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Mumbai Fables
A sweeping cultural history of India’s largest city
A place of spectacle and ruin, Mumbai exemplifies the cosmopolitan metropolis. It is not just a big city but also a soaring vision of modern urban life. Millions from India and beyond, of different ethnicities, languages, and religions, have washed up on its shores, bringing with them their desires and ambitions. Mumbai Fables explores the mythic inner life of this legendary city as seen by its inhabitants, journalists, planners, writers, artists, filmmakers, and political activists. In this remarkable cultural history of one of the world's most important urban centers, Gyan Prakash unearths the stories behind its fabulous history, viewing Mumbai through its turning points and kaleidoscopic ideas, comic book heroes, and famous scandals―the history behind Mumbai's stories of opportunity and oppression, of fabulous wealth and grinding poverty, of cosmopolitan desires and nativist energies.
Starting from the catastrophic floods and terrorist attacks of recent years, Prakash reaches back to the sixteenth-century Portuguese conquest to reveal the stories behind Mumbai's historic journey. Examining Mumbai's role as a symbol of opportunity and reinvention, he looks at its nineteenth-century development under British rule and its twentieth-century emergence as a fabled city on the sea. Different layers of urban experience come to light as he recounts the narratives of the Nanavati murder trial and the rise and fall of the tabloid Blitz , and Mumbai's transformation from the red city of trade unions and communists into the saffron city of Hindu nationalist Shiv Sena. Starry-eyed planners and elite visionaries, cynical leaders and violent politicians of the street, land sharks and underworld dons jostle with ordinary citizens and poor immigrants as the city copes with the dashed dreams of postcolonial urban life and lurches into the seductions of globalization.
Shedding light on the city's past and present, Mumbai Fables offers an unparalleled look at this extraordinary metropolis.
A place of spectacle and ruin, Mumbai exemplifies the cosmopolitan metropolis. It is not just a big city but also a soaring vision of modern urban life. Millions from India and beyond, of different ethnicities, languages, and religions, have washed up on its shores, bringing with them their desires and ambitions. Mumbai Fables explores the mythic inner life of this legendary city as seen by its inhabitants, journalists, planners, writers, artists, filmmakers, and political activists. In this remarkable cultural history of one of the world's most important urban centers, Gyan Prakash unearths the stories behind its fabulous history, viewing Mumbai through its turning points and kaleidoscopic ideas, comic book heroes, and famous scandals―the history behind Mumbai's stories of opportunity and oppression, of fabulous wealth and grinding poverty, of cosmopolitan desires and nativist energies.
Starting from the catastrophic floods and terrorist attacks of recent years, Prakash reaches back to the sixteenth-century Portuguese conquest to reveal the stories behind Mumbai's historic journey. Examining Mumbai's role as a symbol of opportunity and reinvention, he looks at its nineteenth-century development under British rule and its twentieth-century emergence as a fabled city on the sea. Different layers of urban experience come to light as he recounts the narratives of the Nanavati murder trial and the rise and fall of the tabloid Blitz , and Mumbai's transformation from the red city of trade unions and communists into the saffron city of Hindu nationalist Shiv Sena. Starry-eyed planners and elite visionaries, cynical leaders and violent politicians of the street, land sharks and underworld dons jostle with ordinary citizens and poor immigrants as the city copes with the dashed dreams of postcolonial urban life and lurches into the seductions of globalization.
Shedding light on the city's past and present, Mumbai Fables offers an unparalleled look at this extraordinary metropolis.
408 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
68 people are currently reading
859 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
July 24, 2020
Mumbai Fables gives a wonderful, measured account of the history of Mumbai. The first chapters (The Mythic City; The Colonial Gothic; The City on the Sea; The Cosmopolis and the Nation) that deal with its history are remarkable. Whatever I know about the city becomes clearer. I enjoyed reading these chapters far more than reading any other book written on Mumbai. Also, unlike many academic books, this is an easy read.
