Uncovering Urban Legacies: Stories of Bombay's Precincts - Shivaji Park

Culture and Heritage
Heritage, Global Environment
Panel Discussion
Tuesday, 9th July 2024
From 6:30pm to 8:00pm (IST)
Free

Details

Did you know that the iconic Shivaji Park was originally called Mahim Park? Coinciding with the 300th birth anniversary celebrations of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, it became known by its present name resonating with the spirit, pride, and identity of the city's ethos. 

After an in-depth exploration of the unique diasporas that shaped the city, Avid Learning presents the next installment of its acclaimed programming series Uncovering Urban Legacies, turning the focus to precincts – areas of heritage and cultural significance. Each episode of this series will spotlight one iconic precinct, exploring its historical significance, architectural splendor, diverse cultural expressions, and culinary landscape shaping the city’s multicultural fabric and cosmopolitan character. Shivaji Park embodies the profound significance of political and social gatherings witnessed before and after India's independence. This hallowed ground is not only the cradle of Indian cricket, but has been a canvas where diverse artistic expressions have flourished across music, theatre, and architecture.

Join us as we unveil the multifaceted layers of Shivaji Park's legacy and explore the evolving narrative of this storied neighborhood.  


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Uncovering Urban Legacies: Stories of Bombay's Precincts - Shivaji Park
Uncovering Urban Legacies: Stories of Bombay's Precincts - Shivaji Park
Uncovering Urban Legacies: Stories of Bombay's Precincts - Shivaji Park
Uncovering Urban Legacies: Stories of Bombay's Precincts - Shivaji Park

Faculty

Shanta Gokhale

Shanta Gokhale

Writer and Translator

Shanta Gokhale is a bilingual writer, translator, theatre critic, playwright and film script writer based in Mumbai. The first two of her three Marathi novels have won Maharashtra State awards. Her books on theatre include “Playwright at the Centre: Marathi Drama From 1943 to the Present”, “Satyadev Dubey: A Fifty-year Journey Through Theatre”, “The Theatre of Veenapani Chawla” and “The Scenes we Made: An Oral History of Experimental Theatre in Mumbai”. Her memoir, One Foot on the Ground won the Crossword jury prize for non-fiction. Her other non-fiction book is Shivaji Park, Dadar 28: History, Places, People. Shanta Gokhale has won the Sangeet Natak Akademi award for contribution to the performing arts and the Sahitya Akademi award for her translation of Laxmibai Tilak’s “Smritichitre” into English. She has received lifetime achievement awards from the Ooty Literary Festival, Thespo, Maharashtra Foundation, Tata Literature Live and the International Theatre Festival of Kerala.           

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Kaamna Patel

Kaamna Patel

Visual Artist and Founder, Editions JOJO

Kaamna Patel is a visual artist and book maker currently based in Mumbai, her home city. She launched her publishing imprint Editions JOJO with her book ‘In Today's News: Alpha Males Women Power’ in May 2019 in Mumbai which has since evolved into an artist-led platform for contemporary visual culture, at the centre of which is one of the largest, publicly accessible photobook libraries in the region. As a publishing imprint, Editions JOJO is dedicated to exploring new perspectives, process and playfulness through images and the book object.

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Nikhil Mahashur

Nikhil Mahashur

Principal Architect, Nikhil Mahashur & Associates and Founder, Walkitecture

Nikhil Mahashur's strong passion for hospitality and commercial architecture is blended with a broad experience in PMC. He believes in creating a space not only for the person who commissions it but for the people who are going to use the space – each project is a celebration of that space and its intimacy. He describes his architectural style as Eclitecture - designing cotemporary buildings and layering them with traditional elements. He firmly believes that the first impression is the one that will make you fall in love with the building. Helmed by Nikhil Mahashur, Nikhil Mahashur & Associates (NMA) is accustomed to delivering exemplary projects across Architecture, Renovation, Interiors and PMC. NMA's design philosophy is therefore entrenched in creating the right first impression and a WOW factor through simplicity, where even a little chaos can be simple.  

