The Chawls. The Corridors. The Chaos.

The socio-economic dynamics of the mills and its workers gave rise to the chawl system- a prominent housing typology in Bombay habited by the escalated surge of middle-class worker communities in Bombay.

The acute need for housing for the rapidly and haphazardly expanding population at that time was met by the chawls.

Chawl neighbourhoods first appeared in the “native” section of the colonial city, near to the white town, at a time of rapid urban economic change. Although only housing a small portion of colonial residents, the white portion of the colonial town was noticeably larger than the native portion; this dynamic shaped the city’s later growth.

For the first time, migrant workers from the Konkan coast and the Deccan region migrated to the city to work in textile mills, docks, warehouses, and railway workshops.

The labourers quickly spread out of the local community and sadly towards the swampy reclaimed fields.

In the later part of the 19th century, as textile mills expanded, an astonishing rise in the migrant population was seen.

Chawls were typically two- to four-story structures with a shared bathroom on each floor and two exits on either side. Each floor typically featured 10x12 single occupancy rooms next to one another.

The majority of chawls had a courtyard inside that the floors were built around. Each story was divided into a series of rooms and a large balcony that resembled a gallery.

The “chawl” typology shared several fundamental traits, but there were some architectural differences as well. For example, some of them were much smaller and had only two stories, resembling more the larger types of bungalows; these were known as baithi chawls. The design varied depending on the region, the community that resided in the chawl, and the residents’ kind of work.

plots were owned by varied groups of people, which included the ones living in wadas.

The boom in the textile industry encouraged these communities to sell their lands to Jains and Baniyas or participated in the trade by forming alliances with the colonial government. Due to the city’s increasing instability and the housing shortage, people began to fill the streets.

The chawls played a vital role in shaping the kind of society that was born out of this neighbourhood which contributed in defining the city’s major population in the 1800 and 1900s.

The chawls of Mumbai served as more than just housing for the migrant workers who came to the city to work in the textile mills; they also brought with them a way of life and cultural forms, such as folk theatre, music, and dance, which were recreated by the various communities who lived in the chawls.

While the mills continued to grow in the Parel and Byculla regions majorly in the 1900s, the workers started developing in the adjoining marshy reclaimed within thatched huts, tin sheds, barracks and increasing chawl settlements. Before chawls grew in the Girgaon and Girangaon regions, these land

To address this, the mill owners tried to create private chawls for workers. Ultimately, the colonial authority was compelled to assist due to this growing need.This gave rise to the BIT and BDD chawls in Bombay.

BIT and BDD Chawls

The colonial government then became the landlords for the two chawls and the workers who were bought by the mill owners to suffice the growing need of workmen with the growing demand of cotton.

The chawls hence became a medium for the migrant workers to settle in the cities for a better future for them and their families.

But the chawls were primarily made to accommodate the influx and were designed as the most affordable solution.

As a consequence, these one-room tenements were constructed using low-quality materials and lacked modern amenities. The lack of basic utilities like electricity, water, and sanitation resulted in individuals having substantial living circumstances over an extended period of time, mobilizing these chawl dwellers to stand up and demand their rights.

The chawls, which were originally built to give accommodation for those who appeared to work for the city’s trade-related revenue creation, eventually turned into uninhabitable quarters.

As mentioned before, the conditions of mills today are either large plots of land undergoing redevelopment thereby encumbering an already overburdened infrastructure or isolated forlorn dilapidated structures with moss grown all over as mere remnants of what was a glorious past. To name some, the Kamala City Business Park in Lower Parel was once Kamala Mills, the Phoenix Mall was initially the Phoenix Mill till 1905 and the Palais Royale residence at Worli was once the Shree Ram Mills. To name some more dilapidated mills would be the Mukesh Mills in Colaba and the Indian United Mills which was situated in Byculla.

Subsequently, the BDD and Bit chawls have become the prime targets for private redevelopment and profit oriented residential projects in Mumbai today due to their poor structural conditions.

So with the workers’s strike in 1982 and the end of the American Civil Wars, this ‘financial bubble’ ( as described by Gillian Tindall in her book, City of Gold: The Biography of Bombay, bursted.

With the growth of the cotton demand and textile industry in Bombay, the need for better dock infrastructure became selfexplanatory. With this, another reason would be the Suez Canal that opened in 1869 also stood as a major reason for the development of maritime trade in this port city. So with the mills grew the maritime arena of Bombay.

Since the British seized control of the island city from the Portuguese in the 1660s, Mumbai Harbour has served as the entrance to the rest of the globe for trade and travel.

However, the Portuguese, the first Europeans to set foot on these islands, gave the group of seven islands the name “Bombay.”

