Bandra fort (Castella de Aguada) is the most visited of Mumbai's forts, thanks to its sea-facing promenade. File pic

A month ago, a historian friend who was visiting the city for the first time, sounded excited on arrival. "I read up about the forts of Mumbai. This is going to be fun. When do we start our trails?" the friend enquired. Not one to play spoilsport for a historic rendezvous, for once, we found ourselves in a spot, as we guiltily began thinking up excuses to skip the plan. To be fair, we had our reasons. After forgettable visits to the appalling fortifications (or what is left of it) at Worli, Bandra and Sion, we didn't have the heart to sound like a killjoy. The lesser said about the forts at Sewri, Mahim and Dharavi, the better.