Art Deco in Mumbai - A Tour You Should Not Miss Out On! March 16, 2020 When you think Art Deco you probably think of Miami, Paris, or NYC! Have you ever thought of Art Deco in Mumbai??? Sounds incredible, doesn’t it? I had no clue either. Until Mumbai’s Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensemble got inscribed into the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in June 2018. Yeah, there was an “Art Deco” in that name. After that, I have been on a passion drive to learn more about these relatively unknown heritage buildings in India. It was during this quest that I found out about a non-profit trust dedicated to the preservation, chronicling, and showcasing of Mumbai’s Art Deco heritage by the same name. Art Deco Mumbai. I could not think of a better way to find out more about these iconic buildings than to collaborate with the team at Art Deco Mumbai. And so I did. Let’s see how my tour with them went and what I learned. If you wish to catch up with the team of Art Deco Mumbai and find out more about their efforts (which are huge by the way), check out their website or follow them on Facebook. So, let’s get started with the Art Deco Tour in Mumbai. Now, what exactly is Art Deco? One of the prettiest Deco buildings in Mumbai – Rajjab Mahal near the Oval Maidan Art Deco is a form of art that originated in Paris in the 1920s and reached its peak in the 1930s in Europe and the USA. By using a lot of symmetry, geometrical patterns, and stylized forms, Art Deco came to be known as the art style of the modern era. It represented glamour, luxury, sleekness, and speed. You will not find a lot of detailing on art deco surfaces. They are usually simple and clean. The curves and boundaries are pretty well defined. And symmetry plays a vital role. Like every other art form, Art Deco was influenced and inspired by preceding art forms like Cubism, Art Nouveau, and the Bauhaus School. (Only if you wish to dig deeper!) The result was a sleek, trendy art form. Think of the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building in New York City. Or the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. Or the more famous and colorful buildings in the Historic District of Miami Beach. But how did Art Deco land in Mumbai? Now, that’s an interesting story. One you would love to hear. In the 1930s, trade flourished in Bombay. Cotton and spice trade boomed. The city grew bigger and richer. Authorities planned to expand Mumbai by reclaiming land from the sea. Mumbai was originally a conglomeration of 7 small islands. Thanks to all the reclamation, it is now a big island city. Rich merchants and entrepreneurs patronized the effort by bringing in Art Deco from their travels in Europe and further west. Artists started getting trained in Art Deco in India and abroad. Art Deco was stylish and non-conformist. It lacked the excessive detailing of Gothic architecture and the Asian exoticism of Indo-Saracenic style. Art Deco was the perfect futuristic expression for Bombay’s elite and the rising middle class. It was India’s first step into modern architecture. And that is how Art Deco became an integral part of Mumbai’s growth story in the 1930s. Where can you see Art Deco buildings in Mumbai? The corner Moonlight apartment in front of Oval – look at that symmetry You can find most Art Deco buildings in South Mumbai, notably on Marine Drive and on the western flank of Oval Maidan. The Oval location is especially crucial. And that is because the Oval is flanked by Art Deco buildings on one side and by Victorian Gothic structures on the other. Remember we said that the Victorian Gothic and Art Deco ensemble was added to the UNESCO list? Well, this is where you will find it. One of the most interesting bits about this UNESCO inscription was that it was entirely citizen- driven. And took 14 long years! As incredible as it may sound, it was made possible by some stalwart humans of Bombay. I have a video about these people right at the end of this article if you wish to scroll down. So far the team has identified more than 600 art deco buildings in Mumbai. And they say this is just a fraction. Miami has 800. Who knows! We might just have the largest collection of art deco in the world. Let’s find out what should be some of the important stops on your Mumbai Art Deco Trail. The Oval is such an important landmark for Mumbai Art Deco! Just head over to the Oval Maidan in South Mumbai on a Sunday morning. There are scores of teams playing cricket matches here. While enjoying a game of cricket