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'Yeh hai Mumbai meri jaan': 30 vintage, black and white photos of Bombay from the last 100 years you need to see as the city goes to polls today

Posted on: 09:56 AM IST Apr 24, 2014

MasalaBai

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To know Bombay is to love Bombay. If you've ever lived in one of the world's most populous cities, you know that Mumbai sneaks up on you when you least expect it to. This is a city of contrasts - housing one of the world's biggest slums in perfect harmony with palatial mansions of ultra-rich movie stars. This is a city that famously lets you be. The photos and illustrations from colonial times show a spacious, sprawling city with the wide arch of Marine Drive bearing a deserted look while trams plied on empty roads. A fascinating photo shows sex workers standing behind bars. These 30 vintage photos of Bombay will call you home.

'Yeh hai Mumbai meri jaan': 30 vintage ...

#black and white photos #bombay #mumbai #old photos

Sculptures of Hindu deities in the Elephanta Caves on Elephanta Island, Bombay (now Mumbai) Harbour, circa 1890. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A view over south Bombay (now Mumbai) from Cumbala Hill, circa 1890. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A Hanuman temple on the Kalbadevi Road in Bombay (now Mumbai), circa 1890. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A view of Rampart Row, Bombay (now Mumbai), with Watson’s Hotel on the right, circa 1890. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Hornby Road in Bombay, circa 1930. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A view of Victoria Station, Mumbai (Bombay), circa 1900. Built in 1888 to a design by Frederick William Stevens, it is now known as the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A view of The Municipal Hall in Mumbai (Bombay), circa 1900. Designed by Frederick William Stevens, the building was completed in 1893. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

11th May 1931: L to R, P P Nazir and T H Dastur from Bombay are in the cockpit of a Moth ‘Spirit of St Christopher’ at Brooklands School of Flying. (Photo by A. Hudson/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

21st August 1947: Crowds in the streets of Bombay to see illuminations and fireworks to celebrate the handing over of power in India. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

Circa 1955: A policeman from Guam on Marine Drive, checking a traffic list in front of his Public Works truck, provided by the US Navy Government. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images)

Circa 1955: A poster advertising the film ‘Patat Pawan’ on a street in Bombay. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images)

Circa 1955: A group of children having a ride on a camel in Bombay. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images)

Circa 1955: A man sleeping outside the Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images)

Circa 1970: Customers queue outside a dry food shop in Bombay, India. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

Police charge demonstrators at the Esplanade Maidan in Bombay with lathis. The protest was organised by the National Congress Party. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

1891: An illustration of Anglo-Indian life on the steps of a Bombay hotel. (Photo by HultonArchive/Illustrated London News/Getty Images)

Circa 1935: Borah Bazaar, Bombay, India. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

14th August 1939: Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion of Royal Ulster Rifles disembarking from a Bristol Bombay aircraft at RAF Yatesbury during one of the largest aerial troop-carrying movements in Britain. The men are bound for manoeuvres on Salisbury Plain. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

16th May 1960: On May 17th, 1960, the performances of the famous Passion plays start again in Oberammergau. Each performance in which 1400 people of Oberammergau take part, lasts for seven hours. Sochiko Nozaki a music student of Tokyo (left) and Gauri Isvaran of Bombay who studies languages, attended the last rehearsal on May 15th. Here, policeman Rudolf Ludwig shows the two students the sights of Oberammergau. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

August 1955: A fisherman, knee deep in water, casting his net just off the shore at the fishing colony of Arnala, about 40 miles from Bombay. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

1910: The Maduraroyal toll-gate at the 8th mile point on the Madras to Bombay trunk road. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

1947: The presentation of colours to the Bombay Home Guard, part of the celebrations of Indian Independence Day at Bombay. B G Kher, Bombay Premier, salutes the flag. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

1930: A crowd of demonstrators in conflict with the police during elections at Bombay, India. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

1933: Indian cricketers Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu, left (known as C K Nayudu, 1895 – 1967) and Nanik Amarnath Bharadwaj (known as Lala Bharadwaj 1911 – 2000) coming out to bat during the First Test Match against England in Bombay. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