The last two chapters 'Avengers on the Streets' and 'Dreamworlds' are clever ways to deal with the unpleasant underworld of Mumbai. Using fictional figures, the author shows how the police, mafia, bureaucracy, and politicians play their part in spawning and containing violence in extraordinary ways. Although the last chapter is called Dreamworlds, almost everything about Mumbai feels dream-like, especially its late-colonial and postcolonial period. Reading about Nanavati case, though real, feels like I am watching a movie.
Those who know the city would know it better after reading this book.
It is a great scholarly book on Mumbai––minus scholarly pretensions.
The last two chapters 'Avengers on the Streets' and 'Dreamworlds' are clever ways to deal with the unpleasant underworld of Mumbai. Using fictional figures, the author shows how the police, mafia, bureaucracy, and politicians play their part in spawning and containing violence in extraordinary ways. Although the last chapter is called Dreamworlds, almost everything about Mumbai feels dream-like, especially its late-colonial and postcolonial period. Reading about Nanavati case, though real, feels like I am watching a movie.
Those who know the city would know it better after reading this book.
It is a great scholarly book on Mumbai––minus scholarly pretensions.
January 22, 2012
Mumbai Fables by Gyan Prakash is a narrative on the history of the much exploited metropolis of Mumbai. It is an informative read that throws light on the events that have shaped Mumbai from the scattered seven islands that it once was to the throbbing chaos of human life and struggle that it today has become.
The language of the book is at times not very pleasant on the eye and mind. On various occasions despite revealing interesting trivia, the language gives it a scientific and text book like feel making those parts cumbersome and tedious to get through. It could well be that the writer has deliberately done so to highlight the factual and researched nature of the book.
Having said that the book does not reveal much of what was already not out there in a very large public domain. However for the uninitiated and especially those who inhabit the city it is a matter of great necessity to be aware of the life this city has lived. From 1408 when Vasco Da Gama first came here to the Portuguese rule to the British to the post colonial times from the leftest mill age to the saffron Sena rage... its a leafing through the scars and stains the inhabitants of Mumbai have given her.
I liked it only for the information on Mumbai it refreshed in me... the same however can be done on wikipedia too!
The language of the book is at times not very pleasant on the eye and mind. On various occasions despite revealing interesting trivia, the language gives it a scientific and text book like feel making those parts cumbersome and tedious to get through. It could well be that the writer has deliberately done so to highlight the factual and researched nature of the book.
Having said that the book does not reveal much of what was already not out there in a very large public domain. However for the uninitiated and especially those who inhabit the city it is a matter of great necessity to be aware of the life this city has lived. From 1408 when Vasco Da Gama first came here to the Portuguese rule to the British to the post colonial times from the leftest mill age to the saffron Sena rage... its a leafing through the scars and stains the inhabitants of Mumbai have given her.
I liked it only for the information on Mumbai it refreshed in me... the same however can be done on wikipedia too!
September 29, 2013
Gyan Prakash's Mumbai Fables begins with a riveting excerpt from an unpublished 1927 thriller novel written by the amusingly-named Pherozeshaw Chevalier (Chaiwala) based in Mumbai. With it, Gyan Prakah sets out the alluring premise of the book - to explore the soft city of illusion, myth, aspirations and nightmares, rather than the hard city one can locate on maps.
And the book lives up to the promise upto the halfway mark. I was fascinated to learn, for example, that the exalted Sir Jamshetjee Jeejeebhoy who has 127 charities in Mumbai including an art college, schools and a hospital, made his wealth in opium smuggling.
The chapters on colonial India and the original reclamation project are packed with interesting facts and superbly written. The Nanavati case and the rise of the Blitz in the 1950s also reads like a thriller. Gyan Prakash manages to evoke the era through his words and superb selections of other colonial authors' descriptions.
Perhaps in tandem with the city itself, Gyan Prakash's writing loses its romance as he comes closer to the current times. The chapter on the failure of attempts at modern town planning in the 1960-70s reads like a dreary government report. And the chapters on the riots and bomb blasts offer nothing more than a summation of news reports. Even worse, he spends an entire chapter on Doga comics trying to wring out some meaning as if they were Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis. And another half chapter on a series of paintings by Namita Devidayal explaining in each painting in words - as hopeless an exercise as mumbai's town-planning itself.
