MUMBAI: It is hard to believe that there were ten forts in Mumbai, a teeming city of over 20 million crammed in a limited space, but the remains of these historic sites are still there.
The forts were at Sewree, Worli, Sion, St George, INS Angre, Mahim, Bandra, Madh and Dharavi. A few ruins and remnants of the bygone era are still visible amid burgeoning illegal shanties.
Gopal Bodhe, who has aerially photographed more than 8,500 km of coastal India and Ladakh region for topographic documentation, has captured these monuments for posterity through his lenses from the skies.
The Mahim fort is a relic from the British Raj. A part of the larger Bombay castle or St George's Castle, the fort was built by the then Governor of Bombay Gerald Aungier in 1669 to strengthen the British defences.
The Worli fort was built by the British in around 1675 on the Worli hills, overlooking the Mahim bay at a time when the city of Mumbai was made up of just seven islands. It was used as a watch point for enemy ships and pirates.
The importance of photo-documentation is what the 60-year-old "image-maker", as he likes to call himself, lays stress on.
Bodhe said images are very important to preserve the country's history, heritage, culture and tradition.
"Images help to promote tourism. They also help in creating awareness among the people. India is rich in terms of landscape," he said.
Bodhe said he took to aerial photography because he gets to understand the vastness, designing and architecture of the sites he wants to capture.
He said he has recently been appointed on a state government committee to protect and conserve heritage sites.
"There are no images of heritage sites in the state. Only when you have images of the sites, process can be undertaken for restoration and preservation. I have suggested that the sites should be photo-documented.
"Similarly, exhibitions of such photographs should be held and a pilot project for preservation of forts should be initiated," he felt.
Bodhe said it was commendable that the Maharashtra government had begun the process of restoration of Sewree and Mahim forts.
Elaborating on the need for photo-documentation, Bodhe said the Haji Ali circle, Dadar TT, Sion circle in Mumbai have been some of the landmarks of the megapolis and are still recalled by Mumbaikars even after they longer exist.
"The sites should have been captured in images which I have done. the photos can be a reference point on changing landscape of Mumbai," he added.
Bodhe has published four books so far -- on Maharashtra, Goa, portraits of India's Light Houses and Mumbai -- and is working on his next books -- places of worships and Islands in India.