Circa 1915: Trams passing the grand facade of Victoria Railway Station in Bombay. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

Circa 1912: A sea angling festival in progress on Marine Drive, Scarborough. (Photo by Alfred Hind Robinson/A H Robinson/Getty Images)

1st May 1963: A little girl balancing on a fellow beggar’s hand on a street in Bombay. (Photo by Mike Geary/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Circa 1930: A Bombay shopkeeper snatches a rest. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

Sex workers kept behind bars in a red light district of Bombay. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

Indian statesmen Mahatma Gandhi (Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, 1869 – 1948) and Jawaharlal Nehru (1869 – 1964) (left), known as Pandit Nehru, in conversation at the All-India Congress committee meeting at Bombay. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

Days of the Raj: Huge collection of photographs depicting life in India a century ago are found in a shoebox

178 plate-glass negatives discovered inside a size-nine Peter Lord box in Edinburgh
Some images were taken in 1912, archivists confirm
Unknown photographer may have been British civil servant in Calcutta

By Nick Enoch

Published: 15:41 GMT, 7 May 2012 | Updated: 22:29 GMT, 9 May 2012

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A tennis party pose among tea trolleys: full-length dresses and sun hats for the ladies; shirt-sleeve order, neat moustaches and optional pipe for the men.
This is just one of many photographs showing life in India at least a century ago - and they were all found in a shoebox.
One image shows buildings in the city of Calcutta lit up over the Lal Dighi body of water, commemorating a British royal visit, while another depicts ships arriving at the Chandpal Ghat, the main landing site for visitors to the city along the Hooghly River.
All 178 of the plate-glass negatives were found inside a size-nine Peter Lord shoebox by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) in Edinburgh.

A tennis party (one, far right, with a pipe) poses among tea trolleys in this photo taken in India around a century ago

A tennis party poses (one, far right, with a pipe) among tea trolleys in this photo taken in India around a century ago

Two men stick dance in front of a crowd in Maidan, Calcutta. All 178 images were found in a Peter Lord shoebox in Edinburgh and are about 100 years old

Two men stick dance in front of a crowd in Maidan, Calcutta. The dance represents a mock fight between legendary warrior Durga and the mighty demon king Mahishasura

Buildings on the south-east side of Lal Dighi, Calcutta, lit at night for the 1912 British royal visit, when King George V and Queen Mary visited

Buildings on the south-east side of Lal Dighi, Calcutta, lit at night for the 1912 British royal visit by King George V and Queen Mary. All 178 images were found in a Peter Lord shoebox in Edinburgh and are about 100 years old

Archivists have confirmed some of the images were definitely taken in 1912, when King George V and Queen Mary visited Calcutta

Archivists have confirmed some of the images were definitely taken in 1912, when the royals visited. It was the only trip by a British monarch to India as Emperor of the subcontinent

King George V and the Queen arrive in Delhi in 1911

They are said to have been taken in the country at the time of the British Raj and it is thought the negatives were untouched for almost 100 years.
Archivists at RCAHMS have already confirmed that some of the images were definitely taken in 1912, when King George V and Queen Mary visited Calcutta. It was the only visit by a British monarch to India as Emperor of the subcontinent.
Some of the photographs show the city's buildings lit up at night in tribute to the royal visit.
Little else is known about the images and the photographer, prompting a search for clues as to his or her identity.
One theory is that the photographer was a British civil servant in Calcutta, or was connected to the jute trade, as many Scots were said to be at the time.
There is a Scottish cemetery in the city that dates back to the time of the British Raj, which has recently been cleaned up and recorded.
RCAHMS hopes that members of the public and photography enthusiasts might be able to shed more light on this discovery.