Overall, like Bombay itself, the book doesn't really live up to its glamorous and alluring promise. It begins with a glorious dream to share the true, unknown story of the city by the sea and wakes up into a pointless mess of dull concrete structures.
And the book lives up to the promise upto the halfway mark. I was fascinated to learn, for example, that the exalted Sir Jamshetjee Jeejeebhoy who has 127 charities in Mumbai including an art college, schools and a hospital, made his wealth in opium smuggling.
The chapters on colonial India and the original reclamation project are packed with interesting facts and superbly written. The Nanavati case and the rise of the Blitz in the 1950s also reads like a thriller. Gyan Prakash manages to evoke the era through his words and superb selections of other colonial authors' descriptions.
Perhaps in tandem with the city itself, Gyan Prakash's writing loses its romance as he comes closer to the current times. The chapter on the failure of attempts at modern town planning in the 1960-70s reads like a dreary government report. And the chapters on the riots and bomb blasts offer nothing more than a summation of news reports. Even worse, he spends an entire chapter on Doga comics trying to wring out some meaning as if they were Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis. And another half chapter on a series of paintings by Namita Devidayal explaining in each painting in words - as hopeless an exercise as mumbai's town-planning itself.
Overall, like Bombay itself, the book doesn't really live up to its glamorous and alluring promise. It begins with a glorious dream to share the true, unknown story of the city by the sea and wakes up into a pointless mess of dull concrete structures.
September 8, 2024
“As I turned over this debris, it became clear that what was remaindered was not the city itself but a certain idea of it, a myth that history had produced and many had lived” - summarises the book, traces whole of Bombay history to drive in the point that Bombay as a city of dreams is not real. Some parts added to my knowledge trove. I expected something more optimistic. I see why Bombay Velvet flopped.
April 19, 2025
Different on Mumbai (Bombay) than Maximum City....this has a historical perspective and describes the influences that shaped Mumbai and how despite various efforts to define, shape and control the city, it has still retained a certain independence (if such a thing can be said about an inanimate object. For people like me who grew up there, there are many nostalgic and well known references and some new stuff as well like an introduction to Namdeo Dhasal and Narayn Surve...also an interesting tidbit that the Jamshedjee Jeejeebhoy of J J Hospital fame made his money selling opium
June 16, 2016
I have a bit of a strange relationship with Bombay. On the one hand, I am not really fond of the pace of life there, or the sense of collective superiority its citizens (sometimes) seem to exude. On the other hand, I am fascinated by the very idea of the city, and its uniqueness. That is the reason why a lot of Bombay-based books exist on my bookshelf. On hindsight, it does seem strange that Mumbai Fables took this long to find its way there.
This idea of Bombay and the possibilities and promise is what led people from many parts of the country to make the city their home. This, I think, is what fascinates the author too, and this book attempts to understand what makes the city special. It is a historic journey of the city across various domains - geography, art and literature, culture, politics, journalism and business. The narrative is largely linear, with some overlap to cover ground when a new aspect is brought to the discussion.
From a timeline perspective, the book begins with the conquest of the seven islands by the Portugese in the 16th century, but before he gets there, the author introduces the reader to the distinctive 'myth' that is Mumbai. The Colonial era, the post colonial years immediately following independence, the beginning of the reclamation, the rise of tabloid journalism, the rise and fall of the mills and communism, Shiv Sena and to a certain extent, the underworld, all find a place in this book, just as it should. There is a lot of ground covered, and the research that has been done, going by the 'Notes' is huge!
