Another look at the Bandra Fort in Mumbai

A brief history of the fort is carved in stone

As you walk towards the end of the Bandra Bandstand promenade, past the aptly-named Hotel Land's End, the ruins of the 'Castella de Aguada' come into sight. Better know as the Bandra Fort, the Castella de Aguada is located on a hillock by the Arabian sea.

Standing at the archway which was the entrance to the fort, I found it difficult to imagine how the fort must have been when not dilapidated. A part of it was demolished by the colonial British. Most of it has simply crumbled away - either vandalised by humans or eroded by the sea and the forces of nature. The remains are held together by the efforts of the residents of Bandra Bandstand, a few environmentalists and the Archaeological Survey of India.

Tiled steps lead up to an amphitheatre and a hill garden which have been partly fenced off from the rest of the fort. The amphitheatre makes clever use of a flight of stairs and what must have been a landing inside the fort. Manicured hedges and palm trees surround it. A sign scarily warns about the presence of snakes. (What if serpentine guest decide to come and watch your show?) The secluded crannies and corners of the fort are occupied by young, canoodling couples deprived of privacy in the space-crunched city. Those who can't find a suitable spot take to necking openly. Nobody bothers them. It's the 'privacy-out-in-the-open' unique to Mumbai.

Amidst the stone and mortar masonry of old, arches and walls renovated or patched with cement and concrete stand out. The 'restoration' of the fort has ended up highlighting the dilapidation of the place. The entire fort looks like a patchwork of the repaired, the reconstructed and the original.

Arch at the entrance. It was covered with graffiti before concrete was patched on to it.

The archway at the entrance is closed to the public. The stone stairs and lime plaster balustrades beyond it are pock-marked with erosion and wear-and-tear. A flight of rubble stairs provides an alternative way to the top of the fort. The top, reduced to about a hundred metres from sea level, houses a tiny lily pond and assorted greenery. The local residents come to the place on their morning constitutional. The top offers a view of the expanse of the Arabian sea, the Bandra Worli Sea Link, the Mahim Bay and the Mumbai skyline. The sea diverts a part o road traffic over the sea saving Mumbaikars precious time from their commutes. The sight is a curious contrast. A modern feat of architecture stands cheek by jowl with an architectural relic. The sea link is the pride of the metropolis, a testimony to the fast-paced lifestyle of its citizens. The fort is simply decadent.

The sun rose higher and the sea breeze turned warmer making it too hot and humid to stay on. My bunch of friends and I decided to move on to our next stop, the fabled Mount Mary church in Bandra.

Photo Credit: Sudhakaran, B Ramchander, Ramchander Goud and Mohsin Khan Pathan. 

(For more photos and the history of the Bandra Fort go here on Wayfarers and Pathfinders or here on Wikipedia.)

The Lilypond (and it has little Guppies too)

The state has named it Rajiv Gandhi Sagari Setu. Everyone else calls it the Bandra Worli Sea Link.

The amphitheatre. What could this place have been in the fort of old? A landing or a common area?  

Looking on to the Arabian Sea

Manicured hedges surrounding the amphitheatre

The Amphitheatre