with your favorite cup of chai, make sure you look around to spot some of the iconic buildings around you. You can see the Bombay High Court, the Rajabhai Clock Tower, and the University of Mumbai to the east of Oval. Glorious Victorian Gothic buildings from the 19th century. On your west, you will see the less sassy Moonlight and Sunshine and the more conspicuous and colorful Shiv Shanti Bhuvan and Rajjab Mahal. These are part of a row of carefully-constructed, short (less than 5 floors), Art Deco residential buildings – now peeping from behind a row of tropical trees. At the end of the row, you can see the impressive silhouette of Eros Cinema, a premier movie theater from the 1930s. Beautiful stairwells are a characteristic feature of the Art Deco buildings in Mumbai. As one of my Instagram followers pointed out, they look and feel like tunnels of time. So is Marine Drive! Once done with the Oval, you can head to Marine Drive, Mumbai’s large, open promenade facing the Arabian Sea. Right along the Marine Drive is a stack of 35 Art Deco buildings of similar height but subtle differences. Soona Mahal, Seksaria Building, and the quirky Tapporevala Aquarium are some of the more notable ones. Apparently, many famous Bollywood stars and movie moguls of yesteryears hosted lavish parties in these Art Deco buildings. And some of these functioned as war offices during World War II. The Deco buildings of Marine Drive are filled with glamor, intrigue, and untold stories. These buildings have an unhindered view of the Arabian Sea. This makes them some of the most expensive pieces of real estate in the world. But as you stroll down the neighborhood, you will notice that many of them have age-old lease notices stuck on them. Yeah, the 99-year lease agreements! Even today, old tenants pay a tiny sum to live in these buildings although the rents in surrounding areas have boomed. Elsewhere in Mumbai. Apart from the Oval and the Marine Drive, you can see Art Deco structures in some of the northern suburbs such as Dadar, Matunga, and Marine Lines. Noor Mahal in Matunga, Krisha Kunj in Dadar, and Liberty Cinema in Marine Lines are stunning examples. These buildings are in various states of repair – many crumbling down! How do you identify Art Deco buildings? If you decide to go check out the Art Deco scene in Mumbai and are doing a DIY tour (which you can certainly do – all the buildings are out there in the open!), then look out for these Deco characteristics. You will find the first three in almost every Art Deco building that is there in Mumbai. Geometric patterns Geometrical patterns form an integral part of art deco facades. Single-color bands are pretty common. They line balconies, windows, doors, and literally every other contour in the building. Even staircases are graced by geometrical designs. Chevrons, squares, and zig-zag patterns are also popular. Look at the interesting patterns below. Symmetry Art Deco buildings are unflinchingly symmetrical. I believe symmetry is not just the essence of Art Deco but also the basic premise on which this style took form. Take a look at all the corner buildings and notice how the edges symmetrically flank the roads. Stepped pyramids Another very remarkable characteristic, though not very common among the deco buildings in Mumbai, is the stepped pyramid structure. Think of a typical wedding cake. Or remember the Ziggurat of Ur from Mesopotamia or the Pyramid of Chichen Itza from Mexico! Eros Cinema in front of Oval is a stark example of Ziggurat architecture. Low compound walls This is something my tour guide pointed out. All the art deco buildings either had low boundary walls or no boundary walls. This was done to allow enough sunlight and air into the ground floor houses which have always been lived in. There wasn’t the concept of having parking and mailboxes on the ground floor then. Parking was a couple of yards away, down the street. Motion-inspired balconies More often than not, the balconies of art deco buildings were inspired by the concepts of motion and speed. As a consequence, they were often designed like trains, ships, and airplanes. It gave them a sleek and futuristic look. And the feeling of being in motion. Some of these balconies that were designed like train engines are fondly referred to as the “locomotive balconies”. Interesting motifs Interesting motifs adorn the facades of many of these buildings. One of the most iconic ones is that of a Greek frozen fountain at the entrance of Court View. All with fascinating stories in the background.