All 178 of the plate-glass negatives were found inside a size-nine Peter Lord shoebox by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland in Edinburgh

The images - all plate-glass negatives - were discovered by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland in Edinburgh

An unknown man and woman pose for the camera. The images - all plate-glass negatives - were discovered by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland in Edinburgh

A crowded riverside with bathers at Chandpal Ghat in Calcutta, were among the photographs

A crowded riverside with bathers at Chandpal Ghat in Calcutta, the main landing site for visitors to the city along the Hooghly River

A street scene in an unknown location, capturing life in India at least a century ago

They also approached John Falconer, curator of photographs at the British Library, who helped to identify some of the locations and remarked on the high quality and beauty of the images, but so far the identity of the photographer remains a mystery.
Claire Sorensen, RCAHMS architectural historian, said: 'We don't know for sure how they came to be in our collection because we receive archive material from countless different sources, ranging from the archives kept by architectural practices to generous public donations.
'Sometimes we take in large amounts of material at once, and often documentation for historical deposits does not exist.

Ships arriving at Chandpal Ghat, the main landing site for visitors to the city along the Hooghly River

Ships arriving at Chandpal Ghat, while crowds gather by the docks

A Jain temple complex in Calcutta. RCAHMS hopes that members of the public and photography enthusiasts might be able to shed more light on this discovery

A Jain temple complex in Calcutta. RCAHMS hopes that members of the public and photography enthusiasts might be able to shed more light on the photographic discovery

A street hairdresser giving a 'Hindustani haircut' (pudding bowl) in Strand Road South, Calcutta

Celebrations for the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Calcutta in 1912

'Over time, all this new material will be inspected and catalogued as part of our collection - undergoing conservation work where necessary - and then made available to the public.
'It's fantastic that a small shoe box contained such a treasure-trove of photographic imagery, but in some ways it's not unusual.
'Our experience as an archive has shown us that some of the most interesting discoveries can be made in the most unlikely of places.'

A Muhurram (sacred month) procession through a crowded Calcutta street with tazieh theatre performance in the background. Tazieh drama re-enacts heroic tales of love and sacrifice

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A group seated in two ferry canoes moored in stream at an unknown location

Calcutta is lit up for the royal visit; right, a group seated in two ferry canoes moored in a stream at an unknown location

Waterside with a group of washermen at a dhobi ghat (open-air laundry zone)

Once upon a time in Bombay-when Baghdadian Jews were a thriving community

Once upon a time in Bombay

Nonagenarian Rachel Manasseh, who grew up in Bombay when Baghdadian Jews were a thriving community in the city, has written a book that captures the history of the people. The project was a labour of love, she tells Shrabani Basu

Telling tales: Sara Manasseh with her mother Rachel; Pic: Shrabani Basu

One of the earliest memories of Bombay that Rachel Manasseh has is of her family going for picnics to Juhu beach, covering the 18 miles from Colaba Causeway to the suburbs by train and bus over bumpy dirt roads. The family house was called Rehem Mansions, a building that is still standing, directly opposite Leopold Café. Her mother would supervise the cooks and bake many Baghdadi specialities herself, which would all be packed for the outing to Juhu.
"There, with Parsi friends at the colony, we would enjoy the quiet expanse of the beach, the coconut palms and sea air, while we picnicked on mekhbuz (pastries) and coconuts, sitting on the long stone bench facing the sea, then down to paddle in the water."
This was in the 1920s and Juhu beach was not the same as it is today. In 1987, when Rachel returned to Juhu, her handbag was slit open and purse stolen as she dozed on the train. Times, as she said, had changed.
At the age of 93, Rachel has written Baghdadian Jews of Bombay, Their Life and Achievements, a book that captures the history of the community that made their homes in the city from the early 19th century. The book is also a personal family story. Her late husband Albert Manasseh was the great great grandson of David Sassoon, the founding father of the Baghdadi Jewish community in Bombay. The Sassoon family gifted the city with such landmark sites as the Sassoon Library and Reading Room, Sassoon Docks, the David Magen Synagogue in Byculla and the famous equestrian statue of Edward VII which gave its name to the area as Kala Ghoda.