Francis Almeida, a Portuguese trader and adventurer, docked his ship at the island’s deep natural harbour in 1508. The Portuguese gave it the name Bom Bahia after being pleased by the favourable geographical and marine conditions (Good Bay). Thus, this natural landmark gave the city of “Bombay” its name. Since the British established their presence in Mumbai during the last quarter of the seventeenth century, the harbour and the city have gained international recognition.

The Princess Dock, built in 1885, the Victoria Dock, built in 1891, and the Alexandra Dock (Indira Dock), finished in 1914 makeup Mumbai’s natural harbour. These docks handle both international imports and export cargo.

A dry dock connected to the Mumbai harbour is called Mazgaon Dock. The Mazgaon Dock performs shipbuilding, ship repairs, and production of offshore structures. The yard has the potential to construct commerce ships, battleships, and submarines. The Indian Coast Guard also receives Off-shore Patrol Vessels from it. These multifunctional vessels will be used for patrolling, law enforcement, and search and rescue missions in India’s Exclusive Economic Zone. In addition to this, the Mazgaon Dock also constructs jack up rigs and offshore platforms for oil exploration. Since it was established in the later half of the 19th century, India’s marine infrastructure has benefited greatly from the presence of the Mumbai Port.

The port is stretched out across a very large area, totaling 4,63,000 square metres, and has a natural harbour that can cover up to 400 square kilometres.

The Mumbai Port, which has a pier length of around 8,000 km, has a great road transportation network of more than 125 km and rail connectivity with both of the city’s rail networks. As a result, the port has excellent transportation connectivity to the entire city, which reduces the amount of time spent travelling.

Run majorly by the Koli community living in various Koliwadas of Bombay, docks like one of the oldest ones- Sassoon docks cover almost the entire coast of the city.

Along this harbour coastline live one of the initial communities of Mumbai, the Kolis. Mumbai houses around 30 odd Koliwadas spanned around the coastal areas of the city- from Cuffe Parade to Versova and Worli. As described earlier, this animist community practised artisanal fishing- a method that took into account the ocean’s natural environment. But with time, trade expansion and economic inflation, their traditional method was replaced by commercial fishing practices.

Kolis as a community have been a close knit system where their occupation, language and culture binds them together. Bright coloured houses, narrow streets, open verandas is what defines these native localities of Bombay.

But with the city developing at a rapid pace, there is an evident shift of image for the city.

Even while the Kolis have so far managed to thrive as a community in the city, the tall buildings around them are making it difficult for them to breathe.

The majority of Koliwadas are in enviable locations with lovely open areas, thus they would fetch high real estate prices. Therefore, they might have been the target of interested parties in the city.

Kolis have faced numerous obstacles in these years. Prior to that, it was outsiders who entered their koli-only fish vending company that greatly disrupted their operations.

The Arabian Sea is becoming more polluted as a result of rising sewage levels, which pushes fishermen to travel farther offshore to capture their catch.

Together, these issues greatly increase the cost of their transportation, and the increase in gasoline prices has only made matters worse.

Lack of analysis of how infrastructure projects along the coast affect society has left the Kolis with uncertain employment prospects.

Kolis are currently having trouble keeping up with the city’s growing urban expansion.

Indigenous villages are replaced with industry as a result of the recent demolition of the fish markets in Crawford and Dadar, which was justified by traffic and unsafe building conditions.

The fish merchants at both markets were asked to move to Airoli, but the established vendors in the neighbourhood rejected this since they saw it as a struggle for survival.

The community has been prey to some fairly unjust politically influenced decisions that include proclaiming some of these precincts as slums thereby pushing them under rehabilitation programs. One of the vital reasons for the negligence towards the original inhabitants of Mumbai would be its current reality.

The city has a sizable immigrant population that has no direct connection to the sea. Their landbased policies and methods also reflect this gap. The community’s needs are not being met by the policies and initiatives created. As a result, the fishing community has been marginalised and stigmatised as the city expands

The fisher-folk have been consistently revolting against some prominent on-going projects in Mumbai which include the Coastal Road and the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link as they visibly impact their livelihood.

Bazaar areas emerged as the heart of South Bombay regions of the city around the year 1835. These regions included Bhuleshwar, Kalbadevi and Girgau, where there was a massive growth of residential, occupational, social and religious systems within the city. Bhuleshwar derives its name from the 150 years old Bhuleshwar Mahadev mandir, which is apparently the main male deity of the city. Its shrine is trapped between three water bodies- CP Tank, Bhuleshwar Tank and Bhatia Bhagitathi Tank.

