Houses of Mazgaon, Chawls of Girgaon, Matungawalla: How these Mumbaikars are archiving lesser-known aspects of Mumbai

When Mumbai-based architect Jaee Naik's workplace moved from Santacruz to Mazgaon in April 2022, little did the Borivali resident know that she would fall in love with the neighbourhood within the first few walks she took after lunch and in the evenings. "My perspective of Mazgaon is an outsider's perspective. The houses in Matherpacady village are centuries old, and it is only five minutes away from my studio. During my walks, I came across these beautiful houses," she shares.

It was only natural that she would click pictures of them over the next one year, which then became a repository of small and big houses, which had different unique elements. In June, when Naik was talking to her colleague, she made an observation. "In architectural circles, Ranwar village and Pali village in Bandra, and Khotachiwadi are well-documented and spoken about along with the chawls in Girgaum and Parel," she says, continuing, "However, Mazgaon isn't documented as much or spoken about in that way. Everybody knows about the docks and the few mills there. So, I told my colleague, 'why don't I document this?"

Over the last few years, there have been many accounts that have sprung up on social media that have been not only just posting pictures but also creating an archive of different neighbourhoods in the city. While some of them are of popular suburbs, there are an increasing number who are taking the effort to document the lesser-known parts of the city. These are either lovers of Mumbai's diversity or architecture enthusiasts -- all with a larger vision - to create an online repository for the future, and Naik is one of them.

Exploring marvellous Mazgaon
Inspired by Houses of Bandra and Houses of Chembur, she started 'Houses of Mazgaon' on Instagram, three months ago. While the follower count may not do justice to her online archive, the houses will leave you spellbound. Armed with close to 500 pictures, she started posting them with captions that she absolutely enjoys writing every single time.

On her many walks, Naik has observed a mix of Catholic, Bohri Muslims, Parsi houses and even a Jewish house - many of which have religious motifs, which she believes is quite unique to the neighbourhood. She explains, "When you look at these houses, most of them have the Portuguese-style name plates, unique metalwork on the grill that has a religious identity, and is not like a mundane grill. You almost wonder, 'Am I walking in Mumbai or somewhere else?' These elements are very rare today due to urbanisation."

Such has been the popularity of her page that she has had messages from people asking if she conducts photo walks. While walking through these lanes and posting about them, Naik keeps thinking about the future when she comes to this place after 20 years. "Will this even remain?," She questions herself and gets anxious. "It is commendable that the community has resisted the market forces for so long when there is so much redevelopment happening in the city in Bhendi Bazaar and Byculla among other areas. I think it is very important to document these neighbourhoods through photographs or stories too, especially because we never know when there will be tall towers coming up here."

Almost three months into the project, she has had different kinds of interactions with people near these houses. While some of them think she is a real estate developer who has come to find out more about the house, others have been kind as they come and talk to her. "A person came up to me and told me about a house which has a chapel, and that it is a Navy person's house, which is over 150 years old." So, in a smaller way, while she has started talking to people in whatever way she can, it is still too early to tell where this passion project may lead.

Celebrating Matunga East
Just like Naik, another Mumbaikar, who prefers to go by the name, Matungawalla, is extremely fascinated by another neighbourhood in Mumbai -- Matunga, but more specifically Matunga East, more than West. Having lived in different parts of Mumbai including Mumbra and Navi Mumbai over the years, their love for the neighbourhood is beyond many may understand today. They share, "This place is beautiful. Coming to Matunga has been my childhood dream." The other, they say, is Vile Parle East. Being a Matungawalla, they are in awe of the cultural background of the place, which they point out has many temples and mosques that form a very important part of the community.

While not being technically sound with classical art, they absolutely love how it is a hub for classical music. "It is like a cultural club with classical programmes and Shanmukhananda hall right there." Interestingly, it's only been five years since they moved to the central suburb, as divided by the railway line, and it's not only the culture but also the architecture that amazes him every single day. It is one of two reasons that led him to start his page, Matungawalla on Instagram, the other reason being the need to document the place because of how much it is rapidly changing. They explain, "There are buildings that are only ground floor plus two floors above. It has its own sense of space."