While events, people and places are all chronicled faithfully, what this book actually gives - by covering centuries of history - is context. Everything that I mentioned above is linked to each other in some way. The author uses a range of phenomena - from Art Deco to Doga comics and the Nanavati case to Fearless Nadia and Dev Anand movies - to show how and why Bombay is the city it is, and its influence on its citizens. Once you finish the book, you get a sense of the layers that make up today's Mumbai. People, culture, lifestyles and the city itself carry the past with them, sometimes conspicuously, and sometimes in subtle, unconscious ways.
It is amazing to see how the things we see as the unique challenges of this age, have occurred in some or the other form before too. Perspective, that's this book's gift. A fantastic read!
P.S. Some amazing tidbits too, like the fact Bal Thackeray's father publicly called him a donkey, the irony of Nariman point's name, and so on.
This idea of Bombay and the possibilities and promise is what led people from many parts of the country to make the city their home. This, I think, is what fascinates the author too, and this book attempts to understand what makes the city special. It is a historic journey of the city across various domains - geography, art and literature, culture, politics, journalism and business. The narrative is largely linear, with some overlap to cover ground when a new aspect is brought to the discussion.
From a timeline perspective, the book begins with the conquest of the seven islands by the Portugese in the 16th century, but before he gets there, the author introduces the reader to the distinctive 'myth' that is Mumbai. The Colonial era, the post colonial years immediately following independence, the beginning of the reclamation, the rise of tabloid journalism, the rise and fall of the mills and communism, Shiv Sena and to a certain extent, the underworld, all find a place in this book, just as it should. There is a lot of ground covered, and the research that has been done, going by the 'Notes' is huge!
While events, people and places are all chronicled faithfully, what this book actually gives - by covering centuries of history - is context. Everything that I mentioned above is linked to each other in some way. The author uses a range of phenomena - from Art Deco to Doga comics and the Nanavati case to Fearless Nadia and Dev Anand movies - to show how and why Bombay is the city it is, and its influence on its citizens. Once you finish the book, you get a sense of the layers that make up today's Mumbai. People, culture, lifestyles and the city itself carry the past with them, sometimes conspicuously, and sometimes in subtle, unconscious ways.
It is amazing to see how the things we see as the unique challenges of this age, have occurred in some or the other form before too. Perspective, that's this book's gift. A fantastic read!
P.S. Some amazing tidbits too, like the fact Bal Thackeray's father publicly called him a donkey, the irony of Nariman point's name, and so on.
Read
August 22, 2011UNLIKE NEW DELHI, India’s capital, Bombay is not a city rich with history. Unlike Calcutta, whose cultural icons include Rabindranath Tagore and Satyajit Ray, Bombay houses (in ostentatious bungalows) the stars of barely-watchable Bollywood melodramas. Bombay makes news when terrorists attack the city (as they did most recently in November 2008), or when Mukesh Ambani, the wealthiest man in India, spends a billion dollars to erect a skyscraper for himself, or when the symbol of its squalor, the slum, provides the backdrop for an Academy Award-winning film. Read more...
March 19, 2014
Author Gyan Prakash has done a exemplary work in researching about how Bombay city was built. Detailed descriptions of Nariman, Nanavati, Doga signifies how much research went into it before presenting the book. Account of Karanzia's blitz, Bombay mills and textiles industry boom and fall, Shiv Sena's formation, Communist party formation have been told in minute details. A fantastic read.
May 23, 2017
Not an easy read. Someone who wants to know about Mumbai's history will definitely like it.
April 22, 2022
very typically gyan prakash writing -- fairly well researched history with high melodrama in the narrative and long serpentine tangents that are often longer than the core thesis. fairly entertaining if a little repetitive.
October 25, 2018
The book which inspired the much debated and trashed movie of the modern times - Bombay Velvet was a tad bit disappointing for me. I expected a maximum city, I guess but what I got was an academically well researched book. I was looking for masala but this one turned out to be quite a serious read.
Though the author has covered a lot of old and interesting stories. I found it surprising to see Bollywood play the role of an extra in this book. I wish the author has spiced this book up a bit more as that is the essence of this great city.
Still a great read if you want to know more about this history and the ancestory of this enigma called Mumbai.
