Panoramic View of Cumballa Hill Bombay, 1890 Photo
An 1890 panoramic view photo of Cumballa Hill in Bombay (Mumbai). Cumballa Hill is in proximity to Malabar Hill in the south, Mahalaxmi in the north, and Altamount Road in the east. It faces the Arabian Sea on the west. This was once a wooded area dotted with bungalows, which were set in large, forested compounds like that seen in this photo.
You can see a beautiful virgin hill with bungalows of the once-European residents of the place. The Europeans had worked or did business mostly in the Fort area of South Bombay. Cumballa and Malabar Hills were then Europeans-only residential stretch. In the earlier days much before this photo was taken, the place was heavily forested with hardly any inhabitation.
It was overrun with wildlife such as tigers, leopards, wolves, etc. This once virgin landscape has now metamorphosed into a literal concrete jungle today. Crowded with commercial buildings, and highrise apartment blocks, home to Mumbai’s rich and the famous. Going furthest south on a finger of elevated land that protrudes into the sea is Malabar Point. It is was where the British Government House, now the Raj Bhavan is located.
Did you know- in 1803 the Times of India reported some presence of hyenas…the animal was believed to be roaming around this habitat. Another was the jackal.
From the collection- Raja Ravi Varma Paintings Depicted In Postcards., Marina Beach British Era Madras, 3 Old Postcards 1900., Queen Mary At The Taj Mahal, Old Print 1911., Earliest Motor Car In Colaba Bombay – Old Photo 1900.
