A road steeped in history, but little recognition

“Since the time of the British, there have been several small printers in the area. So, we started a business of printing wedding and other invitation cards here. As the area became more expensive, the presses moved out to the suburbs, but the shops remained here. Slowly, other businesses in the area realised this was a lucrative option with very little investment, and they also got into it. At least 80 to 85 per cent of the shops here came into the business in the last decade,” said Anand Thakkar, owner of Meena Agencies, one of the first shops to open here in 1964.

“The shop was started by my father, Pravin Thakkar, and we were one of three shops which began the invitation card business here. Among the three, Kumar Agencies and ourselves still have shops here,” he added.

While patrons from across the state visit these shops for their cards, residents living nearby also hold strong bonds with them. Hemant Joshi, manager of the nearby Phadke Sree Ganpati Mandir, said, “These shops offer a good variety in invitation cards and at a reasonable rate. Not only was my wedding invitation card printed here, but also the invitations for my son’s threading ceremony, my own threading ceremony and even the invitation card for my parents’ wedding in 1972. It is something that has passed on from generation to generation.”

Joshi has lived in the area all his life and has seen the landscape changing. “So many towers have come up here in recent years and the old heritage buildings have diminished,” he added. Khadilkar Marg has also played an important role in history. “Mahatma Gandhi had stayed here during his first stint as a lawyer in the city. Lokmanya Tilak began the first Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav from Keshavji Naik Chawl on this road. Even actress Durga Khote’s childhood home was located here,” said Gothoskar. Despite all this, the area gets very little recognition.

“This one of the oldest areas of the city and it is a treasure for the new generation to understand their roots. The trouble is, if it is declared as a heritage area, we will not be able to redevelop it. They should allow us to maintain the area, and at the same time, preserve its heritage,” said Joshi. Gothoskar conducts walks here to increase awareness about the area’s heritage. “People think only Fort has heritage value. Since this area has a lot of chawls, it is often considered a vertical slum. But, the area has a lot of cultural and heritage value. The heritage tag should have come at least 50 years ago. The situation of the buildings are so bad that the only solution is cluster development,” he added.