Though the author has covered a lot of old and interesting stories. I found it surprising to see Bollywood play the role of an extra in this book. I wish the author has spiced this book up a bit more as that is the essence of this great city.
Still a great read if you want to know more about this history and the ancestory of this enigma called Mumbai.
December 16, 2021
A very interesting book ... a little too ambitious perhaps. I read it honestly because I thought it was a set of short stories - it is very much non fiction-- its 9 chapters each chapter covering about two decades or so of Mumbai's history. I was v. tempted to let this book go.. but I didn't because Bombay is such an iconic character in almost all great books (Salaman Rushdie mostly)/ movies to come out of India and the background reading provides a lot of context and colour. I learnt a few new things but nothing I couldn't live without.
June 15, 2011
If you like to do some time travel... take a historian along.
February 28, 2023
The book is interesting and a pacy read.
It helped me finally get into the mind of an average mumbaikar.
It helps place things in perspective regarding why Mumbai is the way it is. It helps you familiarize with Mumbai. I have lived in Mumbai, but the over-abundant chaos seldom appears in an ordered and structured manifestation so as to make sense to an outsider. However, this book will dispel the barrier and help you interpret Mumbai across multiple dimensions. In the process, it will make the city more approachable.
It's a fascinating read, although I feel that the work is of a post-colonial nature wherein an academic template has been used to view Mumbai. While many things appear to be right, there are parts (very few) in the book that read very pedantically and heuristically, from an academic's diary. This is in contrast with Maximum City, which was quite raw and visceral.
The author's post-coloniality deprives the native experience an expression into the book. This is because it views modernity from a eurocentric perspective and therefore tests Indian modernity using a framework alien to India. As a result the author views Bombay and Mumbai in a battle with each other. When the author is not new to the idea of 'reclamation' of land from sea in the growth of the city, it is quite strange that the author fails to view 'Mumbai' as a reclamation by the natives to the existence of the city that was stolen from them and planted by the Britishers.
The story of the city is predominantly colonial, and so is its cosmopolitanism. The continued attachment of today's post-colonial liberals to the city's cosmopolitanism birthed by the empire's imperatives has the effect of de-legitimizing native experience by labelling it as an expression of 'communalism' or 'bigotry' - which is quite an un-academic exercise and the author fails on this count.
Despite the above lacuna, the book does a very interesting job of illuminating many aspects of the city's life that may go unnoticed in the city's voluptuousness.
It helped me finally get into the mind of an average mumbaikar.
It helps place things in perspective regarding why Mumbai is the way it is. It helps you familiarize with Mumbai. I have lived in Mumbai, but the over-abundant chaos seldom appears in an ordered and structured manifestation so as to make sense to an outsider. However, this book will dispel the barrier and help you interpret Mumbai across multiple dimensions. In the process, it will make the city more approachable.
It's a fascinating read, although I feel that the work is of a post-colonial nature wherein an academic template has been used to view Mumbai. While many things appear to be right, there are parts (very few) in the book that read very pedantically and heuristically, from an academic's diary. This is in contrast with Maximum City, which was quite raw and visceral.
The author's post-coloniality deprives the native experience an expression into the book. This is because it views modernity from a eurocentric perspective and therefore tests Indian modernity using a framework alien to India. As a result the author views Bombay and Mumbai in a battle with each other. When the author is not new to the idea of 'reclamation' of land from sea in the growth of the city, it is quite strange that the author fails to view 'Mumbai' as a reclamation by the natives to the existence of the city that was stolen from them and planted by the Britishers.
The story of the city is predominantly colonial, and so is its cosmopolitanism. The continued attachment of today's post-colonial liberals to the city's cosmopolitanism birthed by the empire's imperatives has the effect of de-legitimizing native experience by labelling it as an expression of 'communalism' or 'bigotry' - which is quite an un-academic exercise and the author fails on this count.
Despite the above lacuna, the book does a very interesting job of illuminating many aspects of the city's life that may go unnoticed in the city's voluptuousness.
