The Historical Analysis through Maps

Sorry for a long break in between!!
MAPS: Maps are a visual representation of an area; they also depict the relationships between the spatial elements of that area. Maps are a tool that i am using for analysis of the research i have done for Ranwar and about Ranwar. They are indicative in nature and depict my viewpoint based on the various available data and resident interviews over the period of my study.
Please do leave your comments and feedback!

1) The Age map of all the heritage built-scape : This map indicates the age of buildings existing as of July 2010. All buildings built before 1934 are considered historically significant. The span of life of this built form ranges from 75- 200 years. The built scape belongs to a specific style of architecture and spatial character, which defines the cultural ethos of the community that occupies them. They need special attention in terms of conservation and regeneration.

2) The Age map of all the built scape : This map indicates the age of buildings existing as of July 2010. All buildings built before 1934 are considered historically significant. The span of life of this built form ranges from 75-200 years. One can see the stark difference in the built form in the last 25 years, which has juxtaposed itself against the older built form. This also in clear indicates the threat the old built form, which needs conservation in first priority is under the scare belt.

3) Comparison in between various village structures: This collage of maps shows the similar village structures of the community of the East Indian Catholics, whose ancestry comes from the profession of Paddy cultivation. They were converted to Christianity by the Portuguese around 1575 AD. These villages date back to 400 years of constant evolution with various house types. Today these villages are looked as prime properties for development in FSI (Floor Space Index), by the builders. Hence most have them have been declared Heritage Precincts by the Heritage Society of Mumbai (MMRDA), to protect a culture, lifestyle and architecture which defines the cultural ethos of all the suburbs they are from.

The structure of the village is defined by narrow streets, winding/zing zag lanes, house types of G or G+1 levels of local vernacular architecture influenced by the Portuguese and the British styles. They hold a similar pattern of evolution all along the cost of Konkan region. They congregations/huddled houses are normally found on infertile tracts of land, the foothills in most cases. The houses are very close to each other (mainly for security reasons) and their fields move outwards, towards the fertile landscape.

There is no planning that goes into the while the houses are being constructed, wherever there is space they used to construct. Also the houses in the village grew with the increase in family members to accommodate everyone. 

4) Probable Evolution of Ranwar : This collage of maps shows the probable evolution of Ranwar through the 400 years. It is an indicative probability mainly based on the sample interviews I had with the residents of Ranwar. It is also more so an example to show how villages of this nature and spatial character evolved around the Konkan coastline.

Ranwar, 1610:

The houses start to be build around paddy fields by the farmers. They build them in a cluster format close to each other mainly for security reasons. There are about 10 houses at this time and their fields are close by. There is no planning what so ever that goes into the building of a village. The land found perfect for construction is built on. Ranwar, comes from the word 'Ran', meaning forest and 'Wada/Wadi' meaning settlement, making it to 'Ranwada' and finally 'Ranwar'. This proves the existence of a forest around, maybe moving upwards to the Mt. Mary’s Hill. Ranwar was divided in to sections mainly due to its location just at the foothills. as marked in the map, the clusters in the east belonged to 'Wada chi Wadi', higher towards the hill, while the west side belongs to 'Het Wadi', lower towards the downhill. 

Maximum Height of built scape: 396 cm

Ranwar, 1710:

Everything remains same as in 1610, a few more houses have been added. 

Maximum Height of built scape: 396 cm

Ranwar,1810:

The families started getting bigger and the houses started extending. This is one of the main reasons of Evolution of a village of this kind.

Maximum Height of built scape: 670 cm

Ranwar, 1910:

The farmers start loosing their land to the British Government for development in exchange for an assured job with the govt. The clusters have become stronger and the roads have started getting definitions. A community has started growing. There is a sudden jump visible due to the rapid increase in population.

Maximum Height of built scape: 670 cm

Ranwar, 1960:

The communities start migrating to new places with new migrants entering. The village is loosing its character due to the rapid development by the new Indian Government. The village is saturated with built scape.

