Wooded Malabar Hill & Back Bay Bombay, 1890 Photo
An evocative photograph from 1890 captures the serene expanse of Back Bay and the lush, wooded slopes of Malabar Hill in Bombay. At the time, both Back Bay and Malabar Hill formed part of the original “H”-shaped Bombay Island. The image depicts a quiet coastal landscape, with a single boat resting near the shoreline. A striking contrast to the bustling metropolis that now occupies this very stretch.
Scattered along the water’s edge and rising gently up the hill are a handful of early homes and colonial-era structures. The dense greenery of Malabar Hill dominates the scene.
At the southern tip of Malabar Hill lies Malabar Point, a site of administrative and historical importance. This is where the Raj Bhavan stands today, the official residence of the Governor of Maharashtra. During the British colonial period, this very location housed the Government House, serving as the residence of the British Governor of Bombay.
The transformation of this tranquil coastline began with the Back Bay Reclamation Project. The once narrow, gravelly shore gradually expanded into what is now known as Chowpatty Beach. The lone boat seen in the photograph may have been used for fishing or for transporting timber, an important trade at the time. Timber was commonly unloaded at a designated section of the shore known as Lakdi Bunder, or the Timber Depot.
Today, it is almost impossible to imagine this calm and sparsely populated coastline amid Mumbai’s dense urban fabric. This rare 19th-century view serves as a valuable visual record of a city in transition. Click image to enlarge.
Read also Exploring the rich history of Mumbai’s Malabar Hill.
Did you know – Malabar Hill is said to derive its name from “Malabaris” (pirates from the Malabar/Kerala coast), who reportedly used the area as a refuge.