February 4, 2021
Having read previously "Maximum City" by Suketu Mehta, this book broaden my horizons on historical and social aspects of Mumbai. So, for a reader (like myself), who it's just beginning to learn about Mumbai (besides what one can learn watching Bollywood (if one can learn something meaningful about real life watching that kind of movie 🤔)) this book introduce the reader to those big narratives (myths) about the city that the author mentions. With the plus of knowing about those narratives and, what the author do, "not to oppose the 'real' to the myth but to reveal the historical circumstances portrayed and hidden by the stories and images produced in the past and the present".
March 18, 2022
This one’s a must read for anyone fascinated by the dainty beast that Mumbai is. The book tracks the transformation of the city from the late 1800s to the early 2000s, particularly the pre and post colonial periods.
It tracks the political, cultural and economic transformation of the city and keeps one hooked despite a central narrative being absent.
It tracks the political, cultural and economic transformation of the city and keeps one hooked despite a central narrative being absent.
November 29, 2024
For the lovers of the city, it is a great take until it moves towards the end where the narration dips to the excitement in the earlier chapters. The highlight for me however remains rhe tales of the many enigma's who are now maybe forgotten but were a big part of the culture of 'Bombay' which initially renamed rightly got back to being called 'Mumbai'.
March 4, 2017
I think he went off the rails starting with the Doga chapter.
September 26, 2018
Great book with separate sections for different parts of Mumbai's history
November 1, 2019
Apart from some really good anecdotes about Mumbai's history, there's nothing much in the book.
Too much of romanticism. It often drags into unnecessary pages.
Too much of romanticism. It often drags into unnecessary pages.
August 8, 2020
A good insight for the lay reader into the metamorphosis of Mumbai from a group of islands to the bustling megacity it is today.
January 5, 2022
I was a little disappointed Prakash did not include Raman raghav in his narrative. Beautiful encapsulation of the rich history of Bombay
October 17, 2023
3.75 stars
June 9, 2024
An excellent book that gives you a beautifully written biography of Mumbai
September 9, 2014
Gyan Prakash. Mumbai Fables, Harper Collins publisher India, Noida, India, 2011 (Pages 396, paperback)
Rating: 8/10
Anyone who loves or ever has loved Bombay/Mumbai will enjoy this book immensely. I did.
While doing research on something else, I stumbled on this book in the net. Google Books offer an extensive preview of the book. Without leaving my computer screen, I must have read more than fifty pages. Captivated by the book, and disappointed that Google had not made the entire book available, I immediately ordered it online.
On one hand, Mumbai Fables offers Bombay’s history from the Portuguese times till today, but the book is structured differently than a history book. It chooses certain defining highlights in Bombay’s history and devotes a chapter to each. You have chapters on the Gothic Parade in the south of Bombay, the Nanawati case and Blitz’s role in influencing the outcome, city’s shifting dominance from communists to Shiv Sena, and the planning and frustrations of building a twin city. All of them provide insights into the respective times.
The book is extremely well written. The author is the professor of history at Princeton University. The language of the book is that of an outsider (not Indian English), but Gyan Prakash has worked with passion of an insider when researching and writing the book.
Did you know that Sir Jamshedji Jejeebhoy (whose name graces a school of art, a hospital and a flyover) was the king of the opium trade? That Bombay was a kind of ghetto city with Europeans living to the south of Churchgate and mill workers cramped in the Girangaon tenements? In fact the distribution of different languages and religions that existed 100 years ago (as mentioned in the book) still holds true: Parsis:Colaba,Taddeo, Dadar; Maharashtrian middle class: Girgaon, Thakurdwar, Shivaji Park; Gujratis, Jains: Kalbadevi, Bhuleshwar, Ghatkopar, Borivli; Muslims: Mohammad Ali Road, Bhendi Bazaar, Abdul Rehman street; south Indians: Matunga. We are all deeply connected to our roots.