Maximum Height of buil scape: 1525 cm

Ranwar, 2010:

Things are changing rapidly and a culture, lifestyle and architecture that complement each other in a community like this is dying. There are several reasons for the same.

Maximum Height of built scape: 1525 cm and going higher and higher.

5) Effects on Ranwar before and after Reclamation: This map indicates the scenario of Bandra before and after the reclamation in 1972. The effects of which are seen in Ranwar directly in terms of wind circulation and lifestyle. The reclamation which took over the south sea portion affected a lot of spatial characters of precincts nearby. At one point it used to be the best docking station for ships as they were protected by the cup, created by the 3 forts (Bandra, Worli, and Mahim) around that area. The sea edge also called for a lot of activities like family hangouts and swimming for the young.

The Lifestyle of the people got affected as a result of both Ranwar and Bazaar road being landlocked. It got in a lot of traffic and the wind circulation has been disrupted.

In the map the blue area is the water edge, the one in the south was reclaimed in 1972 to make land for development, which connects to the main western expressway that takes most of the traffic of Mumbai. Towards the other water edge in north-west there are several high rises that have blocked all the view and wind. Also in between the ares full of concrete blocks and the green cover is reduced to a considerable level.

In the below Mumbai Map of 1954 (source unknown), we can see the image of Mumbai before the second reclamation took place. In the circle one can see the cup protected by the three forts of Bandra, Worli and Mahim very clearly. It is in the Third and the last reclamation of 1972 when the southern edge of Bandra and the western edge of Mahim were reclaimed for development. The Honourable Supreme Court put a prohibition on any further reclamation in the city by putting in effect the Costal Regulatory Zones.

The Historical analysis was mainly carried out to see the heritage aspect of Ranwar Precinct. But it is not just with the analysis of the historical aspect that things get clear, a lot more analysis was done to create the reference points of better understanding the current state of the Hamlet amongst the madness that Mumbai faces everyday.

Organisation of a city

It is clear amidst organization of a city that its design is like a growing organism. Why it moves towards an organic format is due to the city dwellers giving it form and shape at every node of a its existence. And hence we should not hesitate in calling the inhabitants the true designers of their own city. They give life to the formulations of a city making it a living organism.

--(after reading 'Design of Cities' by Edmund N. Bacon)

Shirely, Rajan (Bandra) and Khotachwadi (Girgaum)

An other visit, to these amazing villages around Bandra and in Girgaum. It was a good visit, as i got to know about Parallels to Ranwar. This was not an exercise to study the differences and alikeness between these hamlets, but to study them as a whole, keeping Ranwar out of my mind.

But as we are humans and we tend to compare, it thus happened.

The first visit happened to Rajan, and the next neighborhood, Shirely in Bandra, Mumbai. It was Raghav Sethi, Neehar Desai and me looking at an other settlement in the same suburb with a similar layout, community and format. While wandering around the streets of Shirely Rajan (will use the names together henceforth, its also worth noticing the fact that the names of these two villages/hamlets were always taken in one breath, i wonder why?) we found we landed in another part of Ranwar, which we might have missed to explore. There was similarity in house layouts, the local style, the zig zag wandering streets, the grills, windows, doors. everything! But there had to be something different and that could have been in the lifestyle. If one looks at the photographs in isolation without attaching the name Shirely Rajan to it, it would just look like an other part of Ranwar. Why i contextualize everything to Ranwar is simply due to the fact that i am studying it in detail.
Lets look at some photographs from Shirely Rajan;

the Greens:

In these two hamlets a lot of importance was was given to the green around the house. almost every house we crossed gave beautiful variations of greens against the nice colors of the house. More interesting were the ways in which these greens were incorporated around their houses and the efforts placed in it. These spots serve as great nodes of communication amongst the residents. Also watering and maintenance of the green seems to a common interest and is nurtured very well.

the old scale ground floor houses, with a standard attic at the rooftop, mainly to store

the paddy harvest

this place is converted to a nice school for creative arts for the kids, moving around this house

we could hear interesting music, once we went on the other side, they had a beautiful front space for the kids to play. A very interesting mix use for the house and nurture young minds around these winding lanes.

one of my favorites and very natural, the photographs speaks for itself and speaks a lot

Open spaces, common nodes of interaction, greens, colors and a happy community is what we got to see at Shirely Rajan, a very interesting hamlet the proximity of these two hamlets for sure have induced a lot of interactions and a lot of stories pertaining to these two places might be enough for a thick publication.

