Dadabhai Naoroji Road
Encyclopedia
South Mumbai
South Mumbai , sometimes incorrectly referred to by English Media as "SoBo" , the southern-most precinct of the city of Mumbai, India, comprises the city's main business localities and its adjoining areas...
of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, India, is the nerve centre of the city, starting from the Crawford Market
Crawford Market
Crawford Market is one of South Mumbai's most famous markets. It is named after Arthur Crawford, the first Municipal Commissioner of the city. The Market was later named after Mahatma Jotirao Phule after a long struggle by the President of Mahatma Phule Smarak Samiti, Mukundraoji Bhujbal Patil...
, linking Victoria Terminus, leads to the Flora Fountain
Flora Fountain
Flora Fountain, at the Hutatma Chowk , is an ornamentally and exquisitely sculpted architectural heritage monument located at the southern end of the historic Dadabhai Naoroji Road, called the Mile Long Road, at the Fort business district in the heart of South Mumbai, Mumbai, India...
at the southern end of the road. This entire stretch of the road is studded with Neo–Classical and Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
buildings and parks built in the 19th century, intermingled with modern office buildings and commercial establishments.
Formerly known as the Hornby Road, a simple street within the Mumbai Fort, it was broadened into an avenue in the 1860s.
With the objective of protecting the 19th century streetscape, the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) launched a conservation project titled “Dadabhai Naoroji Road Heritage Streetscape Project” and implemented it successfully for which the MMRDA received the prestigious “UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
's Asia–Pacific Heritage Award of Merit”, in the year 2004.
History
The history of Dadabhai NaorojiDadabhai Naoroji
Dadabhai Naoroji , known as the Grand Old Man of India, was a Parsi intellectual, educator, cotton trader, and an early Indian political leader. His book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India brought attention to the draining of India's wealth into Britain...
Road could be chronicled to the time when it was a small street called Hornby Road (named after William Hornby, Governor of Bombay from 1771 to 1784) in the erstwhile old fort area, more than two hundred years back. The British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
built the Fort (Mumbai precinct)
Fort (Mumbai precinct)
Fort is a business district in Mumbai, India. The area was the heart of the city during the 18th century. The area gets its name from the defensive fort, Fort St. George, built by the British East India Company around Bombay Castle...
liesurly between 1686 and 1743 with three gates, a moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
, esplanade
Esplanade
An esplanade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The original meaning of esplanade was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide clear fields of fire for the fortress' guns...
, level open spaces on its western fringe (to control fires) and residences. (remnant of the fort wall is pictured). The fort was demolished in 1860s by the then Governor Sir Bartle Frere to provide adequate space for the growing civic requirements of the city and the area was substantially re–structured. The small Hornby Road was converted into a broad avenue
Street name
A street name or odonym is an identifying name given to a street. The street name usually forms part of the address...
, and on its western border large plots were laid and impressive buildings (built during the boom years 1885-1919) constructed in accordance with mandatory (government regulation of 1896) pedestrian arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
in the ground floor that performed as the unifying element tying together the various building facades. What ensued in the nineteenth century was thus a magnificent spectacle of Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
neo–Gothic
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
, Indo–Sarcenic, neo–classical and Edwardian structures linked together by a continuous ground floor pedestrian arcade along the streetscape.
The eponymous Dadabhai Naoroji Road, the heritage road of Mumbai, is named after Dadabhai Naoroji
Dadabhai Naoroji
Dadabhai Naoroji , known as the Grand Old Man of India, was a Parsi intellectual, educator, cotton trader, and an early Indian political leader. His book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India brought attention to the draining of India's wealth into Britain...
(1825–1917), an Indian nationalist leader known as the "Grand Old man of India". He was an intellectual with high academic achievements. In 1892, he was the first Asian
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
to become Member of the British Parliament. As the founder of the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
and three times its party President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
, his most notable contribution was to publicly voice the demand for swaraj
Swaraj
Swaraj can mean generally self-governance or "self-rule", and was used synonymously with "home-rule" by Gandhi but the word usually refers to Gandhi's concept for Indian independence from foreign domination. Swaraj lays stress on governance not by a hierarchical government, but self governance...