The deity from whom the city is believed to have got its name today- Mumbai, the Mumbadevi temple is also located in this region.

Colonised population grew in these regions which include Hindu settlers from Kutch, Kathiawar and Marwar in large numbers during the 17th and 18th centuries, justifying the reason behind many temples built in Gujarat and Rajasthan style of architecture.

While a part of the region houses temples like the two mentioned above and others which include the Laxmi Narayan Temple, the Digambar Jain Temple Sumudri mata Temple, and other various smaller ones, there is another side to this heart of the city. This region houses some of the oldest and the most prominent bazaars of the city. From the Chor Bazaar selling antiques and furniture products, to zaveri bazaar known for its jewellery while the Dhabu street was known for its leather, the markets here had it all.

Known for its hustle-bustle and chaotic routine, this bazaar was originally named Shor Bazaar (noisy market) and unfortunately is now called “chor” which is how the Britishers pronounced it. Located on Mutton Street near Mohammad Ali road in South Bombay, this market initially was known for selling stolen goods and products during the British rule but is known for its antiques in the current times.

Since the British ruled India, the Chor Bazaar in Mumbai has grown to become one of the country’s oldest markets for used items. It is stated that nowadays, used products rather than stolen things are sold most frequently. The market is currently well known for its vintage and antique goods.

Old Bollywood posters are offered for sale in a store named Mini Market. Others sell genuine Victorian furniture, car replacement components, etc. Although deals might occasionally be astounding, haggling is expected. This is essentially a “organised” flea market where one must sift through trash to locate what they’re looking for.

110, Image Source: https://exploringed.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/18-DSC_0264-Crawford-Market-Overview.jpg, edited by: Author https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2014/08/falkland-road-prostitutes-bombay-hard-hitting-account-life-brothels/, edited by: Author

Prevalent as the best wholesale market in Bombay till 1966, this market is still famous for its Flemish and Norwan style of architecture. Founded in 1871, this was originally called the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Market and was renamed after the Commissioner of Bombay- Arthur Crawford. The market was made with an idea of being able to sell hordes of goods from one place.

The market was created by British architect William Emerson and marked an early attempt to meld indigenous elements with Victorian Gothic architecture. [1] The market has a total area of 22,471 square metres (2,41,877 square feet), of which the building itself takes up 5,515 square metres (59,363 square feet). Kurla stone from Bassein, which is a coarse buff colour, was used to build the edifice. It has a 15-meter-high skylight awning that lets sunshine illuminate the market.

This heart of South Bombay today has become a run-down, dilapidated warehouse. The low-lying structures are in their worst condition, their maintenance is a must as the city is on the verge of losing its heritage. The residential conditions here lack sanitation, awareness and basic amenities as the areas around them are redeveloping, these spaces are getting overshadowed and ignored.

By striving to keep up with the times by offering goods that the markets need at the moment, bazaars have lost their unique identity.

The 19th century was an era of British supremacy. Bombay was getting its new image, sculpted by the Britishers. They were establishing their economy, infrastructure, administration and military.

The completion of Hornby Vellard in 1784 united the seven islands of Bombay, resulting in several low-lying marshy areas of Mumbai Flats which include Byculla, Tardeo, Mahalaxmi and Kamathipura opening up for inhabitation.

Drawn by the growing occupational opportunities and the need of the labour force in the city, the Kamathis ( workers) from Andhra Pradesh came here to work in various construction sites, industries who settled here giving Kamathipura its name.

Till 1860s, census proves that prostitution as a practice was found more in areas of Bombay like Girgaum (1,044), Phanaswadi (1,323) and Oomburkharee (1,583) as compared with Kamathipura (601) and other .

Post 1864, a large number of women and girls were trafficked from India and from Europe and Japan to Kamathipura after recognising possible homosexual interactions between the soldiers in the military.

This gave Bombay its largest red light area of that time- Kamathipura, a brothel started with an intent of engaging soldiers into apparently ‘safe hetrosexual relations’ and also serving Indian local men. The terrible requirement for a brothel for the city’s troops was also due to the imperial goal of establishing dominion through sexual control of Indian women. It was bounded by Bellasis Road on the north, by Grant Road on the south and the main road across, Falkland Road making it easy to access exotic consorts for the financially superior.

Like other societies of the city, this secluded core of Bombay also faced social stratification to a level where a designated street ( Safed Galli) was owned by the European prostitutes during the British rule.

It is disheartening that a profession that was established to provide “comfort” to the society’s elites lacks a revered reputation.

The salt pans of the city span out from Wadala to Mahul, Kanjurmarg to Vikhroli, and Goregaon to Bhayander. The British had constructed a narrow-gauge railway on the eastern side between Mahul and Wadala as well as from Vikhroli towards Thane to gather and transport salt. Some locations can still be seen where these tracks were.

