Fishing Boats At Chowpatty Bombay, 1900 Postcard
Old 1900 photo postcard of Chowpatty and boats in Bombay, now Mumbai. The caption reads “Bombay wood boats Chaupati foot of Walkeshwar”. This is an early view before the Back Bay reclamation scheme was set in place in the 1920s. The photos show a number of fishing boats. The undeveloped land is also partially visible this is where Chowpatty Beach would come up in later years. A bullock cart and some men are also visible.
The fishing boats were owned mainly by the Koli community, the original inhabitants of Bombay. Walkeshwar, Malabar Hill, Cumballa, etc lies on the right not visible in this picture. Reference from an 1870s guidebook: ‘The drive from Malabar Hill to Chowpatty along the foot of the cliffs is very pretty. The steep banks are covered with foliage…among the basaltic masses of rock above the road is a colony of coolies. Who, having few wants, are quite happy in their miserable huts…’
Did you know – Chowpatty is an Anglicised form of Chau-pati (four channels or four creeks in Marathi) as per Bombay City Gazetteer.
From the collection – 1964 M. Suriyamoorthy Charcoal Art Abstract (#17)., King George V & Queen Mary Leaving India – Old Photo 1912., Mumbai Horse-Drawn Tram – Old Print 1897., Nawab Of Bhopal’s Bentley Car – Old Photo 1926 (#1).
