Deco buildings came into existence. Marine Drive became a public space for walks , public gatherings, cycling, etc. As the night comes along the city shine bright along the shoreline line giving it the identification of “ The Queens Necklace”

As Colaba was formed it was and the transformation happened, showing how this reclamation planning shaped and designed the urban planning of the city on large scale.

(PHOTO IS TAKEN FROM GOOGLE AND THE AUTHOR DOES NOT HOLD THE RIGHTS)

Backbay, Colaba, and Marine Drive were brought by the British people , but today they belong to the people of Mumbai. They’ve become spaces of leisure, culture, and identity symbols of a city that constantly reinvents itself, and it feels so unstoppable . So next time you are spending your time there just remember that this place did not exist before and it is literally built on the Arabian sea.