Mumbai’s Masjid Bunder: A memorial hall marks sailors who died during World Wars
The names of 2,223 seamen of the royal navy who perished during World War 1, along with the names of their ships, are displayed in tall brass plaques on the walls of the memorial hall.
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The memorial hall in Masjid Bunder. (Express photo: Ganesh Shirsekar)
Inside a backpacking facility for seafarers at Masjid Bunder lies a proposed Grade III heritage structure. The memorial hall at Indian Sailors Home was built (in 1931) in remembrance of the sailors and merchant seamen who died during World War I and II. The hall is located away from the public gaze on a Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) property.
The memorial is a proposed listed Grade III heritage structure (Sr NO 114, in B ward) as per the revised draft heritage list of 2012. After this list drew criticism from stakeholders, a committee was formed to scrutinise it. Sources said the report by the review committee was accepted by the BMC in 2017, and by the state government in 2018. A notification from the State is expected regarding the heritage status of the structures reviewed and proposed in the report.
“We are awaiting a list on the confirmation of heritage structures from the urban development department,” BMC deputy municipal architect Aparna Bhatte told the Indian Express.
The names of 2,223 seamen of the royal navy who perished during World War 1, along with the names of their ships, are displayed in tall brass plaques on the walls of the memorial hall. The hall also bears the statement: “The royal Indian marine and the merchant navy who fell in the great war and whose grave is the sea”. It is surrounded by military and country flags.
A World War II memorial was later added to the room, with a book that lists the names of 6,531 men. “Normally, war memorials are located in open spaces such as grounds. However, this memorial is located as a corner building with a rounded edge abutting a road junction and a house. It has an internal false dome rising above with a star and also an actual dome above on the top floor, making it a landmark in an area that is otherwise dominated by low-rise warehouses,” said conservation architect Vikas Dilawari, who worked on the restoration of the memorial hall that was completed last year.
“It has an interesting proportion and scale and has an elegant sanctity and aura,” he added.
The Indian Sailors Home was built by the British on the land leased/owned by the Bombay Port Trust (BPT), now Mumbai Port Trust, in 1931. The flooring and the roof of the memorial hall reflect the sailors’ navigation theme. The flooring pattern is a compass which marks the North while the roof above has a star encased in a sun, denoting the practice of using stars to navigate. The cornerstone of the building was laid, as per the plaque, by Sir Fredrick Hugh Skyes on January 14, 1931.
Every year, a ceremonial wreath is laid by the British Deputy High Commissioner. The architect of the building is not known. “There are some drawings, but unfortunately, the name is not clear…” said Dilawari.
“During war, thousands of seafarers worked aboard ships continuously for four years. There were involved in providing ammunition, life support and food for the British… The British always wanted to kill the Indian economy. However, on April 5, 1919, Indians got together and Scindia Steam Navigation was formed to break the monopolies of British ownership. This is the 100th year of that event,” said Abdulgani Serang, General Secretary, National Union Seafarers of India.
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