(Independence of India), in 1906. History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
books on India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
have recorded his achievements and contributions to India’s freedom movement. Concerned by the economic consequences of the British rule in India, he propagated a theory that India’s unfortunate economic condition and poverty then was the result of the British Colonial government ‘draining’ resources out of this country, a unilateral transfer of resources from India to Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. He also expanded on this theory through lectures and wrote on "Poverty" and "Un–British Rule in India" (1901), which provoked and inspired economic nationalism in India. This theory, termed the “drain theory” caught the imagination of the people and became the rallying point for India’s nationalist movement for independence.
His statue (made of black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
), bespectacled with a Parsi
Parsi
Parsi or Parsee refers to a member of the larger of the two Zoroastrian communities in South Asia, the other being the Irani community....
hat and with a book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
in one hand, overlooks the iconic Flora Fountain. It is stated that during his time one could get a panoramic view of the city all the way past the Taj Mahal Hotel into the waves of sea waters of Bombay harbour, before this part of Bombay got overbuilt.
Heritage buildings along the road
Apart from the Crawford Market at the northern end and the Flora Fountain, with Dadabhai Naoroji’s statue overlooking the fountain at its southern end, the “Mile Long” street displays the following famous heritage buildings:
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
, in 1887. It was renamed as the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus , is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and historic railway station in Mumbai which serves as the headquarters of the Central Railways. Situated in the Bori Bunder area of Mumbai, it was built as a new railway station on the location of the Bori Bunder Station in 1887...
in 1996. The Terminus connects with the Crawford Market
Crawford Market
Crawford Market is one of South Mumbai's most famous markets. It is named after Arthur Crawford, the first Municipal Commissioner of the city. The Market was later named after Mahatma Jotirao Phule after a long struggle by the President of Mahatma Phule Smarak Samiti, Mukundraoji Bhujbal Patil...
, and is the headquarters of the Central Railway
Central Railway
The Central Railway is one of the largest of the 16 zones of Indian Railways. Its headquarters is in Mumbai at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus...
. Its architecture depicts figurines of "progress" and "prosperity” with a variety of sculpted animals and birds. It is said that the St Pancras station in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
bears some similarity to the Victoria Terminus. The traditional Indian palace architecture is also reflected in its beautiful stone dome, turrets, pointed arches and eccentric ground plan. It was declared a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
in 2004. Every day, the Terminus pours out a phenomenal number of pedestrians into the D.N.Road.
The Crawford Market (pictured in infobox), renamed as “Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Market”, located at the start of the D.N.Road, is a blend of Flemish
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
and Norman architecture
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
with a bas–relief built of coarse Coorla rubble
Rubble
Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture. This word is closely connected in derivation with "rubbish", which was formerly also applied to what we now call "rubble". Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as brash...
, relieved by bright red stone from Bassein
Bassein
Bassein may refer to:* Pathein, the capital city of Ayeyarwady Division, Myanmar ; formerly known as Bassein.* Vasai, a city in Thane District, Maharashtra, India; known as Bassein during Portuguese rule....
. It depicts Indian peasants in wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
fields just above the main entrance. The friezes on the outside and the fountains inside were designed by Lockwood Kipling, father of the novelist Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
.
The Municipal Corporation headquarters or the Bombay Municipal Corporation Building (BMC) was designed as V–shaped structure in the Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
style of architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
by the British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
F W Stevens and built in 1893, subsequent to Lord Rippon, the Viceroy of India initiating the project in 1884. Notable features of the building are its 255 ft (77.7 m) tall tower with the central dome, rising to a height of 71.5 m (234.6 ft).
