The ‘Heritage Circuit of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region’ is a set of 10 maps developed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region - Heritage Conservation Society. The objective of these maps is to enable a tourist as well as a heritage enthusiast to explore the rich and diverse cultural and natural heritage of the region.
from the launch at David Sassoon Library
To further your experience of exploring the Mumbai Fort, this book has been envisioned as a narrative guide or a ‘hand book’ of essential information that you should know.
The Fort district today is much larger than the original Fort which was a kilometre long and half a kilometre wide.
In this book, we have divided the Fort into fifteen different chapters. Each chapter, dedicated to a precinct that has been organised in a geographical sequence, from the South to the North. However, it is not only defined by a geographical area, but also has a historic theme which is a function of the time of its development. Each chapter begins with an introduction to the precinct, outlining its historic importance. The chapter then lists the important heritage buildings and structures in the precinct, organised in a walking route beginning from a prominent landmark in the precinct. Boxes have been used to highlight interesting stories around these buildings, to provide context to events that took place here; also to club buildings, roads or statues of minor importance together.
An introductory chapter to the city of Mumbai and the Fort from which it began provides the necessary context to these diverse precincts. How to use this book: You can explore Mumbai Fort from any precinct. It is not necessary to follow the ‘South to North’ route the chapters are organised in. Just pick a landmark or heritage building in the Fort area, refer to the Index to locate the information on the building and start discovering.
Also there is a section for Classified Itineraries that offers various combinations of the walk based on themes, historicity and geography. These Itineraries are marked in the MMR-HCS map attached to the book.
We hope you use the book as reference to savour the city. Happy exploring!
About the Curator:
Bharat Gothoskar studied mechanical engineering and has a postgraduate degree in Business Administration. He worked with Indian multinational companies like Godrej, Pidilite and Mahindra before giving up his corporate career to devote time to evangelising heritage in Mumbai. He has founded two institutions in this space - the experiential heritage travel company, Khaki Tours, and its not-for-profit counterpart, the Khaki Heritage Foundation, which is involved in heritage awareness, archiving and conservation. Under the aegis of the Foundation, he has started the cultural space KHAKI Lab where he hopes to incubate the ‘heritage bug’ and infect future generations with it. His mission is to make Mumbaikars proud of their city’s heritage.
"This book is meant for visitors and residents alike. We walk through the Fort area withought looking up, down or sideways, without realising the wealth of history and heritage that is around us. This book will make you stop, look and understand."
- Bharat on the book
About the contributors:
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region - Heritage Conservation Society (MMR-HCS) is a society established by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). The objectives of this Society are: Promoting preservation, conservation, protection, development and improvement of natural, built and related cultural heritage within the MMR.