The story of Maharashtra’s chief minister clandestinely selling the Marine Drive land to a gang of builders: Dr Maker, Jolly group, Mittals, Tulsiani, Dalamal, Somani, and Raheja bring alive the skyscrapers on Nariman point. The plots were sold without tenders and without an auction. The court passed strictures and the chief minister resigned. Is this what would happen with current scams like 2G? History seems to repeat itself.
If a fault must be found with the book, I would point to the chapter ‘Avenger on the Street’. It is devoted to Doga, Bombay’s fictitious superhero. I must admit I had not read those comics, not even heard about them. A long chapter with colour reproduction of the comics talking about Doga as seriously as if he were a historical figure seems out of place for an otherwise excellent book.
Verdict: Bombay residents and Bombay lovers must read this. If you wish to read the book without paying, read the hundred or so pages here. I am sure, like me, you will be tempted to order the book online after that.
Rating: 8/10
Anyone who loves or ever has loved Bombay/Mumbai will enjoy this book immensely. I did.
While doing research on something else, I stumbled on this book in the net. Google Books offer an extensive preview of the book. Without leaving my computer screen, I must have read more than fifty pages. Captivated by the book, and disappointed that Google had not made the entire book available, I immediately ordered it online.
On one hand, Mumbai Fables offers Bombay’s history from the Portuguese times till today, but the book is structured differently than a history book. It chooses certain defining highlights in Bombay’s history and devotes a chapter to each. You have chapters on the Gothic Parade in the south of Bombay, the Nanawati case and Blitz’s role in influencing the outcome, city’s shifting dominance from communists to Shiv Sena, and the planning and frustrations of building a twin city. All of them provide insights into the respective times.
The book is extremely well written. The author is the professor of history at Princeton University. The language of the book is that of an outsider (not Indian English), but Gyan Prakash has worked with passion of an insider when researching and writing the book.
Did you know that Sir Jamshedji Jejeebhoy (whose name graces a school of art, a hospital and a flyover) was the king of the opium trade? That Bombay was a kind of ghetto city with Europeans living to the south of Churchgate and mill workers cramped in the Girangaon tenements? In fact the distribution of different languages and religions that existed 100 years ago (as mentioned in the book) still holds true: Parsis:Colaba,Taddeo, Dadar; Maharashtrian middle class: Girgaon, Thakurdwar, Shivaji Park; Gujratis, Jains: Kalbadevi, Bhuleshwar, Ghatkopar, Borivli; Muslims: Mohammad Ali Road, Bhendi Bazaar, Abdul Rehman street; south Indians: Matunga. We are all deeply connected to our roots.
The story of Maharashtra’s chief minister clandestinely selling the Marine Drive land to a gang of builders: Dr Maker, Jolly group, Mittals, Tulsiani, Dalamal, Somani, and Raheja bring alive the skyscrapers on Nariman point. The plots were sold without tenders and without an auction. The court passed strictures and the chief minister resigned. Is this what would happen with current scams like 2G? History seems to repeat itself.
If a fault must be found with the book, I would point to the chapter ‘Avenger on the Street’. It is devoted to Doga, Bombay’s fictitious superhero. I must admit I had not read those comics, not even heard about them. A long chapter with colour reproduction of the comics talking about Doga as seriously as if he were a historical figure seems out of place for an otherwise excellent book.
Verdict: Bombay residents and Bombay lovers must read this. If you wish to read the book without paying, read the hundred or so pages here. I am sure, like me, you will be tempted to order the book online after that.
September 3, 2015
Let me be frank. I bought this book not because it is about history, but the edition in Landmark bookstore had Anushka Sharma's photo in the cover. Though I have a lot of unread books, I wanted to finish this recent book, for reasons not very clear to me. I had read this book while waiting for receiving conduct certificate from college, in Coimbatore- Chennai bus, in lodge, in my room.
This is a true history book which seeks to explain & theorise about the megalopolis that is Mumbai. The "seeks to explain" part may be boring for people who like history better as chronicles or as a story.