Rachel (right) with sisters Violet (left) and Marcelle in 1941; Courtesy: The Manasseh family collection

"I wish I had started writing the book earlier, when Albert was still alive," she says, her face breaking into a charming smile. "He knew so much more." She still has her lilting Indian accent and, except for the walking stick in her hand, shows no signs of her age.
It was when she was giving a talk in London in the 1990s about the Jewish community in Bombay that she was approached to write a book on the subject. "I was told that no books had been written about the Baghdadian Jews of Bombay and that if someone didn't write it, it would all be forgotten," Rachel says. That was enough to set her off.
In January 1994, armed with a laptop and a recorder, she travelled to Bombay, now Mumbai, recording the stories from the few families still left there and researching in the archives of the Sassoon Library. Trips to Israel to meet other families helped piece together the Jewish tapestry of life in the city. "It was a labour of love," she says. "I used to pray that I live long enough to write this book and see it published."
Manasseh was born in India and grew up in Bombay seeing the city through the war years, followed by the traumatic events of World War II and finally the euphoria of Indian Independence and the creation of Israel. Her parents Reuben and Georgette Ani were active in the Jewish community which in those days would have consisted of 5,000 Baghdadi Jews. During World War II, Georgette worked tirelessly looking after the Jewish refugees who came from Europe, Singapore and West Asia.
"She did everything for them," Rachel recollects. "If the children needed a school, she would arrange it; if someone was ill, she would get them to the hospital."
After the war, the Jews began to emigrate to Israel, Australia, Canada, Britain and the US, leading Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to ask, "Why are all the Jews leaving India?"How did it feel to see everyone go? "It was an inevitable trend," she says. "My sister took the first plane to Israel. We knew in our hearts that they would leave."

David Sassoon (seated) with sons in Bombay in 1858; the Magen David Synagogue in Byculla; Courtesy: The Sassoon family, Jerusalem

The Baghdadian Jews had arrived in India around the beginning of the 19th century and established themselves as a community of traders. The man whose efforts made the greatest impact was David Sassoon (1792-1864), who had left his native Baghdad in 1828, fleeing from the oppression of ruler Daoud Pasha. Sassoon arrived in Bombay in 1832 and started a modest office in the Fort area exporting cotton to Persia. A philanthropist, his gifts to the city included Byculla's Magen David Synagogue and the impressive Victoria and Albert Museum, which has now been renamed Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum. David's son, Sir Albert Sassoon, helped build the David Sassoon Library and also presented the giant black marble statue of Edward, Prince of Wales, to commemorate the Royal visit to the city in 1876.
The Baghdadian Jews lived mostly in the neighbourhood of Byculla and the Fort area including Colaba with a few families around Malabar Hill and Nepean Sea Road. Some members of the community even joined the cinema industry. Sulochana (Ruby Myers), Nadira and Rose Musleah were well-known actors, and Jewish musicians often provided the soundtracks for Hindi films.
After their marriage Rachel and Albert lived in Colaba and remained active in the community. It was difficult adjusting to London when the family moved there in 1965. "I missed India terribly," Rachel says. "Everyone in London wore dark colours — black and grey. It was so different from the colours of India." Over the years the family settled in, building a community of Baghdadian Jews in North London and those from other Jewish communities from India: the Calcutta Jews, the Bene Israel and the Cochin Jews.

The Magen David Synagogue in Byculla

The 2008 terrorist attacks on Mumbai, which included an attack on Nariman Point, the Jewish community centre, had filled the Manasseh family with a feeling of shock and sadness. "It was our city, it was terrible," says Rachel's daughter, Sara, who has helped her with the book. "We heard later that the next on the list would have been the synagogue."
"It was an attack on a part of Bombay that our family was associated with. It was very sad," Rachel adds. For the first time, she looks wistful.
What was her favourite food in India, I ask, moving away from painful topics. Rachel lights up again. "My mother cooked Baghdadi food. She baked specialities such as masafan (almond pastry) and kahi (puff pastry), but we also ate Indian food. It was wonderful, spicy food," she says.
"We had the best of both worlds," she adds.

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