300-year-old Bandra village to get facelift to conserve glorious past

Mumbai: As Mumbai, India's financial capital, witnessed vertical growth over the years with highrises dotting its skyline, some 'gaothans' (villages) have held onto their heritage and legacy.

Ranwar, in the heart of Bandra, is one such village that has resisted the urge to make way for towering structures.

Dwarfed by high-rises, the East Indian-majority village has narrow streets lined with old quaint bungalows and crosses outside homes. With jazz music streaming in the air, walking around the area can transport you to a simpler time.

While Bandra developed rapidly and became home to Bollywood's elite and a burgeoning street shopping hub, residents of Ranwar maintained their old bungalows. The coexistence, however, has come at a price, causing traffic issues and crowding.

And now, plans are afoot to give the 300-year-old village a facelift while preserving the past.

Talking to PTI, Johan Dharmai, BJP secretary and a member of the East Indian community, said, "Locals want to preserve the heritage. One of the steps in the facelift plan is to close vehicle movement and build a walkway so that tourists can take a stroll and enjoy the architecture."

Though many houses in Ranwar are now being redeveloped, Veronica Street has maintained its old-world charm. It has a square erected in 1866. However, honking rents the air on this street, as motorists see it as a shortcut to Bandra Reclamation and other areas.

Mehboob Studio is just a stone's throw away, and senior citizens living on Veronica Street recall seeing actors Helen and Zeenat Aman around Ranwar.

A beautification, restoration and conservation project is being initiated to improve safety, regulate traffic and create awareness about the centuries-old village.

Mumbai BJP president and Bandra West MLA Ashish Shelar recently met locals to discuss ways to move the project forward.

"The beauty of Bandra West is its 'gaothans'. The heritage needs to be protected and showcased. I have asked the government to allocate funds from the District Planning Development Committee (DPDC). Ranwar village will get a facelift. The work has begun on roads, CCTV cameras, street light illumination, parking and traffic plan will be in place with the help of locals and architects," Shelar told PTI.

Architect Samir D'Monte has been working with the Ranwar Veronica Street Residents' Association since 2009, and they identified a range of problems that the area faced.

D'Monte said improvements were made to open spaces and common areas, roads, sewage and drainage systems, street signage, street lighting and traffic and parking management.

Apart from this, individual houses were restored, and an innovative fire system was also introduced.

Locals say most residents are senior citizens and want to live peacefully without disturbances by motorists.

Kaevan Umrigar of Khaki Tours, who works to create awareness about Mumbai's heritage, said Bandra comprised 23 gaothans that housed fisher folk, Kunbis (a farming community) and the agris community who had salt pans.

"Ranwar was a farming village, and the area had paddy fields. Later, these paddy fields made way for urban settlements. These little villages are now trapped in the city. Now, only 10 to 15 gaothans in Bandra have survived," he said.

But preserving heritage comes at a cost, and if a 'gaothan' comes under heritage guidelines, it becomes difficult to upgrade a home in the area or live a modern life, Umigar said, adding that heritage should be made attractive by tapping the tourism potential of these areas.

'Gaothans' in Mumbai and the larger Mumbai metropolitan region (MMR) are urban villages that house the city's original inhabitants.

The Mumbai suburban district collector and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have been roped in for Ranwar's facelift plan.

Umigar calls land scarcity a threat to 'gaothans', with only 100 left in the city.

"When someone wants to develop gaothans, they want to do it vertically. There is a constant battle between heritage and development. They (villages) survive because the houses are tightly packed and on narrow lanes. So individual houses are not attractive for redevelopment, and parking becomes an issue," he said.