Times of India building, founded as "The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce" in 1838 is located opposite to the Victoria Terminus, a heritage structure which houses offices of the Times of India news paper. The structure, which was subject to aggressive marine environment of Mumbai since 1901, has undergone many structural and architectural modifications.
Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art (J.J.School of Art), established in 1857 is the oldest art institution in India and as a University awards Bachelor Degree in fine art and culture and Master’s degree in fine arts.
The J.N.Petit Public Library is at a vantage location at the corner plot at the junction of D.N. Road, P.M. Road and Napier Road
Napier Road
Napier Road is situated in the city of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan and is named after Charles Napier, the first British Governor of the Sindh province....
. The building is named after its donor Sir Jamshetjee Nesserwanjee Petit and it was designed by architect Merwanjee Bana and built in 1898. It has undergone renovation in recent years with funds donated by Sir Dorabji Tata Trust to the library.
Watcha Agiary, Parsi
Parsi
Parsi or Parsee refers to a member of the larger of the two Zoroastrian communities in South Asia, the other being the Irani community....
fire temple located north of Flora Fountain on the Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji Road, was built in 1881. It has an Art Deco–style featuring carvings in a distinctly Assyrian style.
The road is also a veritable sprawling city hub which is lined by banks, book, shoe and clothes shops in the city’s stock market district and commercial Fort area.
Streetscape project
Under the Heritage Regulations of Greater Bombay Act 1995, D.N.Road, considered to be of immense value as a historic urban streetscape, has been designated as a Grade I1 heritage streetscape. But the hectic commercial activities and the large sized signboards in the heritage road (had become a metaphor for urban chaos) caused serious concern to the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority and public spirited people of the area. The striking colonial facades became completely obscured by free for all signages such as billboards, signboards and other forms of advertisement, which left much to be desired. The ambiance of the historic streetscape was also marred by the asynchronous street furniture, road dividers, benches and other public amenities. This necessitated launching of a conservation project titled “Dadabhai Naoroji Road Heritage Streetscape Project”, by the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority with the objective of protecting the 19th century streetscape for
restoring the architectural integrity of the street with the regulation of the signboards and the inclusion of street furniture that complemented the neo–classical architecture
Conservation methods
To facilitate conservation activities on the Mumbai’s heritage sites, a trust called the MMR Heritage Conservation Society was instituted to provide grants and funding for documentation and research studies. In the first phase of the project, Mumbai Metropolitan Development Authority prepared the first urban conservation guidelines in India. This was done by the appointed architect Abha Narain Lambah assisted by a team of nine architects and undergraduate students who documented this phenomenal streetscape, which resulted, at the end of nine months of studies in 1998, in a document titled “Design Handbook for a Heritage Streetscape: Guidelines for Signage and Street furniture for Dadabhai Naoroji Road”. In the absence of any past records of architectural elevations or drawings of the facades in the street, the document was prepared with the following information.
- Door to door documentation was done of every building on D.N. Road – mapping elevations, surveying land records, generating data on occupants, owners, type of business and commercial establishments, existing signboards, shop fronts, hawkers and all such information considered relevant to the restoration work.
- Provides urbanUrban areaAn urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
guidelines for signageSignageSignage is any kind of visual graphics created to display information to a particular audience. This is typically manifested in the form of wayfinding information in places such as streets or inside/outside of buildings.-History:...
and shop fronts through the streetStreetA street is a paved public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is more often paved with a hard, durable...
. - Each building’s elevation with the exact location and number of signs existing at the time was noted.
- Provides plans for relocation of the signages with modified designs without altering the exhibited shop sign (text) in the ground floor of each shop and its dimensions (area) ensuring free view of the architectural details such as corniceCorniceCornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
s, keystoneKeystone (architecture)A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a masonry vault or arch, which is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch to bear weight. This makes a keystone very important structurally...
s and pilasterPilasterA pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s, and that the architectural quality of the building was not compromised. - To enhance the quality of the streetscape, elaborate schemes for the installation of heritage sensitive street furniture such as cast ironCast ironCast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
benchesBench (furniture)A bench is a piece of furniture, on which several people may sit at the same time. Benches are typically made of wood, but may also be made of metal, stone, or synthetic materials. Many benches have arm and back rests; some have no back rest and can be sat on from either side. In public areas,...