The author traces the history of Mumbai since the advent of Portuguese. He chronicles the reclamation of land, the development of popular culture (cinema, literature, comics & the likes), rise and fall of communists, rise and rise of Shiv Sena, various steps taken for urban development... all the while sprinkling the chronicle with theories and interpretation of events.
The author localises history & it is great. I'm hoping for more such books that take a microscopic view of history rather than talking only about the mainstream discourse.
This is a true history book which seeks to explain & theorise about the megalopolis that is Mumbai. The "seeks to explain" part may be boring for people who like history better as chronicles or as a story.
The author traces the history of Mumbai since the advent of Portuguese. He chronicles the reclamation of land, the development of popular culture (cinema, literature, comics & the likes), rise and fall of communists, rise and rise of Shiv Sena, various steps taken for urban development... all the while sprinkling the chronicle with theories and interpretation of events.
The author localises history & it is great. I'm hoping for more such books that take a microscopic view of history rather than talking only about the mainstream discourse.
September 8, 2016
At places it is intriguing.
At places, it actually was un-interesting.
Maybe that cause I am not used to 'commentary'.
On the contrary, from the same genre I read one - a tale about Mumbai's own reflection in Pakistan - Karachi. The Upstairs Wife had done a great job telling tale of a city.
At places it proves to be a great source of information while on the other it delves in great depth for things that are not much interesting, like Doga chapter is presented at great length. But yes, the book packs in a great information about the city. That is undeniable fact.
To be frank, I read this because I heard there is a movie being made from one of the character mentioned in the chapter Tabloid and the city. Karanjia. That is obvious, because this chapter is the most interesting part of the book. With Nanavati case and role of Blitz tabloid in it - it makes a saucy script all the way.
At places, it actually was un-interesting.
Maybe that cause I am not used to 'commentary'.
On the contrary, from the same genre I read one - a tale about Mumbai's own reflection in Pakistan - Karachi. The Upstairs Wife had done a great job telling tale of a city.
At places it proves to be a great source of information while on the other it delves in great depth for things that are not much interesting, like Doga chapter is presented at great length. But yes, the book packs in a great information about the city. That is undeniable fact.
To be frank, I read this because I heard there is a movie being made from one of the character mentioned in the chapter Tabloid and the city. Karanjia. That is obvious, because this chapter is the most interesting part of the book. With Nanavati case and role of Blitz tabloid in it - it makes a saucy script all the way.
May 15, 2014
I had not read any historical books earlier. Recently when I was having an argument with a friend about Mumbai, I realized that I didn't know much about Mumbai 's history. One of my friend suggested this book to me.
The book is very nicely written, traces Mumbai's history right from the days of Portuguese. It talks about how the seven island turned into single Mumbai, the rise of Parsi merchants, the cotton mills, the chawls and bungalows. It traces the emergence of many great writers of the city, rise and fall of communists, proliferation of shivsena.
Recommended if you want to read about Mumbai
The book is very nicely written, traces Mumbai's history right from the days of Portuguese. It talks about how the seven island turned into single Mumbai, the rise of Parsi merchants, the cotton mills, the chawls and bungalows. It traces the emergence of many great writers of the city, rise and fall of communists, proliferation of shivsena.
Recommended if you want to read about Mumbai
August 3, 2015
Call me shallow, but the only chapter that genuinely interested me was the chapter on the Tabloid. That was an amazing ride, and a captivating narrative on how tabloid is a representative of and a mover of the city; well-narrated and analyzed. Well researched, I'm sure, but the other parts felt a little removed for me.
Also, the binding of the book is a little annoying, huge fonts and a stiff back that doesn't really open all the way.
Also, the binding of the book is a little annoying, huge fonts and a stiff back that doesn't really open all the way.
October 29, 2010
Cultural history that sets very high standards with some chapters, and only just fails to meet them in others. Slightly idiosyncratically balanced - it devotes a chapter each to the Nanavati case and the rise of the Shiv Sena alike - but beautifully assembled. No stunning revelations, factual or philosophical, but as a narrative about narratives? Works it.
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