Many places in Mumbai were the scene of the civil disobedience movement during Gandhi’s salt satyagraha in 1930, but the Wadala salt pan satyagraha was the most notable.

Thousands of satyagrahis would congregate around the Wadala salt pans and frequently endure severe lathi charges.

They are integral to the city’s environment, and a whole culture has developed around them. A variety of bird and insect species thrive on salt pans. They aid in flood management because of their huge water-holding capacity.

The people who live and work on salt pans have their own songs that are inspired by them.

Mumbai’s 1,781-acre (721-hectare) salt pans will soon be made available for development. The area is almost twice as large as Mumbai’s most important commercial complex, Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), which spans 914 acres and has a current market value of over 53,000 crore.

According to a 2016 Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority assessment, salt pans are essential to Mumbai’s environment because they protect the city from flooding as mentioned before.

But as soon as the Centre receives the state’s approval to include salt pans in Schedule VII of the Constitution’s concurrent list, the state will be entitled to create its own legislation for their usage and development. Currently, the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry is responsible for handling all matters relating to salt pans.

There are over 13,000 acres of salt pans in Maharashtra, with 5,300 acres in Mumbai, 2,000 acres in Vasai, and 2,000 acres in Palghar.

Mumbai’s Development Plan (DP) 2034 unfortunately permits the development of 1,781 acres out of the city’s total 5,300 acres. The state may only open up a portion of the 1,781 acres for construction; this is not yet known.

The salt pans are just a few of the last surviving land parcels in Mumbai, a city that is perpetually land-scarce.

The NDA government has placed a strong priority on the low-cost housing project ever since it initially took office in 2014. The Prime Minister had reaffirmed his pledge to provide affordable housing in the coming years even during the 2019 election campaign.

The government has been looking into prospective pieces of property that may be made available for development across the nation.

There is an unfortunate lack of awareness about salt pans amongst the city’s people and a visible negligence towards it from the governing bodies. With the government’s efforts to use the salt pans for affordable, low-cost housing projects, they now face a threat of extinction.

These parcels of environmentally vulnerable property have been subject to stringent Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) regulations that limit development. The BJP’s substantial majority at the federal level and in Maharashtra, however, may cause this to change.

In the 1890s, when Bombay was at its peak of development and was facing a humongous influx of people wanting to serve the city to better their own economic conditions, came in a clan of 50 washerwomen to form a commune.

Its location and systematically streamlined process helped it to find a mark on the map of Bombay.

The largest human-powered washing machine in Mumbai is this 140-year-old dhobi ghat, where thousands of pounds of filthy Mumbai clothing and linen are scrubbed clean each day in 1026 open-air troughs by hundreds of people.

The bridge above the railroad lines next to Mahalaxmi train station offers the best sight.

The Mumbai (formerly Bombay) dhobi ghat was extremely useful and effective in terms of workflow. The British began construction after being inspired by and motivated to build another useful dhobi ghat in India. Finally, a second Dhobi Ghat was established and began operation in Kolkata in 1902. (then Calcutta) https://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-katherine-boo-beyond-the-beautiful-forevers/20120228.

Over a quarter of a century has passed without it experiencing a shutdown. As the primary source of revenue for a sizable population, it is steadily but surely solidifying its position until it is as firm as its own washing pens.

Many people have inhabited this area, supported themselves, and flourished there.

In order to protect the minimum wages/rates of dhobis or washers, there is a single, central body that serves as their representative. Additionally, this group ensures that its members abide by a code of conduct and are shielded from unfair prosecution and united against discrimination. The cooperative society is known as Dhobi Kalyan & Audhyogik Vikas.

The system here still stands intact and continues to serve massive parts of the hotel, medical and commercial industries.

It’s unfortunate to see the dilapidated living conditions of this Asia’s Largest Open Laundry today.

The unkempt, decrepit habitable conditions here deviates people from looking at its organically grown occupation to looking down upon its current conditions.

This further raises a threat for this organic settlement as it makes it a degrading site drawing attention of capital oriented redevelopment projects which are rapidly faceshifting the city’s facade.

The industrial boost in Bombay opened doors for auxiliary occupational opportunities in the city. Founded in the 1890s, Dabbawalas were back then and still continue to be a group of men dressed in all white with Gandhi topi cycling and travelling throughout the city to serve people home cooked food from one nook and cranny of the city.

A service born out of sheer need of people belonging from varied communities coming together in the city of dreams and with no fast food culture then, it became crucial for a food service system to exist.

