Resumo de Mumbai - Known And Unknown (marathi)

Dr Raikar?s book is on the city of Mumbai in India, a city much-talked
about and yet little known. In an easy-to-read question-answer format,
it traces the history of Mumbai and leaves us grappling with the
reality of the distant future. With a volcanic birth dating back 5
crore years, a rich heritage of 15 centuries and more than 600 years of
foreign rule, Mumbai is nothing short of an enigma. Bursting at the
seams it may be, but this bustling city still keeps its charm alive-
thanks to its seashore psyche, innovative enterprise and an
all-embracing outlook. But to the author, what truly sets it apart is
its unique obsession with contradiction. Abundance & deprivation,
hygiene and filth, virtue and vice, black and white?. all extremes
mingle together with inimitable magnanimity. Run, live and let live is
Mumbai?s mantra but in the maddening pace is an unmistakable rhythm.
The ears that catch this music also see method in madness, order amidst
chaos, clarity with confusion and more importantly hope despite the
despair. Would it be a surprise then?. that Mumbai?s monuments,
buildings, roads, ??all have such tales to tell?This book does just
that - stories of people who made history, stories for people who care
to look back. Here?s a representative collage ?
Each time one passes by the Esplanade mansion in Fort, one
invaribaly marvels its rich history. Situated next to the illustrious
Army Navy stores, this building housed the erstwhile only-for-Europeans
Esplanade Hotel ? then considered a deluxe hotel with as many as 130
suites. The ?premium? room tariff of the year 1889 would seem
ridiculous today ? Rs. 7 for the ground floor (a rupee less for every
floor upwards) inclusive of breakfast, lunch, dinner, ice, hot/chilled
water besides an attendant. Quite ironic that Malabar Hill, now a mute spectator to the
dark deeds of white- robed politicians every time the modern-day
pirates raid the sprawling Governor?s bungalow, has its name rooted in
piracy? after the infamous Malabari pirates who invaded the Mumbai
shoreline during the seventeenth century. In reality, these pirates
were a mix of Americans, British, Arabs and Sri Lankans. The Walkeshwar
Hill was used for monitoring their nuisance. They were eventually
driven out in 1695 but the name stuck.
For those who have been in and around Fort area would manage
a hearty chuckle for the statue of Late Justice Mahadeo Govind Ranade
near Churchgate railway station. Not many know the story behind the
sculpture that looks away, avoiding an eye-to-eye contact with
countless commuters and tourists each day. With a squint in his right
eye, Justice Ranade invariably ensured that all his photographs ignored
this twisted anatomy. The sculptor Ganapat Mhatre, known for his
outstanding dexterity, was truly in a fix. Gasping in the tug of war
between the loyalty to his art vis-a-vis Ranade?s sentiments, he carved
a perfect replica but erected it facing the High Court, and not the
road. As a result, pedestrians to this day remember him, if they ever
do, exactly as he would have liked.And who said libraries worm their
way on the back of book lovers alone. The Native General library of Dhobi Talao, next to the
Framji Cawasji Institute, the oldest library of Mumbai, was set up
through the pioneering efforts of a Military Board clerk called Raghoba
Janardan. A man of modest means and credentials, it was his burning
desire to see younger generations catch the reading habit. Is it poetic
justice that he is not around today to witness the stark reality?
Crawford Market, Old Secretariat, Central Telegraph Office,
Mumbai High Court, Sailors Home (today?s Police headquarters) ? what
should they remind us, first glance? Gothic architecture, undoubtedly.
Following the English empire?s adoption of the then emerging European
style as its national norm, Mumbai became a convenient guinea pig for
Gothic creations. Thus were born the fabulous structures? now left to
house the soaring ambition of a sleeping bureaucracy, the prejudiced
verdicts of a lop-sided judiciary and the whims and fancies of a
ruthless police. And in striking contrast to the growing gender wars around
us, the 1875- built Prince?s Dock & the Princess Street inaugurated
in 1905, both are fondly remembered day in and day out as one gender ?
male or female ? that?s anybody?s guess. But the choice is free of ugly
debates and fanatic claims. While the dock was named after Prince of
Wales (later crowned Edward VII), the street is in memory of Princess
of Wales who accompanied Prince of Wales (later crowned George V). The
difference in gender is eclipsed by the common pronunciation but the
royal aura remains.
This book in Marathi, the language spoken in the Indian state
of Maharashtra, is replete with such snippets of history. The author is
an historian & archeologist and above all, an ardent Mumbai lover.

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