The Mills of Bombay

The increasing demand of cotton looms stimulated the need of the cotton textile industry within the Indian entrepreneurs. With Bombay Spinning Mill being the first mill to be started in the city by Cowaji Nanabhai Davar, the second phase of Bombay commenced.

According to estimates, Mumbai had 130 mills, which by the 20th century were crucial to the city’s economy. The sole relics of its mill culture and history are these mill remnants, some of which have been transformed into new structures and others of which are in ruins and covered in moss.

In a little more than a century, these about 100 cotton mills arrived and vanished.

The growth in the mills invited migrants from all parts of the country but primarily the Marathi speaking men. It went on to a number where, almost 83 mills were recorded in the city within a span of 61 years. However, the count actually goes to almost 130 mills in the Central region of Bombay.

Today, Mumbai’s mills are in a precarious position, which reflects both the city’s changing landscape and its residents’ shifting priorities.

Even as historical and cultural traces, the mills’ worth has drastically decreased while the value of the land they stand on has increased dramatically.

These former mill sites have been purchased and transformed into glitzy shopping malls and commercial buildings today.

You can take a stroll around Lower Parel and view Phoenix Mills, Kamala Mills, Todi Mills, and many other shopping centres lined up with upscale retailers, studios, restaurants, and cafes. It is difficult to believe that the same location has been the site of arduous labour for countless members of the working class for more than a century. A place where many dreams were pursued but also met their fate.

The cotton mill business required additional workforce due to the rising demand for

Indian cotton, which caused an enormous influx of labourers moving to the city in search of improved employment possibilities.

Even the labourers here referred to this area of the city’s centre as Girangaon (literally, mill village). Initially, only the men of the families relocated to the city in search of employment while the rest of the family remained in their respective villages. Their location of employment was the city. They stayed in hostels close to the mills. Later, when the workers invited their families to dwell in the city, Bombay’s chawl system developed.

(Phoenix Mill today)