This system of service started with a group of illiterate workers who travelled to the city in search of work after their agricultural occupation back in their native didn’t sustain their home.

Due to the lack of a formal education needed for the position of desk clerk in British offices, the concept of home-cooked meals delivered outside the home was developed.

Started with the wish of a Parsi man wanting to eat home cooked food, empowered as a business by Mahadeo Havaji Bacche, Dabbawala Delivery system grew to become a significant asset for the city. But Covid-19 handed these men in white a severe blow for a system so reliant on the city’s economic sector.

It left many with no choice but to return to their native homes because it became difficult for them to survive at work. The few others had to make do with charity rations because they couldn’t use the local train services. Covid also brought with it a surge of internet restaurant access making their survival in the city further difficult.

But the system has shown resilience in the past by striking back after calamities like floods and railway strikes. The Dabbawala system also launched a phone application to keep up with the growing technological shift. The system and its people have proven till date, that sometimes in this world of complex systems, efficiency could be achieved through something so simple.

Created by the workers who worked for it, Annawadi is a slum development grown beside the Mumbai Airport. This halfacre slum appeared in 1991 while Mumbai airport runway repairs were being made. The labourers, who were from Tamil Nadu, chose to remain in the area in the hopes of finding further construction work. Tamil’s “Anna” means “elder brother,” and Annawadi is the locale of the Annas. They tried to pack dry earth into muddy spots to make the swampy region inhabitable.

The initial houses were constructed from bamboo poles and discarded cement bags. Annawadi had 3,000 residents by 2008.

Three types of locations were home to these residents: https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/07/06/life_in_the_slums_of_india.html, edited by: Author

1. A region of modest, one-room cottages, frequently with shared walls. It was constructed next to a lagoon that was fed by public restrooms.

2. Dalits, members of the untouchable caste in India, established homes in a different location with worse accommodation.

3. The poorest of the impoverished would sleep on top of bags of trash they had chosen to prevent them from being taken on a road where there was no shelter.

Garbage and pollution clogged the sewage lagoon of the slum. Additionally, rubbish was deposited there by airport construction workers in the middle of the night. Also, once, something in the lake caused animals that slept near its borders to have blue bellies due to something in the water.

Some residents of the slum earned so little money that they were forced to supplement their meals by catching mice and frogs that lived around the lagoon or by eating the grass that grew at its boundaries.

Asthma and other disorders, brought on by air pollution, were also experienced by people.

The main entrance to the airport’s international terminal was separated from the slum by a tall concrete wall. The wall was covered with lively advertisements for the “overcity,” or upper classes, selling luxury goods which overshadowed and apparently cover the slums behind till date from the eyes of the “developers” of the city.

India’s “economic liberalisation” period, which started in 1991, eventually helped 100 million people escape poverty. However, Annawadi was established in the same year and remained.

Many people have sought sanctuary in Mumbai’s slums as a result of the city’s land constraint and increasing real estate prices.

Dharavi, a city inside a city, is one such infamous Mumbai slum area that traces its origins to 1884. When the marsh filled, the area that had been occupied by fisherfolk when it was only creeks and wetlands became a good place for the South Bombay migrant population.

After decades of urban expansion under the British Raj and the East India Company, the city’s population surpassed 500,000 in the 1850s. At that time, the urban area largely encompassed the southern portion of the

Bombay peninsula, and its population density was over ten times greater than that of London.

Tanneries were the most polluting enterprises, and the first one relocated from peninsular Bombay to Dharavi in 1887. People from the lowest Hindu castes and Indian Muslims who worked with leather moved into Dharavi. The Kumbhars, a sizable Gujarati group of potters, were among the other early settlers. They received a 99-year land lease from the colonial government in 1895.

As a result of the influx of rural migrants looking for work, Bombay’s population surpassed 1 million.

There was no government effort to design or invest in any infrastructure in or around Dharavi, despite the fact that these enterprises generated jobs and labour moved there.

Without enough sanitation, sewers, safe drinking water, roads, or other essential amenities, the habitations and small factories proliferated haphazardly.

However, some of the ethnic, caste, and religious groups that had moved to Dharavi at the time contributed to its development by establishing organisations and political parties, erecting schools and temples, and building homes, factories, and other buildings.

The destitute Rural Indians who travelled to the city of dreams in search of work but were unable to locate a legal place to live gradually began to occupy this tax-free region. Today, it is Asia’s biggest slum.

2.2

The Catalysts

The cosmopolitan is witnessing its history changing at a rapid pace, leading to possibilities where the chawl seen today turns into a skyscraper tomorrow. This section attempts studying the driving forces leading to a haphazard development in the metropolis.