The sad story Mumbai’s ruins tell

Mumbai has 11 forts, most of which are in ruins - some are being conserved, a few are plastered with concrete in the name of conservation, and others lie in utter neglect.

The one with the Indian Navy, the original Bombay Castle — now INS Angre — is probably the only one that seems to be well protected. The other 10, which are in the public domain, need attention and care.

Starting from the south, the first one, behind the GPO and now converted into a state archaeology office, is called St George’s. Then there is one at Sewri, plastered with concrete. Similar is the condition of the ones at Sion, Worli, Madh and Bandra, while the Riva Fort and Dharavi’s Black Fort (yes, they are different) are almost in ruins. The oldest among them all, the Mahim Fort built in the 13th century, has been taken over by slums. Bandra Fort, too, needs attention.

The seven islands of Bombay were once protected by these forts built by ancient kings, the Portuguese and the British. These are magnificent examples of old architecture that have stood for centuries despite being built with primitive technology and rudimentary material.

Each fort has been a witness to the city’s journey from a bunch of a few scattered islands to the megapolis it is today. The multiple layers of government archaeological departments seldom do anything except compile academic reports, put up boards stating these are protected monuments and plaster them up in case they are collapsing.

There is a need for holistic approach to protect and conserve them for future generations. Each fort has a fascinating story behind it — St George’s has basement tunnels built to protect British citizens in case of an attack from the Siddhis or Napoleon; the Sion Fort, where the British attempted to build a hospital at the end of the 19th century, guarded the city’s entrances to the island of Salsette — its doors would open and close at the boom of cannons; the Riva Fort still has some Portuguese door frames; and the Black Fort at Dharavi was probably an ammunition dump.

With today’s technology and innovation, a lot could be done to save these forts and weave them into Mumbai’s life. A project can be worked out to convert them into tourist spots with heritage walks and talks or at least hand them over to people or institutions that will care for them and be accountable.

In fact, it is for those multiple archaeological departments and their handsomely-paid team of officials to come up with a solution. There also needs to be a local connect of history to understand the context of each fort, or any relic for that matter. A simple board declaring a fort a protected monument will not protect it from anything.