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Aditi Limaye Kamat

Aditi Limaye Kamat

Chef-restaurateur and Co-owner, Home Chef

Aditi Limaye Kamat began her career with the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai. With partners Niketa and Jeetendra, she co-owned and operated several brands: ‘Home Chef’ - an all-day diner, ‘The Cake Studio’ - a bespoke bakery, ‘Open House’ - a neighborhood-friendly pub and Mumbai’s first girl-owned bar, ‘Quarter House’ - a modern Indian kitchen and bar, and ‘Sizzler House’ - a dine-in restaurant.With the lockdown being tough on the hospitality sector, she had to shut the bars due to heavy rents, but continues to run her first baby Home Chef. Over the last 16 years, Aditi has evolved from chef to chef-restaurateur, showcasing her skills on the cookery show Mejwani for three years, serving as guest chief editor for the Kalnirnay Swadisht Calendar, and writing recipes for Saamna and Loksatta. She's also the Chef Editor for the Kalnirnay English edition for 2024, sharing her special recipes each month.

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Collaborations

Kala Ghoda Association
Kala Ghoda Association
X & Zero
X & Zero
Walkitecture
Walkitecture
Goethe-Institut Max Mueller Bhavan
Goethe-Institut Max Mueller Bhavan
Editions Jojo
Editions Jojo

Event Video



Press Coverage

Unearthing Shivaji Park’s urban legacy

Unearthing Shivaji Park’s urban legacy

Tuesday, July 9, 2024 Indian Express
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Uncovering Urban Legacies

Uncovering Urban Legacies

Sunday, June 30, 2024 Free Press Journal
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Blog

Mahim Park to Shivaji Park- The History

The city of Bombay witnessed the outbreak of the Bubonic Plague, also known as the Bombay Plague in 1896. The British believed the cause of this outbreak was sanitation issues arising out of overpopulation in neighborhoods like Parel and Girgaum. They formed Bombay City Improvement Trust(BCIT), their task was to decongest the city in a way that would reduce the density of the population and open up the landlocked central and eastern regions to the sea breeze. This led to the emergence of apartment typology in the expansion of the Dadar- Matunga areas. The development of the Shivaji Park precinct spread across 28 acres which included the Art Deco style buildings designed by Indian architects and the park was also part of the vision which began in 1920. The massive park opened to the public in 1925 as the Mahim Park. In 1927, it was renamed Shivaji Park by the Municipal Corporation.

 

Hub of Creativity, Cricket, and Celebrations

The Shivaji Park and the surrounding precinct being one of the earliest planned neighbourhoods of Bombay opened a new avenue of life with opportunities to explore an upgraded lifestyle for the residents. The locality became home to several sports clubs, cultural institutions, schools, and other social institutions. The Shivaji Park Gymkhana is one of the oldest sports clubs in India and it has produced well-known international players like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Pravin Amre, Vinod Kambli, Dilip Vengasarkar, and many more. It was a significant place of public discussion for creative professionals like writers, editors, and critics. The park has a distinctive journey associated with politics, whether during Yashwantrao Chavan’s farewell as Mumbai’s Chief Minister, Balasaheb Thackrey’s speeches, or the annual gathering during Dr Ambedkar Jayanti in December. The park and the social and cultural institutions in the vicinity continue to be in light with unique occasions like Dusshera Celebrations by Bengal Club, Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj Art Festival in February and more.

 

Everyday Narratives around the Shivaji Park ‘Katta’

The periphery of the boundary wall of the park has been familiar as the ‘katta’. Originally the term has been used in many cultures for an informal gathering of people at a community space like a temple, open grounds, under a tree, or any public place exchanging thoughts and ideas.

The lower height is welcoming and perfect for people to sit, relax, or nap. The park is open to all people during the day or night or one can stroll around the katta, jog, exercise, or treat themselves to ice-gola, or a kulfi for old time sake or just walk past the signal to grab a Starbucks coffee followed by some leisure time starring the waves of the Arabia sea across the road. These encounters with different corners of the park and the precinct keep shaping the lives of residents and visitors.

 

The Next Chapter- Skyline of Towers

The city of Bombay, now Mumbai has entered a new era of redevelopment. The Park is still listed under the Grade I Heritage list however the precinct surrounding the park has been removed from the heritage list. Hence, there are no restraints on the development around the park. Shanta Gokhale author of the book Shivaji Park – Dadar 28: History, Places, People, also mentions the presence of an engaging tree cover line across the park is now replaced with a more or less uniform skyline of highrises.

 

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