While they used to regularly post breathtaking pictures in black and white, the last few months have kept them busy but they hope to renew it soon, inspired by the conversation with this writer. "I want the youngsters to know what Matunga was, and now what it has become," they share. There are so many old people here but the youngsters have moved to different places abroad, and will not be there to remember the old, and that is his worry.

Not giving up on Girgaum
While Naik and Matungawalla want to create an archive of Mazgaon and Matunga East, Girgaum resident Mihir Vaidya is also one who has an affinity towards his neighbourhood. While Girgaum is really famous for Chowpatty and its eateries, there is a lot more to it. Vaidya decided to combine his love for architecture and chawls along with their culture to start documenting the chawls through his Instagram account 'Chawls of Girgaon', which he started in December 2022.

Growing up, the Mumbaikar, who lives in Datta Mandir Wadi, a 150-year-old chawl in the heart of Girgaum, has seen chawls being converted into towers. So, as a student, the 23-year-old took it upon himself to research more for his thesis, which was based on the chawls in Girgaum. "In Mumbai, Girgaum is one kind of chawl and Girangaon is the other one in Lower Parel. While Girgaum was inhabited by middle class people or by office workers in the Fort area. In Girangaon, you will mostly find the chawls inhabited by mill workers because there were a lot of mills in that area." With the former being a little well-off, he says, the chawls are like wadis, which are a cluster, with a big courtyard in the middle, used for festivals like Ganeshotsav.

He explains, "What happens to chawls when they are replaced is that their elements like the corridor, courtyard and houses all being in one row and the houses having a common passage, are all replaced. These elements are all missing in the newer structures." So, through his thesis, Vaidya looked at how the chawl culture can be maintained in the newer buildings. Soon enough, he also realised how it becomes unaffordable to live in the area once the chawl is demolished. While rent is minimal in a chawl, the rent for the flats are enormous and out of reach. It is also the reason why many choose to move out but often miss the culture. "On social media, people talk about Girgaum being this and that, but the chawls aren't documented. While the names are known, where they are and how many of them are left right now is barely known," he shares.

Ever since Vaidya started the page, he has been covering chawls by their name and location with the address, so that when people see them they can identify the chawl by the name. "There are pages about Girgaum but they are not research oriented," he shares. So, he intends to change that with his account. The page has since got many admirers and Vaidya has even conducted a heritage walk to tell people more about these chawls. While he attracts the youngsters through Instagram, he also posts about the chawls on Facebook to cater to the older enthusiasts.

Even though he documents the chawls, Vaidya says the people are always what make the place unique. "With the chawls being all around and people literally being in each other's face, they are close-knit and form relationships." The Mumbaikar has had a lot of people thank him for covering their chawl. "These are not monuments, these are just ordinary buildings where ordinary people stay but they are special in their own way," he reminds, and continues, "Nobody knows what Datta Mandir Wadi is but everybody knows what Royal Opera House is. These are buildings that are not very beautiful but have made Mumbai what it is."

From here, Vaidya wants to take his love for Girgaum chawls to the next level. He has begun mapping the chawls that existed in Girgaum from 1980, after obtaining a map of Mumbai from then, where all the building footprints were also marked. He intends to compare the situation between 1980 and today to know how many chawls are there and how many of them have gone. Having pitched an alternative model to the high rises, while retaining the chawl culture in his thesis, the architect and soon-to-be urban designer says, "In the future, I plan to put up pictures of the spaces that are inspired by chawls on the account. My ultimate intention is to approach a developer so that the chawl culture can be incorporated into a high rise building. We might not be able to save the chawls but we may be able to save the culture," shares the resolute Girgaum resident.