Walk of Life

‘‘As a young boy, I used to cycle on Napean Sea Road, and I loved it because it was open and green, and lined by these old buildin...

Nana Chudasama,
social activist
at Malabar Hill, Mumbai

MALABAR Hill may not be the place it once was, but for Nana Chudasama, social activist and former sheriff of Mumbai, it still holds a very special place in his heart. Apart from being a resident of Malabar Hill for as long as he can remember, Chudasama believes it is here that his nostalgia for the Bombay of yesteryears is the most justified.

‘‘As a young boy, I used to cycle on Napean Sea Road, and I loved it because it was open and green, and lined by these old buildings that were almost palaces,’’ he says. Petit Hall, earlier known as the Palace of Petit and belonging to an old Parsi family by that name, is one of the houses that stand out in his memory. ‘‘I remember, they used to travel in their own private victoria. Their house had a huge garden, but we were not allowed to go in, we could only look in from the outside of a beautiful gate. We heard tales about their parties, attended by lords and governors — of course, this was much before Independence — and the grand lifestyle of the family. After Independence, the family continued to maintain the palace, but it gradually fell into disrepair. Then the entire property was sold to builders, and the family retained only a tiny cottage.’’

Ask any Mumbaikar today, and all Petit Hall would be significant for would be its gate, which is all that remains of the original palace. So much for urban decadence, you would say, but Chudasama begs to differ. ‘‘I still think Malabar Hill is a fine place. The first place I associate with it are the Hanging Gardens and, thankfully, at least that has remained unchanged.’’ This, for Chudasama, is evidence that Mumbai cares. ‘‘People are responding well to my ‘Clean and Green Mumbai’ campaign. As sheriff, I started distributing free saplings — from 15,000 a year, I now give away over 100,000.’’

Chudasama zooms in next on shipping magnate Adi Dubash’s house. Looking at the beautiful architecture and carvings, Chudasama says, ‘‘This is still a pride of the city. The tragedy is not that these old Malabar Hill buildings are under threat, rather that the skyscrapers that have come up instead are neither aesthetically nor architecturally appealing.’’

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Moving on to other buildings nearby, Chudasama stops at the American Consulate. ‘‘Lincoln House was the Wankaner Palace; it belonged to the royalty of Wankaner, Saurashtra.’’

Driving back into the sunset, Chudasama murmurs almost to himself, ‘‘I can never forget the old Malabar Hill. When you drove down from Marine Drive in the summers, the entire area would be red because of the Gulmohar trees. It was the most beautiful sight ever.”