Moving to Khotachiwadi (Girgaum), a lot of similarity was seen again. Went there on a sunny saturday morning and the place was full of vibrant colors and beautiful lanes again. This village/wadi has been in a lot of limelight lately. one of the last few remaining ones in South Mumbai, there is a lot of history to this place. Of the 60 (approx) cottages/bungalows in Khotachiwadi only 26 are remaining, and thanks to the resident awareness they are in a good shape. more about Khotachiwadi from the residents and URBZ  will be found here: http://khotachiwadi.urbz.net/ , this webpage is a very interesting effort and a good start at a resident involvement in preservation of their own culture.

some of my favorite picks from the hamlet:

The analysis and comparison of efforts and conservation in Khotachwadi Preceinct, with Ranwar is something that i would like to do in detail, which shall happen in the next post.

doors and windows and colors

somethings that have been really catching my eye in Bandra are the doors, window styles, facades and colors. while i do my analysis on a collection of these and figure what is a Bandra style, here are some illustrations (hand drawn and illustrated too!) generally though!

Line Illustrations:

some keeda on these with illustrator:

At the junction after the Grotto

well heres the synth of the junction after the grotto..
In view will be the houses belonging to the Rodrigues, Mrs. Flananingan, and the Pareiras.

This junction is very interesting because it gives a great view of these houses, with a sneak preview of the Ranwar Square over the grotto.

These houses if maintained would look just stunning. Its going to be one way in which the old glory of a place like Ranwar can be brought back.

If we look at other villages like Shirely Rajan (Bandra) and Khotachiwadi (Girgaum), these houses have been reinterpreted to todays times and have been given a new look with something as simple as exterior facade paints. nothing more but just limestone mixed with color will not only give these walls a new life but also lets them breathe, specially in a whether like Mumbai.

But anyways coming back to these patterns in grills, these window styles, the verandah styles, the colors, they are similar all across these kind of villages everywhere in Mumbai. They are said to be Portuguese in style, but they are not..well maybe they have an influence, but they are very Indian in style and make and is a typical style of paddy cultivating villages around the Konkan line and the rest of Mumbai, wherever they are located.  It is popularly know as Vernacular Architecture style, but its a good example of Local style. These are ofcourse going in a time warp due their appearance today, but a little modification and these will look absolutely stunning.

Towards the Grotto in Ranwar

This is the synth of the grotto next to Mr. Herman Rodrigues house in Ranwar, from the Ranwar Square. It allows you to explore the approach path and then move around the grotto to have a view in detail.
What is a Grotto?
A grotto (Italian grotta) is any type of natural or artificial cave that is associated with modern, historic or prehistoric use by humans. When it is not an artificialgarden feature, a grotto is often a small cave near water and often flooded or liable to flood at high tide. The picturesque Grotta Azzura at Capri and the grotto of the villa of Tiberius in the Bay of Naples are outstanding natural seashore grottoes. Whether in tidal water or high up in hills, they are very often in limestonegeology where the acidity dissolved in percolating water has dissolved the carbonates of the rock matrix as it has passed through what were originally small fissures. 
The outside of such grottoes might be architectural or designed like an enormous rock or a rustic porch or rocky overhang; inside one found a temple or fountains, stalactites and even imitation gems and shells (sometimes made in ceramic); herms and mermaids, mythological subjects suited to the space: naiads, or river gods whose urns spilled water into pools. Damp grottoes were cool places to retreat from the Italian sun.
( source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grotto)


In Bandra a lot of these grottos are found, at various corners of houses big or small, they are normally installed by a family and is maintained by the family lineage. They serve as common nodes of interpersonal communication due to prayer or rosary meets. They are very well decorated in local style using local material and supported by a lot of greenery around.