, litterLitterLitter consists of waste products such as containers, papers, wrappers or faeces which have been disposed of without consent. Litter can also be used as a verb...
bins, information signs, bus stops and railingsRailingsRailings is an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who is notable for winning the 2005 Caulfield Cup when trained by John Hawkes. Other notable wins include the Metropolitan Handicap and he has been placed in races such as the BMW Classic...
were drawn.
Public participatory approach to conservation
In May 2001, at the initiative of the architect of the project, the local shopkeepers, occupants and commercial establishments in the street and the local municipal officer implemented, voluntarily, the regulation of the shop fronts and signage; the expenses for relocation and redesign of the shop signs were borne by each individual establishment. A local news paper facilitated design, fabrication and installation of the cast iron street furniture along the buildings, in a 100 m (328.1 ft) stretch. Transparent community involvement was a key element in the success of this endeavour.
Heritage Mile Association
A citizen's association (of the various occupants, owners, corporate establishments and shopkeepers on Dadabhai Naoroji Road) called “The Heritage Mile Association” was the outcome of the success of the initial pilot project. Set up as a non–profit group, the association's objectives are to restore the heritage character of Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji Road through public participation and private sponsorship. The achievements of the association, since its inception, are:
- Funds have been raised through local stakeholders and shopkeepers to implement street furniture through another 500 m (1,640.4 ft) stretch of the road
- More people and establishments continue to commit their financial and volunteer support to the initiative.
- Members meet every Monday to jointly discuss initiatives for the improvements
- 24x7 security, maintenance and cleaning of the area have been ensured
- An all round sense of ownership among the local shopkeepers and other stakeholders prevails
A few individual owners of buildings initiated restoration works which included removal of the air–conditioning units that were incongruent with the colonial façade.
Achievement award
UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
evaluated the significant participatory approach of the streetscape project that mobilized local shop owners and residents, leading to the creation of participatory citizen’s association to sustain and expand conservation work in Mumbai, which has set an important precedent. The Municipal Corporation has adopted urban design guidelines for the entire historic precinct. UNESCO which has awarded the prestigious “Asia-Pacific Heritage Award of Merit in the year 2004” to the project has, in its citation by the Judges, has observed:
The project’s success has generated widespread appreciation of the aesthetic, social and commercial values which have resulted from the preservation of the street’s historic character. Through its influence on urban policy and contribution to the commercial vitality of the neighborhood, this project sets the standard for future urban streetscape revitalization throughout India. The first of its kind in India, this ambitious streetscape project has revived the historic ambience of Dadabhai Naoroji Road of Mumbai through the restoration of shop fronts, signage and street furniture to reflect the area’s Victorian Era commercial heritage.
See also
- Crawford MarketCrawford MarketCrawford Market is one of South Mumbai's most famous markets. It is named after Arthur Crawford, the first Municipal Commissioner of the city. The Market was later named after Mahatma Jotirao Phule after a long struggle by the President of Mahatma Phule Smarak Samiti, Mukundraoji Bhujbal Patil...
- Victoria Terminus
- Fort
- Flora FountainFlora FountainFlora Fountain, at the Hutatma Chowk , is an ornamentally and exquisitely sculpted architectural heritage monument located at the southern end of the historic Dadabhai Naoroji Road, called the Mile Long Road, at the Fort business district in the heart of South Mumbai, Mumbai, India...
- Dadabhai NaorojiDadabhai NaorojiDadabhai Naoroji , known as the Grand Old Man of India, was a Parsi intellectual, educator, cotton trader, and an early Indian political leader. His book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India brought attention to the draining of India's wealth into Britain...